12 plain-language guides
Find the words you want to understand.
Start with a term from your report or a question from your last appointment. Each guide explains the basics and offers questions for your treating team.
Heart procedures
What is PCI?
The catheter procedure often called angioplasty or “getting a stent.”
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat is CABG?
“Bypass surgery” creates another route for blood to reach heart muscle.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat is TAVR?
A replacement aortic valve is delivered through a catheter.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat is SAVR?
Surgical aortic valve replacement treats a damaged aortic valve.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat is an AFib ablation?
A procedure to interrupt electrical signals that help trigger or sustain AFib.
Read the guideAFib, medicines & heart rhythm
What is atrial fibrillation?
AFib is a heart-rhythm condition. Its care plan may have several separate goals.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat are anticoagulants?
Medicines often called “blood thinners” help reduce harmful clot formation.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEHow to understand a Holter monitor report
The most useful starting point is the question the monitor was meant to answer, followed by what happened while you wore it.
Read the guideEveryday numbers & test reports
What do blood pressure numbers mean?
The top and bottom numbers describe pressure at different parts of a heartbeat.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat do cholesterol numbers mean?
A lipid panel contains several numbers. They answer different questions.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEWhat does ejection fraction mean?
An EF percentage describes one part of heart function. It is not a grade for your heart or a diagnosis on its own.
Read the guide PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDEHow to understand an echocardiogram report
Start with the written conclusion and your reason for having the test. You do not have to decode every measurement before your next visit.
Read the guideThese guides provide general background for your care conversations. Sources appear in each guide. About our content.
A useful list for your next visit
Keep medicine names, doses, directions, and questions together. Your review includes a medication list organized from your records and conversation.
Print a blank medication list