cantering rhythm
- noun
- Specialized
:
ritmo de galope
- The doctor detected a cantering rhythm during the cardiac examination, suggesting a possible abnormality.
Examples
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After the patient complained of fatigue, the cardiologist listened for signs such as a cantering rhythm.
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Patients with a cantering rhythm may require further testing.
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A cantering rhythm is sometimes heard in patients with advanced heart failure.
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The doctor detected a cantering rhythm during the examination.
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A cantering rhythm can be an important indicator of underlying heart conditions during a physical exam.
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When the doctor heard a cantering rhythm, she advised the patient to undergo an echocardiogram.
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The presence of a cantering rhythm in an ECG can suggest that the heart may not be functioning properly.
Synonyms
28
7.4
An uneven heartbeat that is faster, slower, or not regular
5
5.1
An irregular heartbeat that is too fast or too slow
An extra sound the heart makes that may show a heart problem
An uneven beating of the heart that is not steady
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'cantering' (a three-beat horse gait) modifies 'rhythm' to indicate a rhythm that resembles a canter or gallop. This is a transparent metaphorical extension commonly used cross-linguistically (e.g., 'galloping rhythm'), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The noun cantering rhythm comes from the idea that a strange heart sound reminded people of a horse's canter, a quick set of hoofbeats. Doctors used that horse image to name a heart sound with an 'extra heartbeat', so the phrase now means a heartbeat pattern that may show a problem.