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You have an artery on each side of your neck called the carotid artery. This artery brings needed blood to your brain and face. The blood flow in this artery can become partly or totally blocked by fatty material called plaque. A partial blockage is called carotid artery stenosis (narrowing). A ...

Angioplasty is a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. These blood vessels are called the coronary arteries. A coronary artery stent is a small, metal mesh tube that expands inside a coronary artery. A is often placed during or immediately after ...

Ablate means “to destroy.” Cardiac ablation is a procedure that is used to destroy small areas in your heart that may be causing your . During the procedure, small wires called electrodes are placed inside your heart to measure your heart’s electrical activity. These electrodes ...

Cardiac catheterization involves passing a thin flexible tube (catheter) into the right or left side of the heart, usually from the groin or the arm.

Coronary angiography is a procedure that uses a special dye (contrast material) and x-rays to see how blood flows through your heart.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. CHD is also called coronary artery disease. See also:

A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that senses when your heart is beating . It sends a signal to your heart that makes your heart beat at the correct pace.

His bundle electrography is a test that measures electrical activity in a part of the heart that carries the signals that control the time between heartbeats (contractions).

An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a device that detects any life-threatening, rapid heartbeat. If such a heartbeat, called an , occurs, the ICD quickly sends an electrical shock to the heart to change the rhythm back to normal. This is called defibrillation.

Intracardiac electrophysiology study (EPS) is an invasive test that allows doctors to determine the details of abnormal heartbeats, or . See also:

Swan-Ganz catheterization is the passing of a thin tube (catheter) into the right side of the heart and the arteries leading to the lungs to monitor the heart’s function and blood flow, usually in persons who are very ill.