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Abdominal aortic aneurysm
An abdominal aortic aneurysm, also called AAA or triple A, is a bulging, weakened area in the wall of the abdominal aorta (the largest artery in the body) resulting in an abnormal widening or ballooning greater than 50 percent of the vessel’s normal diameter (width).
Achalasia
Achalasia is a rare disease of the muscle of the esophagus that occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter fails to open and let food pass into the stomach. As a result, patients with achalasia have difficulty swallowing food…
Acute vascular thrombosis
Acute vascular thrombosis occurs when a blood clot obstructs a vein. Blockages in these vessels can slow or even stop blood flow and cause serious consequences…
Angina
Angina (chest pain) indicates an underlying heart problem such as coronary heart disease, which is a result of one or more blockages in the coronary arteries. It also may signal coronary microvascular disease, which affects the heart’s smallest coronary arteries…
Aortic aneurysm and dissection
The aorta, the body’s largest artery, delivers oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The heart pumps blood out of the left ventricle, through the aortic valve, and into the aorta…
Aortic valve regurgitation
Aortic valve regurgitation occurs when the aortic valve does not close tightly and blood leaks back into the heart’s pumping chamber when the left ventricle relaxes…
Aortic valve stenosis
Aortic valve stenosis is a buildup of calcium deposits on the heart valve, which obstructs blood flow because the narrowing of the valve prevents it from opening properly…
Arrhythmias
An irregular heartbeat is an arrhythmia. A normal heart rate is 50 to 100 beats per minute, but arrhythmias and abnormal heart rates don’t necessarily occur together…
Arterial blockage
Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that supply blood directly to your heart muscle. Arterial blockage often can be diagnosed using a cardiac catheterization…
Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis is a condition that occurs when arteries harden and fail to adequately distribute blood throughout the body, which can limit oxygen flow to organs. Atherosclerosis is a subset of the condition which results from the buildup of plaque and other substances in the artery walls…
Atrial septal defect (ASD)
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a common structural heart defect that can be present at birth (congenital). It is a hole in the septum (wall) that separates the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart…
Atrioventricular canal defect
Atrioventricular canal defect (AV canal defect) refers to a large hole in the center of the heart that prevents the separation of all four heart chambers and requires surgical repair…
Bacterial endocarditis
Bacterial endocarditis is a rare but serious infection in the heart and/or valves. While this infection usually is associated with certain types of congenital heart defects, it also can occur in structurally normal hearts…
Bicuspid aortic valve
Bicuspid aortic valve refers to aortic valves that have only two leaflets, or flaps. Over time, the valve can become stenotic, resulting in varying degrees of obstruction across the valve…
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the airways of the lungs begin to swell. It is often caused by irritation of the airways that keeps coming back…
Carotid artery disease
Carotid artery disease occurs when there is damage to the inner layers of the arteries, which supply blood to the brain. Approximately 30% of strokes are caused by narrowing or blockages in the carotid arteries on either side of the neck…
Coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the accumulation of fatty deposits in the inner layer of the coronary arteries. The fatty deposits may begin to develop in childhood and they continue to thicken and enlarge during a person’s lifetime…
Emphysema
Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involving damage to the air sacs in the lungs. As a result, your body does not get the oxygen it needs, making it hard to catch your breath…
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the tissues of the esophagus. People don’t usually undergo routine screenings for esophageal cancer as they do for other cancers, such as colon cancer…
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Gastroesophageal refers to the stomach and esophagus, and reflux means to flow back or return. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is the return of acidic stomach juices, or food and fluids, back up into the esophagus…
Heart attack
A heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, occurs when the flow of oxygenated blood through a coronary artery to the heart suddenly becomes blocked…
Heart failure
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is not strong enough to meet your body’s needs, either because it can’t fill with blood or because it can’t pump with enough force. Some forms of heart failure are treated with surgery, such as valve replacements or coronary artery bypass surgery…
Hiatal hernia
A hiatal hernia is a common anatomical abnormality in which part of the stomach protrudes or herniates through the diaphragm and up into the chest. If the stomach gets stuck in the defect in the diaphragm, the hernia may become confined and cause severe pain in the chest and abdomen, which is a surgical emergency…
Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
Interstitial lung disease is a group of disorders in which the lungs develop significant and sometimes disabling inflammation, scar tissue or fibrosis within the tissues…
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is cancer that usually starts in the lining of the bronchi (the main airways of the lungs), but can also begin in other areas of the respiratory system, including the trachea, bronchioles or alveoli…
Lung nodules
Lung nodules are small masses of tissue in the lung that appear as spots on an X-ray or CT scan of the chest that may or may not be cancer-causing. With the increase in the use of CT scans, lung nodules are being found with increasing regularity, though people with solitary lung nodules do not usually experience symptoms…
Lymphadenopathy
Lymph node enlargement (lymphadenopathy) in the chest is a frequent finding on X-rays and CT scans. There are many reasons for the enlarged nodes that often depend on the patient’s history…
Mediastinal disease
Mediastinal disease refers to an unusual group of tumors that form in the area called the mediastinum, which separates the lungs in the middle of the thoracic cavity. About half of mediastinal tumors cause no symptoms and are found on a chest X-ray or scans for another reason…
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer that usually arises in the tissue lining of the lungs, called the mesothelium. It usually starts in the lungs, but can also start in the abdomen or other organs…
Mitral valve prolapse
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common heart valve abnormality. In this condition, enough blood does not flow through the mitral valve into the coronary artery…
Mitral valve regurgitation
Valvular heart disease occurs when the heart’s valves that control blood flow do not work properly. Valvular conditions can be present at birth or can be acquired later in life, resulting in valvular regurgitation (also known as valve insufficiency)…
Mitral valve stenosis
Valvular stenosis occurs over time as the opening in a valve narrows due to a collection of calcium deposits. When that happens, the heart cannot pump as well…
Myasthenia gravis
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder of the nerves and muscles of the body that causes progressive weakness and, often, drooping of the eyelids known as ocular myasthenia…
Patent foramen ovale
Patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole in the heart that can be present at birth, is a common structural heart defect. It occurs in about 25 percent of all newborns, but most people do not experience problems because of it…
Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs, and limbs. When plaque builds up in the body’s arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis…
Pleural effusion
Pleural effusion is extra fluid around the lung. This often causes shortness of breath as the lung gets compressed from the fluid…
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a lung infection. Patients with pneumonia can have a cough with green or bloody mucus, a fever, chills, chest pain and difficulty breathing…
Pneumothorax
A pneumothorax is a total collapse of the lung caused by air entering the pleural space between the lung and chest wall. A partial collapse of the lung is called atelectasis…
Premature atrial contractions (PAC)
Premature atrial contractions are contractions in the atria (upper chambers) of the heart that occur too early in the rhythm sequence and disrupt the heart’s rhythm…
Premature superventricular contraction
Premature superventricular contraction (PSC) refers to premature contractions originating from the ventricles, the lower heart chambers. They are called “premature” because they occur before the regular heartbeat…
Pulmonary embolism
A pulmonary embolism is an obstruction caused by a blood clot (thrombus) in the pulmonary artery that has traveled through the bloodstream (usually from a vein in the legs)…
Pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which there is scarring of the tissue in the lungs. This tissue gets thick and stiff…
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a type of coronary artery disease (CAD). This condition occurs when the pressure in the pulmonary arteries becomes abnormally elevated…
Pulmonary valve stenosis (pulmonary stenosis)
Over time, the opening in a heart valve can become narrow due to a collection of calcium deposits. When the valve narrows, the heart does not pump as well…
Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from a specific type of inflammation of tissues of the body. It can appear in almost any organ, but it starts most often in the lungs or lymph nodes…
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome is an infectious respiratory disease. Commonly referred to as SARS, the infection is caused by a virus and easily spread from person to person…
Sick sinus syndrome
Sick sinus syndrome is not a specific disease, but rather a group of signs or symptoms that indicate the sinoatrial node (the heart’s natural pacemaker) is not functioning properly…
Structural heart disease and defects
Structural heart disease and heart defects refer to a defect or abnormality in the heart’s valves or vessels. These defects can involve the interior walls of the heart, the valves inside the heart, and the arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart or out to the body…
Thymoma
Thymoma is an uncommon type of tumor that grows in the thymus, a small organ just behind the breastbone (sternum). The thymus produces lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that fights infections…
Tricuspid valve regurgitation (tricuspid valve insufficiency)
Tricuspid valve regurgitation, also known as tricuspid valve insufficiency, occurs when the valve does not close properly, causing some blood to flow backward into the heart’s right upper chamber (atrium) and increasing the amount of blood there. This impairs the heart’s ability to pump the necessary amount of blood to the rest of the body…
Truncus arteriosus
Truncus arteriosus is a rare congenital (present at birth) heart disease where a baby is born with a large hole between the two ventricles (ventricular septal defect). The hole allows oxygenated blood to mix with blood that is low in oxygen…
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are bloated, twisted veins that can be seen just under the skin. Any vein may become varicose but it most commonly occurs in the legs…
Venous disease
Venous disease refers to a group of diseases that damage veins causing valves to not close completely, enabling blood to leak backward or flow in both directions. Venous diseases include varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism…
Ventricular septal defect
Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a common structural heart disease that can be present at birth: a hole or defect in the septum (wall) that divides the two lower chambers of the heart (ventricles)…