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cardioplegia

cardioplegia

1 9.5
A way doctors stop the heart during surgery to protect the heart muscle
  • noun
  • /ˌkɑrdioʊˈpliːdʒə/
  • Specialized
: cardioplejía
  • To prevent damage during the procedure, doctors administered cardioplegia before starting the heart surgery.

Examples

  • One patient had developed possible meningitis after receiving a back injection of a different steroid, and another patient received a cardioplegia solution that is used during heart surgery.

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  • On Monday, the FDA raised concerns about two more drugs: a steroid called triamcinolone acetonide and another product called cardioplegia used during heart surgery.

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  • No infections tied to the bacterial contamination of the betamethasone or the cardioplegia solution have been detected, officials said.

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  • Lab tests found Bacillus halmapalus and Brevibacillus choshinensis in the cardioplegia solution.

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  • Ten different kinds of bacteria were detected in the drugs, including eight in separate lots of betamethasone, a steroid injection used to relieve severe itching, and two more types of bacteria found in a batch of cardioplegia solution used to stop the heart during surgery, the Food and Drug Administration reported.

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  • During surgery, the surgeon used cardioplegia to intentionally stop the patient's heart and protect the muscle.

  • The team prepared the cardioplegia solution carefully to ensure the heart remained safe during the operation.

Surface Forms

cardioplegia singular
cardioplegias plural

Morphology

cardioplegia = cardio + pleg + ia

The medical combining form 'cardio-' plus 'pleg' and '-ia' suggests a heart-related paralysis or stoppage condition, but the precise surgical meaning is specialized.

Etymology

The word cardioplegia comes from two parts: cardio- meaning 'heart' and -plegia meaning 'paralysis'. So it means 'heart paralysis', which is a clear image for the medical practice of intentionally stopping the heart during surgery to protect it.