aerobic exercise, physical activity that uses your body’s large muscle groups, is rhythmic and repetitive. It increases your heart rate and how much oxygen your body uses. Examples of aerobic exercises include walking, cycling, and swimming. It reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

angina, chest pain

aortic valve, valve that controls flow from the ventricles into your aorta, the major blood vessel that takes oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body

arrhythmia, irregular heartbeat

atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries

body mass index (BMI), a screening tool based on normal height/weight charts that helps health care providers evaluate whether a patient’s weight may lead to health problems

cardiac shielding, protecting the heart with a protective covering while radiation is administered

cardiomyopathy, chronic disease of the heart muscle which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood; depending on the type, heart muscle could become thicker, stiffer or larger than normal

constrictive pericarditis, when the sac surrounding the heart becomes tough and inelastic and can interfere with the heart’s ability to pump efficiently

coronary arteries, arteries that carry oxygen to the heart muscle

coronary artery disease, when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries and hardens, blocking the blood flow and forming clots

edema, swelling caused by fluid trapped in your body’s tissues.

endocarditis, a serious heart infection caused by bacteria entering the bloodstream

hyperfractionation, newer treatment protocols giving smaller doses of radiation more often

isometric exercise, exercises in which your muscles are engaged, but they are not changing length; examples are weight lifting, wrestling, and rock climbing

mitral valve, the valve between the left atrium and left ventricle that prevents the blood from flowing backward

pericarditis, inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart

pulmonary valve, valve that controls flow of oxygen-poor blood to the lungs where blood gets rid of carbon dioxide and gains new oxygen-rich blood

radiation fractions, amount of radiation delivered at any individual visit

Raynaud’s phenomenon, fingers and toes become white or bluish due to spasms of the arteries leading to the hands, usually triggered by cold or emotion

restrictive cardiomyopathy, when the heart muscle becomes stiff and the heart cannot adequately fill with blood

total radiation dose, amount of radiation delivered at each visit times the number of visits

tricuspid valve, the valve between the right atrium and right ventricle that prevents the blood from flowing backward