Hypertension Glossary of Terms

ARCHIVED 2015-04-08, DATE APPROXIMATE · VERSION 20150408_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20150123_rev01

Full text changes — 20150123_rev01 to 20150408_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

+**Angina:** chest pain
+**[Angina](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-angina):** [chest pain](http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/whats-causing-my-chest-pain)
+**Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors:** one kind of medication used to treat high blood pressure by preventing the body from making the chemical angiotensin II. This chemical causes blood vessels to narrow, which can raise blood pressure. ACE inhibitors allow the vessels to expand, which lowers blood pressure. These drugs are also used to treat congestive heart failure, to protect the kidneys in people with diabetes, and to treat people who have had a heart attack.
+**Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors:** one kind of [medication](http://www.webmd.com/drugs/index-drugs.aspx) used to treat [high blood pressure](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/default.htm) by preventing the body from making the chemical angiotensin II. This chemical causes [blood](http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rm-quiz-blood-basics) vessels to narrow, which can raise [blood pressure](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/diastolic-and-systolic-blood-pressure-know-your-numbers). [ACE inhibitors](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/medicine-ace-inhibitors) allow the vessels to expand, which lowers blood pressure. These drugs are also used to treat [congestive heart failure](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide-heart-failure), to protect the [kidneys](http://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/picture-of-the-kidneys) in people with [diabetes](http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/default.htm), and to treat people who have had a [heart attack](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/ss/slideshow-heart-attack).
+[Does Meditation Help You Lose Weight?](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/meditation-hypertension-and-weight-loss)
+[High Blood Pressure and Drug Safety](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/high-blood-pressure-medication-safety)
+Your efforts around exercising and eating well are helping your blood pressure and your weight. Something else might also help: meditation. Meditation -- the practice of focusing your attention in order to find calm and clarity -- can lower high blood pressure. It can also help you manage stress, which drives some people to eat. "People often put on weight from trying to comfort themselves with food," says Adam Perlman, MD, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine. Although there's not...
+One of the goals when you take drugs for high blood pressure is to be sure the medication is working effectively. One step toward achieving this goal is to avoid some medications. What kinds of problems might other drugs cause? Some drugs can make blood pressure rise. If you have high blood pressure to begin with, it can rise to dangerous levels. Some medications may interact with blood pressure medicine. This can prevent either drug from working properly. Here are common types of medication...
+[Read the Does Meditation Help You Lose Weight? article > >](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/meditation-hypertension-and-weight-loss)
+[Read the High Blood Pressure and Drug Safety article > >](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/high-blood-pressure-medication-safety)
+**Atherosclerosis:** the build-up of fatty deposits within the arteries, eventually may cause a blockage of blood flow or stiffening of the artery walls.
+**[Atherosclerosis](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/what-is-atherosclerosis):** the build-up of fatty deposits within the [arteries](http://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-arteries), eventually may cause a blockage of blood flow or stiffening of the artery walls.
+**Balloon Angioplasty:** a procedure in which a small balloon at the tip of the catheter (see cardiac catheterization) is inflated while in an artery to stretch a narrowed artery opening and allow for increase blood flow.
+**Balloon [Angioplasty](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/treatment-angioplasty-stents):** a procedure in which a small balloon at the tip of the catheter (see [cardiac catheterization](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/cardiac-catheterization)) is inflated while in an artery to stretch a narrowed artery opening and allow for increase blood flow.
+**Beta-Blockers:** one kind of medication used to treat high blood pressure, chest pain, and irregular heartbeat and to help protect a person from heart disease. Beta-blockers work by blocking the effects of adrenaline in various parts of the body. Beta-blockers relieve stress on the heart so that it requires less blood and oxygen. As a result, the heart doesn't have to work as hard and blood pressure is lowered.
+**Beta-Blockers:** one kind of medication used to treat [high blood pressure](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/ss/slideshow-hypertension-overview), chest pain, and [irregular heartbeat](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/what-causes-heart-palpitations) and to help protect a person from [heart disease](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/default.htm). Beta-blockers work by blocking the effects of adrenaline in various parts of the body. Beta-blockers relieve stress on the [heart](http://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-heart) so that it requires less blood and oxygen. As a result, the [heart](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/rm-quiz-know-heart) doesn't have to work as hard and blood pressure is lowered.
+**Calcium Channel Blockers:** one kind of high blood pressure drug that slows the movement of calcium into the cells of the heart and the walls of the arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the tissues). This relaxes the arteries and reduces the pressure in the blood vessels and makes it easier for the heart to pump blood.
+**[Calcium](http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-1575/calcium+oral/details) Channel Blockers:** one kind of [high blood pressure](http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/hypertension-assessment/default.htm) drug that slows the movement of [calcium](http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-gourmet-calcium) into the cells of the heart and the walls of the arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the tissues). This relaxes the arteries and reduces the pressure in the blood vessels and makes it easier for the heart to pump blood.
+**Cardiac Catheterization:** a procedure in which a catheter (a small flexible tube) is inserted into a large artery and guided to the coronary arteries in the heart to determine pressure and blood flow in the heart.
+**[Cardiac Catheterization](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/video/cardiac-catheterization):** a procedure in which a catheter (a small flexible tube) is inserted into a large artery and guided to the coronary arteries in the heart to determine pressure and blood flow in the heart.
+**Carotid Artery:** an artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain. They are located on both the right and left sides of the neck.
+**[Carotid Artery](http://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-carotid-artery):** an artery in the neck that supplies blood to the [brain](http://www.webmd.com/brain/picture-of-the-brain). They are located on both the right and left sides of the neck.
+**Carotid Endarterectomy:** the surgical removal of plaque within the carotid artery.
+**[Carotid Endarterectomy](http://www.webmd.com/stroke/carotid-endarterectomy-for-tia-and-stroke):** the surgical removal of plaque within the carotid artery.