Cardiology is the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the heart and blood vessels. The human heart is a complex organ, consisting of two ventricles and two atria. Coronary arteries feed the heart the blood it needs to sustain itself.

Selected topics in cardiology:

Anatomy & physiology

Basic anatomy (Structure of the heart)

• Epicardium
• Pericardium
• Myocardium
• Papillary muscle
• Endocardium
• Coronary circulation (Blood supply of the heart)
• Heart valves

Circulatory system (Blood supply of the body)

• Cardiac output
• Heart rate
• Vascular resistance
• Blood vessels

Pulmonary circulation (Oxygenation of the blood)

• Pulmonary artery
• Pulmonary vein

Cardiac pacemaker (Electrical system of the heart)

• Electrical conduction system of the heart
  • Action potential
    • Ventricular action potential
• Sinoatrial node
• Atrioventricular node
• Bundle of His
• Purkinje fibers

Basic cardiac physiology

• Systole
• Diastole
• Heart sounds
• Preload
• Afterload
• Kussmaul's sign

Disorders of the coronary circulation

• Atherosclerosis
• Restenosis
• Coronary heart disease (Ischaemic heart disease, Coronary artery disease)
• Acute coronary syndrome
  • Angina
  • Myocardial infarction (Heart attack)

Disorders of the myocardium (muscle of the heart)

• Cardiomyopathy
  • Ischemic cardiomyopathy
  • Nonischemic cardiomyopathy
    • Amyloid cardiomyopathy
    • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
      • Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) (Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS))
      • Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
    • Dilated cardiomyopathy
      • Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
    • Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy)
    • Restrictive cardiomyopathy
• Congestive heart failure
  • Cor pulmonale
• Cardiac arrest
• Primary tumors of the heart
  • Myxoma

Disorders of the pericardium (outer lining of the heart)

• Pericarditis
• Pericardial tamponade
• Constrictive pericarditis

Disorders of the heart valves

• Aortic valve disorders
  • Aortic insufficiency
  • Aortic stenosis
  • Aortic valve replacement
  • Aortic valve repair
  • Aortic valvuloplasty
• Mitral valve disorders
  • Mitral valve prolapse
  • Mitral regurgitation
  • Mitral stenosis
  • Mitral valve replacement
  • Mitral valve repair
  • Mitral valvuloplasty
• Pulmonic valve disorders
• Tricuspid valve disorders

Disorders of the electrical system of the heart (Cardiac electrophysiology)

• Cardiac arrhythmias
  • Supraventricular tachycardia (Fast rhythms that originate above the ventricles)
    • Atrial fibrillation
    • Atrial flutter
    • Atrial tachycardia
    • Sick sinus syndrome (Tachy-Brady syndrome)
    • AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT)
    • AV reentrant tachycardia (AVRT)
• Bigemini
• Premature ventricular contraction
• Ventricular tachycardia
  • Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia
  • Polymorphic ventricular tachycardia
    • Torsades de pointes
• Ventricular fibrillation
• Sick sinus syndrome
• Heart block
  • First degree heart block
  • Second degree heart block
  • Trifascicular heart block
  • Third degree heart block
• Specific diseases of the electrical system of the heart
  • Brugada syndrome
  • Long QT syndrome
  • Short QT syndrome
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW syndrome)

Inflammation and infection of the heart

• Endocarditis
  • Rheumatic heart disease
• Myocarditis
• Pericarditis

Congenital heart disease

• Atrial septal defect
• Ventricular septal defect
• Patent ductus arteriosus
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Transposition of the great vessels (TGV)

Diseases of blood vessels (Vascular diseases)

• Vasculitis
• Atherosclerosis
• Aneurysm
• Varicose veins
• Economy class syndrome
• Diseases of the aorta
  • Coarctation of the aorta
  • Aortic dissection
• Diseases of the carotid arteries
  • Carotid artery disease
  • Carotid artery dissection

Procedures done for coronary artery disease

• Atherectomy
• Angioplasty (PTCA)
  • Stenting
• Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)
• Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP)

Devices used in cardiology

• Devices used to maintain normal electrical rythmn
  • Pacemaker
  • Defibrillator
    • Automated external defibrillator
    • Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
• Devices used to maintain blood pressure
  • Artificial heart
  • Heart-lung machine
  • Intra-aortic balloon pump
  • Ventricular assist device

Diagnostic tests and procedures

• Echocardiogram
• Cardiac stress test
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • Ambulatory Holter monitor
• Electrophysiologic study
  • Programmed electrical stimulation
• Sphygmomanometer (Blood pressure cuff)
• IVUS (IntraVascular UltraSound)
• Cardiac enzymes

Cardiac pharmaceutical agents

The followings are medications commonly prescribed in cardiology:

• Antiarrhythmic agents
  • Type I (sodium channel blockers)
    • Type Ia
      • Quinidine
    • Type Ib
      • Lidocaine
      • Phenytoin
    • Type Ic
      • Propafenone
  • Type II (beta blockers)
    • Metoprolol
  • Type III (potassium channel blockers)
    • Amiodarone
    • Dofetilide
    • Sotalol
  • Type IV (slow calcium channel blockers)
    • Diltiazem
    • Verapamil
  • Type V
    • Adenosine
    • Digoxin
• ACE inhibitors
  • Captopril
  • Enalapril
  • Perindopril
  • Ramipril
• Angiotensin II receptor antagonists
  • Candesartan
  • Eprosartan
  • Irbesartan
  • Losartan
  • Telmisartan
  • Valsartan
• Beta blocker
• Calcium channel blocker

External links

• U.S. National Institue of Health (NIH) (http://health.nih.gov/search.asp/10)