Resources & Master Glossary
Where to find help — 154 Medical Terms
The complete 154-term medical glossary and educational post plan from The River Does Not Ask by Thomas E. Donlan. Plain language, verified medical sources, chapter ties, and AI design briefs for every term.
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The River Does Not Ask Medical Glossary
Every medical term encountered across Thomas's 30+ year heart disease, transplant, and cancer journey — indexed by section with source citations, chapter context, and AI artwork prompts.
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Showing 154 of 154 terms
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Heart attack
Post Subject: What Is a Heart Attack?
"“A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, is a type of heart disease.” “It happens when blood flow to the heart suddenly becomes blocked.”"
Myocardial infarction (MI)
Post Subject: Myocardial Infarction: The Medical Name for a Heart Attack
"“A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, happens when the flow of blood that brings oxygen to a part of your heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked.” “If blood flow is not restored quickly, the heart muscle will begin to die.”"
Heart attack warning signs and calling 9-1-1
Post Subject: Know the Signs. Call 911. Let Help Come to You.
"“Symptoms of a heart attack include chest and upper body pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweatiness, and nausea.” “If you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack, call 9-1-1 right away.” “Acting fast can save your life.”"
Widowmaker
Post Subject: The 'Widowmaker': Why One Artery Matters So Much
An informal nickname, not a formal diagnosis. People use it for a heart attack caused by a blockage in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, especially near where that artery begins. The LAD supplies blood to a large part of the heart's main pumping chamber, so a blockage there can damage a great deal of heart muscle very quickly and is often deadly without fast treatment.
Coronary artery disease (CAD)
Post Subject: Coronary Artery Disease, Explained Simply
"“Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease in the United States and a leading cause of death for both men and women.” “CAD affects the coronary arteries, which are the blood vessels that carry blood and oxygen to your heart muscle.”"
Plaque and blockage
Post Subject: What Plaque Really Is
"“Plaque is a waxy, sticky substance made of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other materials found in your blood.” “This buildup is called atherosclerosis.”"
Atherosclerosis
Post Subject: Atherosclerosis: How Arteries Slowly Narrow
"“Atherosclerosis is a condition in which plaque builds up inside your arteries.” “Plaque is a sticky substance made up of cholesterol, fat, blood cells, calcium, and other substances found in the blood.”"
Accelerated atherosclerosis
Post Subject: When a Bypass Graft Narrows Faster
A faster form of artery narrowing. It can develop inside a bypass graft, especially a vein graft taken from the leg, and narrow it years after surgery. It is different from the slow narrowing that happens in a person's own arteries over a lifetime.
Acute coronary syndrome
Post Subject: Acute Coronary Syndrome: The Umbrella Term
An umbrella term for any sudden drop in blood flow to the heart. It includes a heart attack and unstable angina (chest pain that is new, getting worse, or happening at rest). It is treated as an emergency.
Coronary angiography (angiogram)
Post Subject: The Angiogram: A Map of the Heart's Arteries
An X-ray test of the arteries that feed the heart. A doctor threads a thin tube into a blood vessel, injects a contrast dye, and takes X-ray pictures that show where arteries are narrowed or blocked. The patient is usually awake, with the entry site numbed.
Fluoroscope
Post Subject: Watching Your Own Heart on Screen
An X-ray machine that shows live, moving pictures on a screen instead of a single still image. During angiography and other catheter procedures, it lets the medical team watch the catheter, wire, and dye move through the blood vessels in real time.
Cardiac catheterization
Post Subject: Cardiac Catheterization: Diagnosis Through a Thin Tube
"“Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat some heart conditions.”"
Catheter
Post Subject: What Is a Catheter?
"“Make a small opening in that area to insert a thin tube (a catheter) into a blood vessel.”"
Guidewire
Post Subject: The Guidewire: When the Wire Will Not Pass
A very thin, flexible wire that a doctor passes through an artery and across a blockage during a catheter procedure. Balloons and stents are then slid along the wire to reach the blockage. If the wire cannot cross the blockage, the artery usually cannot be opened that way.
Angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI)
Post Subject: Angioplasty: Opening a Blocked Artery
"“Angioplasty is a procedure to improve blood flow in coronary arteries that have become narrow or blocked.” “Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also called coronary angioplasty, is a nonsurgical but invasive procedure that improves blood flow to our heart.”"
Stent
Post Subject: The Stent: A Tiny Scaffold
"“A stent is a small mesh tube that holds open passages in the body, such as weak or narrow arteries.”"
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), bypass surgery
Post Subject: Bypass Surgery: Building New Roads for Blood
"“Coronary artery bypass surgery creates a new path for blood to flow to your heart.” “This surgery is sometimes called a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) or heart bypass.” “It's the most common heart surgery in adults.” “During surgery, the surgeon takes healthy blood vessels from another part of your body.”"
Saphenous vein graft
Post Subject: Borrowing a Vein from the Leg
The saphenous vein is a long vein that runs along the inside of the leg. Surgeons often remove a section of it and use it as a bypass graft, sewing one end above a blocked heart artery and the other end below it. Vein grafts can narrow over the years and may need a stent or another procedure.
Thrombolytic (clot-busting) medicine
Post Subject: Clot-Busting Medicine
Medicine given through a vein to dissolve a blood clot that is blocking an artery. It works best when given soon after a heart attack or stroke begins.
Ejection fraction (EF)
Post Subject: Ejection Fraction: The Number That Tells the Story
A measurement of how much blood the left ventricle pushes out with each heartbeat, shown as a percentage. A healthy heart usually pumps out about 50 to 70 percent. A number of 40 percent or lower is considered reduced and is one sign of heart failure. In the book, the author's ejection fraction fell to 9 percent and later rose to 38 percent with device therapy.
Scar tissue (dead heart muscle)
Post Subject: Scar Tissue in the Heart
When part of the heart muscle goes without blood during a heart attack, that muscle dies and is slowly replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue does not squeeze, so the heart pumps with less strength. Scar can also disrupt the heart's electrical signals and lead to dangerous rhythms.
Cardiac rehabilitation
Post Subject: Cardiac Rehab: Learning to Live Again
"“Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program for people recovering from heart problems.” “The goal is to help you return to an active life, and to reduce the risk of further heart problems.”"
Heart failure
Post Subject: Heart Failure Does Not Mean the Heart Stopped
"“Heart failure means that your heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to meet your body's needs.” “Heart failure doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop beating.”"
Cardiomyopathy
Post Subject: Cardiomyopathy: Diseases of the Heart Muscle
"“Cardiomyopathy is the name for diseases of the heart muscle.” “These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal.” “In rare cases, scar tissue replaces the muscle tissue.”"
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Post Subject: Dilated Cardiomyopathy: When the Heart Stretches
A type of cardiomyopathy in which the heart's main pumping chamber stretches, grows larger, and becomes weak, so it cannot pump blood well.
Cardiac remodeling
Post Subject: How the Heart Changes Shape
Changes in the heart's size, shape, and wall thickness after an injury such as a heart attack, or under the long strain of heart failure. Over time the heart may grow larger and rounder and pump less well. In the book, the author's heart "widened and its walls grew thicker."
Ventricles
Post Subject: The Ventricles: The Heart's Two Pumps
The heart's two lower chambers. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs. The left ventricle is the main pumping chamber and sends oxygen-rich blood out to the whole body.
Edema
Post Subject: Edema: When Fluid Builds Up
"“Edema means swelling caused by fluid in your body's tissues.” “It usually occurs in the feet, ankles and legs, but it can involve your entire body.”"
Dyspnea
Post Subject: Dyspnea: Shortness of Breath
The medical word for shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. In heart failure, it often happens because fluid backs up into the lungs.
Echocardiogram (echo)
Post Subject: The Echo: Seeing the Heart with Sound
"“Echocardiography, or echo, is a painless test that uses sound waves to create moving pictures of your heart.”"
MUGA scan
Post Subject: The MUGA Scan
MUGA stands for multigated acquisition scan. A small amount of radioactive tracer is attached to the blood, and a special camera takes pictures as the heart beats. It gives a precise measurement of how well the ventricles pump, including the ejection fraction.
Stress test (exercise stress test)
Post Subject: The Stress Test That Stopped in Under a Minute
"“Stress tests show how well your heart works when under stress.” “To do this, a health care provider will usually monitor your heart while you exercise on a treadmill or stationary bicycle.”"
Cardiopulmonary exercise test
Post Subject: Measuring Heart and Lungs Together
An exercise test, usually on a treadmill or bike, that measures the heart, lungs, and breathing together, including how much oxygen the body uses at peak effort. Transplant teams use it to judge how advanced heart failure has become.
Hemodynamics
Post Subject: Hemodynamics: The Physics of Blood Flow
The study of how blood moves through the heart and blood vessels, including the pressures inside the heart chambers and lungs. Right heart catheterization is one way doctors measure it.
Ventricular function
Post Subject: Ventricular Function
A general term for how well the ventricles fill with blood and pump it out. Ejection fraction is the most common single measure of it.
Stroke
Post Subject: What Happens During a Stroke
"“A stroke happens when there is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain.” “Your brain cells cannot get the oxygen and nutrients they need from blood, and they start to die within a few minutes.” “This can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.”"
Ischemic stroke (including embolic stroke)
Post Subject: Ischemic Stroke: When a Clot Travels
"“Ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain.”"
Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
Post Subject: TIA: The 'Mini-Stroke' Warning
"“A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a stroke that lasts only a few minutes.” “It happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is briefly blocked.” “Symptoms of a TIA are like other stroke symptoms, but do not last as long.”"
Facial droop
Post Subject: Facial Droop: A Stroke Warning Sign
"“Face drooping on one side when smiling.”"
Aphasia
Post Subject: Aphasia: When Words Will Not Come
"“Aphasia is a language disorder that makes it hard for you to read, write, and say what you mean to say.” “Sometimes it makes it hard to understand what other people are saying, too.”"
Obtundation
Post Subject: Obtundation: A Fog Over Alertness
A lowered level of alertness. A person who is obtunded is drowsy, slow to respond, and hard to keep awake, but is not in a coma.
Blood clot (thrombus)
Post Subject: What Is a Blood Clot?
"“A blood clot is a mass of blood that forms when platelets, proteins, and cells in the blood stick together.”"
Left ventricular thrombus
Post Subject: A Clot Inside the Heart
A blood clot that forms inside the heart's main pumping chamber, usually in an area weakened by a heart attack that no longer squeezes normally. If a piece breaks loose, it can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.
Thrombosis
Post Subject: Thrombosis
The formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel or inside the heart.
Blood thinner (anticoagulant)
Post Subject: Blood Thinners: Keeping Clots Away
"“Blood thinners are medicines that prevent blood clots from forming.” “Anticoagulants, such as heparin or warfarin (also called Coumadin), slow down your body's process of making clots.”"
Warfarin
Post Subject: Warfarin and the Regular Blood Test
"“Anticoagulants, such as heparin or warfarin (also called Coumadin), slow down your body's process of making clots.” “You may need regular blood tests to check how well your blood is clotting.”"
INR (blood clotting test)
Post Subject: INR: Managed Down to the Tenth of a Point
INR stands for international normalized ratio. It is a blood test that shows how long blood takes to clot. People on warfarin have it checked regularly, and the dose is adjusted to keep the number in a target range. In the book, the cardiologist managed the author's blood thinner "down to the tenth of a point."
Arrhythmia
Post Subject: Arrhythmia: When the Heartbeat Loses Its Rhythm
"“An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat.”"
Fluttering (palpitations)
Post Subject: That Fluttering Feeling
"“Skipping, fluttering, or pounding heartbeats”"
Tachycardia
Post Subject: Tachycardia: A Heart Running Too Fast
"“When your heart beats faster than normal, it's called tachycardia.”"
Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach, VT)
Post Subject: V-Tach: The Dangerous Rhythm
"“Ventricular arrhythmias start in your heart's lower chambers, called the ventricles.” “These arrhythmias can be very dangerous and usually require medical care right away.” “Ventricular tachycardia is a fast, regular beating of your ventricles that may last for only a few seconds or for much longer.”"
Slow ventricular tachycardia
Post Subject: Three Hours at 150 Beats a Minute
Ventricular tachycardia that runs at a lower rate than usual. In a weak heart it can still cause severe symptoms, and if its rate falls below the number a defibrillator is set to treat, the device may record it without treating it. In the book, the author spent nearly three hours at about 149 to 150 beats per minute.
Incessant ventricular tachycardia (electrical storm)
Post Subject: Electrical Storm: 25 Events in One Day
Ventricular tachycardia that keeps coming back right after it is stopped. When dangerous ventricular rhythms return again and again in a short time, often defined as three or more episodes needing treatment within 24 hours, doctors call it an electrical storm. It is a medical emergency.
Cardiac arrest
Post Subject: Cardiac Arrest Is Not the Same as a Heart Attack
A sudden stop in effective heartbeat, so blood stops moving to the brain and body. It is often caused by a dangerous rhythm in the ventricles and can be fatal within minutes without a shock and CPR.
Normal sinus rhythm
Post Subject: Normal Sinus Rhythm: The Sound of Peace
A normal, steady heartbeat that starts in the heart's natural pacemaker, the sinus node. At rest it is usually between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
Post Subject: The EKG: Reading the Heart's Electricity
"“An electrocardiogram (EKG) test is a simple, painless, and quick test that records the electrical signals your heart makes when it beats.”"
Rhythm strip
Post Subject: The Rhythm Strip
A printed or on-screen tracing of the heart's electrical activity over a short stretch of time, taken from an ECG or heart monitor.
Cardiac monitor and telemetry
Post Subject: Telemetry: Watched from Down the Hall
A cardiac monitor shows the heartbeat continuously on a screen. Telemetry sends that rhythm information electronically to another place, such as a nurses' station, so staff can watch it from a distance.
Electrophysiologist and electrophysiology study
Post Subject: The Heart's Electrician
An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist who specializes in the heart's electrical system and rhythm problems. An electrophysiology study uses catheters inside the heart to record its electrical signals and find where an abnormal rhythm starts.
Catheter ablation
Post Subject: Ablation: 32 Spots in 8 Hours
"“Catheter ablation is a procedure to stop abnormal electrical signals from moving through your heart and causing an irregular heartbeat (also known as an “arrhythmia”).” “The scar prevents abnormal electrical signals from causing irregular heartbeat.”"
Electroanatomic mapping
Post Subject: Mapping the Heart in 3D
A catheter-based method that builds a three-dimensional map of the heart's electrical activity and scar tissue. Doctors use it to find and target the areas that cause dangerous rhythms during ablation. In the book, white showed dead tissue and red showed living tissue.
Antiarrhythmic medicine
Post Subject: Medicines That Steady the Heartbeat
Any medicine used to prevent or control abnormal heart rhythms. Sotalol and amiodarone, both used in the book, are examples.
Sotalol
Post Subject: Sotalol: Started in the Hospital for a Reason
A prescription medicine used to treat certain serious heart rhythm problems. It is usually started in a hospital with heart monitoring, because it can itself trigger dangerous rhythms in some people.
Amiodarone
Post Subject: Amiodarone: The Strong One
A strong antiarrhythmic medicine used for life-threatening ventricular rhythms that other treatments have not controlled. It can be given by IV in an emergency or taken by mouth long term. It can cause serious side effects, including lung, liver, and thyroid problems, so people on it are watched closely.
Defibrillator
Post Subject: The Defibrillator: Electricity That Restarts Rhythm
"“Defibrillators are devices that apply an electric charge or current to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.”"
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
Post Subject: The ICD: A Guardian Under the Skin
"“Implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are small devices surgically placed in the chest.” “An ICD monitors heart rhythms. If it senses dangerous rhythms, it delivers shocks.”"
Defibrillation shock
Post Subject: What a Defibrillator Shock Is
"“They can send a strong, high-energy charge to treat dangerous arrhythmias or cardiac arrest.”"
Antitachycardia pacing (ATP)
Post Subject: Zip. Zip. Zip. Pacing Before the Shock
"“They can also give low-energy pacing therapy to help your heart beat at a normal rate and rhythm.” “If low energy charges do not restore your normal heart rhythm, the device may switch to high-energy charges.”"
Pacemaker
Post Subject: The Pacemaker: Keeping Time
"“A pacemaker is a small device used to treat some arrhythmias.” “Pacemakers can also be used to help your heart chambers beat in sync.”"
Cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D)
Post Subject: CRT-D: Teaching Both Sides to Beat Together
A device that combines an ICD with a special pacemaker. It uses three leads to pace both the right and left ventricles so they squeeze together, which can help a weak heart pump better. It can also shock the heart out of a dangerous rhythm.
Ventricular dyssynchrony
Post Subject: When the Heart's Pumps Are Out of Step
A problem in which the heart's two ventricles do not squeeze at the same time, so the heart pumps less effectively. The book spells it "desynchrony."
Leads
Post Subject: Leads: The Wires to the Heart
Thin, insulated wires that run from an implanted device to the heart, usually through a vein. They carry the heart's signals to the device and carry pacing pulses or shocks back to the heart.
Device interrogation
Post Subject: Device Interrogation: Checking In
"“During office visits, your provider will ‘interrogate,’ or check, your implanted or wearable device.”"
Device programming and reprogramming
Post Subject: Programming the Device
"“A healthcare provider programs the device for your condition.”"
Device programmer
Post Subject: The Device Programmer
A special computer used by doctors and device technicians to talk to an implanted device. It reads the device's stored rhythm events, battery, and lead function, and changes its settings.
VT detection threshold
Post Subject: The Line the Device Watches For
The heart rate setting at which a defibrillator starts treating a rhythm as ventricular tachycardia. A rhythm that runs below this setting may be recorded but not treated.
Phrenic nerve stimulation
Post Subject: Hiccups in Time with Your Heartbeat
The phrenic nerve controls the diaphragm, the main breathing muscle. A pacing lead on the left side of the heart can sit close to this nerve and stimulate it by accident, causing hiccups or twitching in time with each heartbeat. Doctors may fix it by changing the device settings or moving the lead.
Hiccups and the diaphragm
Post Subject: Hiccups and the Diaphragm
"“There are two parts to a hiccup.” “The first is an involuntary movement of your diaphragm.” “The diaphragm is a muscle at the base of your lungs.” “It is the main muscle used for breathing.”"
Epicardial lead
Post Subject: Leads on the Outside of the Heart
A pacing lead that a surgeon attaches to the outside surface of the heart (the epicardium), instead of threading it through a vein to the inside.
Quadripolar left ventricular lead
Post Subject: Four Contacts Instead of One
A left-side pacing lead with four electrodes instead of one or two. It gives the medical team more choices for where to pace the left ventricle, which can help avoid problems such as phrenic nerve stimulation.
Wearable or external defibrillator (vest)
Post Subject: External Defibrillators and the Vest
"“Wearable cardioverter defibrillators (WCDs) are vests with a rechargeable battery.” “Pads on the vest monitor your heart and can deliver high-energy charges to treat dangerous arrhythmias or cardiac arrest.”"
Joules
Post Subject: Joules: Measuring a Shock
The unit used to measure the energy in a defibrillator shock. Higher joules mean a stronger shock.
Critical care and the intensive care unit (ICU)
Post Subject: Inside the ICU
"“Critical care is medical care for people who have life-threatening injuries and illnesses.” “It usually takes place in an intensive care unit (ICU).”"
Anesthesia
Post Subject: Anesthesia: Medicine Against Pain
"“Anesthesia is the use of medicines, called anesthetics, to prevent pain during surgery and other medical procedures.”"
Local anesthesia
Post Subject: Local Anesthesia: Awake but Numb
"“Local anesthesia numbs a small area like a tooth or a cut that needs stitches.” “You are awake during local anesthesia.”"
General anesthesia
Post Subject: General Anesthesia: The Deep Sleep
"“General anesthesia affects your whole body.” “It feels like a deep sleep, but you do not feel anything.”"
Intraoperative awareness with explicit recall
Post Subject: Awake During Surgery: A Rare Experience
A rare event in which a patient under general anesthesia becomes partly aware during surgery and remembers it afterward. Some patients recall sounds or pressure, and a few recall pain. Anesthesiologists estimate it happens in roughly 1 or 2 of every 1,000 patients who receive general anesthesia.
Breathing tube (endotracheal intubation)
Post Subject: The Breathing Tube
A flexible plastic tube placed through the mouth into the windpipe so a machine can breathe for a patient during surgery or critical illness. A person cannot speak while it is in place.
Open-heart surgery and the heart-lung machine
Post Subject: Open-Heart Surgery and the Heart-Lung Machine
"“Your surgeon will make a 6- to 8-inch incision down the center of your chest wall.” “Then, they will cut your breastbone and open your rib cage to reach your heart.” “Your surgeon will connect a heart-lung bypass machine to your heart.”"
Incision between the ribs
Post Subject: Surgery Between the Ribs
"“To perform minimally invasive heart surgery, a surgeon makes small incisions (cuts) in the side of the chest between the ribs.”"
Chest tubes
Post Subject: Chest Tubes After Surgery
"“Your surgeon will insert tubes into your chest to drain fluid.”"
Intravenous (IV) line and infusion
Post Subject: The IV Line
An IV is a thin tube placed in a vein so fluids and medicines can go straight into the bloodstream. An infusion is medicine given slowly through an IV over minutes or hours.
Heart transplant
Post Subject: The Gift of a Heart: What a Transplant Is
"“A heart transplant removes a damaged or diseased heart and replaces it with a healthy one.” “The healthy heart comes from a donor who has died.”"
Transplant waiting list and donor matching
Post Subject: Waiting on the List
"“You often have to wait a long time for an organ transplant.” “Doctors must match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection.”"
Transplant evaluation
Post Subject: The Transplant Evaluation: Every Part of a Life Checked
A detailed series of tests and meetings used to decide whether a person is healthy enough for a transplant and ready to care for the new organ afterward. It looks at the heart, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, infections, cancer risk, teeth, mental health, finances, and support at home.
Right heart catheterization
Post Subject: Right Heart Catheterization
A procedure that threads a thin tube through a vein into the right side of the heart and the lung arteries to measure blood pressures directly. It is a standard part of a heart transplant evaluation.
Chest X-ray
Post Subject: The Chest X-Ray
"“X-rays are a painless medical imaging test.” “They send a small amount of radiation through your body to create pictures of bones and organs.” “For example, chest x-rays can detect pneumonia.”"
Colonoscopy
Post Subject: Why a Colonoscopy Before a Transplant?
"“Colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy are procedures that let your doctor look inside your rectum and colon (large intestine).” “They use instruments called scopes.”"
Cancer screening
Post Subject: Screening: Finding Problems Early
"“Screenings are tests that look for diseases before you have symptoms.” “Screening tests can find diseases early, when they're easier to treat.”"
Compliance (taking medicine as prescribed)
Post Subject: Taking Every Pill, Every Day, for Life
"“If you have a transplant, you must take drugs the rest of your life to help keep your body from rejecting the new organ.”"
Total artificial heart
Post Subject: The Total Artificial Heart
"“A total artificial heart is a pump that is placed in the chest to replace damaged heart ventricles and valves.”"
Ventricular assist device (VAD)
Post Subject: The VAD: A Pump That Helps
"“A ventricular assist device (VAD) is a mechanical pump that helps the heart pump blood through the body when the heart can't pump enough blood on its own.”"
Rejection
Post Subject: Rejection: When the Body Fights the Gift
"“Rejection happens when your immune system attacks the new organ.” “Rejection is most likely to occur within 6 months after the transplant.”"
Immunosuppression (anti-rejection medicine)
Post Subject: Anti-Rejection Medicine
"“You will need to take medicines for the rest of your life to suppress your immune system and help prevent your body from rejecting your new heart.”"
Side effects of anti-rejection medicine
Post Subject: The Cost of Protection
"“These medicines weaken your immune system and increase your chance for infection.” “Their long-term use also can increase your risk for cancer, cause diabetes and osteoporosis, and damage your kidneys.”"
Endomyocardial biopsy (heart biopsy)
Post Subject: The Heart Biopsy
A test that removes tiny pieces of tissue from inside the heart, using a catheter passed through a vein, to check a transplanted heart for early signs of rejection. Biopsies are frequent in the first year and become less frequent as the heart proves stable.
Graft survival
Post Subject: Graft Survival: How Long a New Heart Lasts
How long a transplanted organ keeps working in the person who received it.
Drug toxicity
Post Subject: Drug Toxicity: Too Much of a Good Thing
Harm caused by a medicine, usually when its level in the body is too high or when it is taken for a long time. Anti-rejection medicines are monitored with blood tests partly for this reason.
Psoriasis
Post Subject: Psoriasis: The First Diagnosis
"“Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales.” “You usually get the patches on your elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet, but they can show up on other parts of your body.”"
Differential diagnosis (look-alike skin conditions)
Post Subject: When Conditions Look Alike
"“In addition, several benign or indolent conditions can be confused with mycosis fungoides.”"
Biopsy
Post Subject: 'Let's Do One More': The Biopsy That Found It
"“The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope to check for signs of cancer.”"
Mycosis fungoides (MF)
Post Subject: Mycosis Fungoides: A Cancer That Shows in the Skin
"“Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are diseases in which lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) become malignant (cancerous) and affect the skin.”"
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)
Post Subject: CTCL: Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
"“Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are the two most common types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma).”"
Lymphoma
Post Subject: Lymphoma: Cancer of the Lymph System
"“Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system.” “There are many types of lymphoma.”"
T cells (T lymphocytes)
Post Subject: T Cells: The Body's Defenders
"“Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal.”"
Patch, plaque, and tumor phases
Post Subject: Patch, Plaque, Tumor: The Phases of MF
"“Patch phase: Thin, reddened, eczema-like rash.” “Plaque phase: Small raised bumps (papules) or hardened lesions on the skin, which may be reddened.” “Tumor phase: Tumors form on the skin. These tumors may develop ulcers and the skin may get infected.”"
Staging (TNMB)
Post Subject: Staging: T, N, M, B
"“The process used to find out if cancer has spread from the skin to other parts of the body is called staging.” “T = primary tumor; N = regional lymph node; M = distant metastasis; B = peripheral blood involvement.”"
PET scan
Post Subject: The PET Scan
"“A PET (positron emission tomography) scan is a nuclear imaging test that looks at how well your tissues and organs are working.” “It also checks for signs of cancer.”"
Narrowband UVB phototherapy
Post Subject: The Light Box: Three Times a Week
A skin treatment that uses a narrow band of ultraviolet B light, given in a light booth several times a week, with the dose raised slowly as the skin responds. It is a standard skin-directed treatment for early-stage mycosis fungoides, and studies report high rates of complete clearing in early disease.
Skin-directed therapy
Post Subject: Skin-Directed Therapy
Treatment aimed only at the skin, such as light therapy, creams, or targeted radiation, instead of treatment that travels through the whole body.
Remission
Post Subject: Remission Is Not the Same as Cured
A decrease in or disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer. In complete remission (complete response), no disease can be detected. In partial remission (partial response), the disease has shrunk but has not fully cleared. Remission is not the same as a cure.
Histopathology
Post Subject: Histopathology: How a Biopsy Becomes a Diagnosis
The study of tissue under a microscope to find disease. It is how a biopsy becomes a diagnosis.
Erythema, pruritus, and lesion
Post Subject: Redness, Itching, and Lesions: Three Skin Words
Erythema is redness of the skin. Pruritus is itching. A lesion is any area of abnormal tissue, such as a rash, patch, or growth, before it has been identified more specifically.
COVID-19
Post Subject: COVID-19 Without a Strong Immune System
"“COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an illness caused by a virus.” “This virus is a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.”"
Shell shock
Post Subject: Shell Shock: What They Called It Then
"“At that time, some symptoms of present-day PTSD were known as ‘shell shock’ because they were seen as a reaction to the explosion of artillery shells.” “Shell shock was first thought to be the result of hidden damage to the brain caused by the impact of the big guns.”"
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Post Subject: PTSD: The Wound No One Sees
"“Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that some people develop after they experience or see a traumatic event.” “The traumatic event may be life-threatening, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.”"
ICD shock anxiety and phantom shocks (device-related traumatic stress)
Post Subject: Phantom Shocks: Real Fear, Real Help
Ongoing fear of being shocked by an implanted defibrillator, which can develop after real shocks. Some people feel a "phantom shock," the strong sensation of being shocked when the device has not fired, often waking them from sleep. Researchers link it to memory of past shocks and to anxiety and traumatic stress. It is a recognized, real experience, and it can be treated.
Depression
Post Subject: Depression: More Than a Bad Day
"“Depression is more than a feeling of being sad or irritable for a few days.” “It's a serious mood disorder.”"
Bipolar disorder
Post Subject: Bipolar Disorder
"“Along with mood swings, bipolar disorder causes changes in behavior, energy levels, and activity levels.”"
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Post Subject: You Can Call or Text 988
"“The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States and its territories.”"
Alcohol use disorder (alcoholism)
Post Subject: Alcohol Use Disorder: A Medical Condition
"“Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.” “It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism.”"
Addiction (substance use disorder)
Post Subject: Addiction Changes the Brain, and It Can Be Treated
A long-lasting medical condition in which a person keeps using alcohol or drugs even though it is causing harm to their health, relationships, work, or safety. It changes how the brain works, which is why stopping is hard, and it can be treated.
Dementia
Post Subject: Dementia
"“Dementia is a loss of mental functions that is severe enough to affect your daily life and activities.”"
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Post Subject: ALS
"“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a nervous system disease that attacks nerve cells called neurons in your brain and spinal cord.”"
Autism spectrum disorder
Post Subject: Autism Spectrum Disorder
"“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life.” “It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns.”"
Congenital heart disease
Post Subject: Congenital Heart Disease: Born With It
A heart problem that is present at birth, affecting the heart's walls, valves, or blood vessels. Some forms are mild and others need surgery, sometimes more than once over a lifetime.
Blood pressure and high blood pressure (hypertension)
Post Subject: Blood Pressure: The Push Against the Walls
"“Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries.” “High blood pressure (hypertension) develops when blood flows through arteries at higher than normal pressures.” “It increases the risk for heart disease and stroke.”"
Yoga
Post Subject: Yoga: Comfort and Discipline
"“Yoga is an ancient and complex practice, rooted in Indian philosophy.” “It began as a spiritual practice but has become popular as a way of promoting physical and mental well-being.”"
Meditation
Post Subject: Meditation: Calming the Mind
"“The term ‘meditation’ refers to a variety of practices that focus on mind and body integration and are used to calm the mind and enhance overall well-being.”"
Aromatherapy
Post Subject: Aromatherapy
"“Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants (flowers, herbs, or trees) as a complementary health approach.”"
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
Post Subject: CoQ10: Already in Your Body
"“Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a substance that is naturally present in the human body, with the highest levels in the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.”"
Acupuncture
Post Subject: 'Acupuncture Is Not Going to Fix This'
"“Acupuncture is a technique in which practitioners insert fine needles into the skin to treat health problems.”"
PSYCH-K
Post Subject: PSYCH-K: A Self-Help Practice
A self-help method that uses muscle testing and guided exercises with the goal of changing a person's beliefs and thought patterns. It is not a medical treatment, and no U.S. government health agency defines or endorses it. The author describes it as helping how he approached difficult days, not as a treatment for heart disease or cancer.
Sound and neuroacoustic practices
Post Subject: Sound as Comfort
The use of music, tones, and other sound patterns to help with relaxation, focus, or meditation. These are comfort practices, not treatments for disease. The book says plainly that sound did not repair the author's heart or treat his lymphoma.
Plant-based, low-salt eating
Post Subject: Twelve Years Mostly Plant-Based and Low-Salt
A way of eating built mostly or entirely on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, with little or no animal food, combined with cutting back on sodium. Lower sodium helps control blood pressure and fluid buildup in heart failure. The author followed a mostly vegan, lower-salt diet for about twelve years.
Cardiologist
Post Subject: The Cardiologist
A doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Cardiothoracic surgeon
Post Subject: The Cardiothoracic Surgeon
A surgeon who operates on the heart, lungs, and other organs in the chest, including bypass surgery and heart transplants.
Anesthesiologist
Post Subject: The Anesthesiologist
A doctor who specializes in anesthesia, giving medicines that block pain or put a patient to sleep, and watching breathing, heart rhythm, and blood pressure during surgery.
Pulmonologist
Post Subject: The Pulmonologist
A doctor who specializes in the lungs and breathing.
Infectious disease specialist
Post Subject: The Infectious Disease Specialist
A doctor who specializes in infections. Transplant teams include one because anti-rejection medicines make infections more likely and more serious.
Transplant coordinator
Post Subject: The Transplant Coordinator: Your Guide
A nurse or other specialist who guides a patient through the transplant process: evaluation, the waiting list, the call, surgery, and follow-up care. The coordinator is often the patient's main contact with the team.
Dermatologist and dermatopathologist
Post Subject: The Skin Doctors
A dermatologist is a doctor who specializes in skin, hair, and nails. A dermatopathologist is a doctor who studies skin biopsies under a microscope to make a diagnosis.
Oncologist
Post Subject: The Oncologist
A doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer.
Psychologist
Post Subject: The Psychologist on the Transplant Team
A mental health professional trained to assess and treat emotional and behavioral concerns. Transplant teams include one to help patients prepare for the stress of transplant and recovery.
Directories
Credible Healthcare & Advocacy Organizations
Established non-profits, government agencies, and support organizations grouped by pathway for patients, caregivers, and families.
Heart & cardiovascular
Heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, and recovery.
American Heart Association
Education, prevention, recovery
Mended Hearts
Peer support after cardiac events
Transplantation
Organ donation, waiting, and life after transplant.
Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network
Donor and recipient information
Transplant Living
Life after transplant
Cancer
Cancer education, especially post-transplant risk.
National Cancer Institute
Plain-language cancer information
CancerCare
Free professional support
Caregivers
Support for the people doing the work outside the clinic.
Caregiver Action Network
Caregiver education and support
Family Caregiver Alliance
Practical and emotional tools
Patient advocacy
Speaking up, navigating, and being heard.
Patient Advocate Foundation
Case management and help
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Partnering with your care team
Mental health & crisis
Trauma after medical events, and crisis support.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988, US
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Support and education
Alcohol & addiction
Where the book meets recovery, with caution and care.
SAMHSA National Helpline
1-800-662-4357, free and confidential
Veterans
Trauma resources connected to the broader human experience.
Veterans Crisis Line
Dial 988 then press 1
VA PTSD programs
Trauma treatment and education
Navigating healthcare
Practical help finding and coordinating care.
Healthcare.gov
Insurance and coverage
Eldercare Locator
Local services for older adults
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