Glossary

arrhythmia is the medical terms for a disturbance of the heart’s natural rhythm.

• tachycardia refers to when the heart beats too fast.
• bradycardia is when the heart beats too slowly.

Hypertension is the medical name for high blood pressure (BP). Blood pressure is measured as two numbers ie 120/80. The first number is systolic BP – the pressure when your heart beats. The second number is diastolic BP, which is the pressure when you heart rests between beats.

Target range for BP is usually 120/80. Drugs to reduce BP are sometimes recommended if this is above 130/85 or 140/90. This also depends on other risk factors for heart disease, including age, sex, ethnicity ajd other health factors.

Hypertension increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke, particularly when diastolic BP is high.

See: Hypotension (low blood pressure).

resistance tests – tests to show changes to HIV that are associated with drug resistance. Genotype resistance test looks for genetic changes. Phenotype resistance test see whether individual drugs are still active when placed in a test tube with HIV.

Resistance tests.

seroreversion – the word for when the baby born to an HIV-positive mother, no longer has the mother’s antibodies to HIV.

DNA – an abbreviation for the scientific word for genes and genetic material. It is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. See RNA.