Bradycardias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition characterized by an unusually slow heart rate, often defined as fewer than 60 beats per minute
2. It can occur due to various factors, including heart disease, medications, or as a natural physiological response
3. This medical term refers collectively to instances of a reduced heartbeat that may require monitoring or treatment depending on symptoms and causes

Etymology: "Bradycardias" is the plural of "bradycardia," a medical term for an unusually slow heartbeat, usually taken as under 60 beats per minute. The singular is built from two Ancient Greek words: "bradys," meaning "slow," and "kardia," meaning "heart." Put together they describe exactly what the condition is, a slow heart, with no mystery in the parts. Both halves are old and familiar from other English words. "Kardia" is the root behind "cardiac," "cardiology" and "cardiologist," and the "-cardia" ending appears in other heart-related terms such as "tachycardia" (a fast heartbeat). "Brady-" is the Greek prefix for slowness, and it turns up in "bradykinesia," a term for slowed movement. The pairing "brady-" and "tachy-" forms a neat opposite set in medicine. Like most such terms, this was built from classical Greek roots in modern medical language rather than used by the ancient Greeks themselves, since the Greeks had no concept of a heart rate measured in beats per minute.