HH
Abbreviation with 5 meanings
| Stands for | Hiatal hernia |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 5 |
| Categories | Medical, Units & Measurements, Religion |
| Also written | H.H., hh |
HH has five meanings. The most common are Hiatal hernia (gastroenterology) and Home health (hospital); it can also stand for Hereditary hemochromatosis, Hands high and His Holiness.
Meanings of HH at a glance
| # | HH stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiatal hernia | Medical › Gastroenterology |
| 2 | Home health | Medical › Hospital |
| 3 | Hereditary hemochromatosis | Medical › Gastroenterology |
| 4 | Hands high | Units & Measurements › US Customary and Imperial Unit |
| 5 | His Holiness | Religion › Religious Title |
1. Hiatal hernia
Medical · Gastroenterology Abbreviations
Protrusion of part of the stomach up through the diaphragmatic hiatus into the chest. Sliding hernias, where the gastroesophageal junction moves upward, are by far the most common and promote reflux; paraesophageal hernias are rarer but can twist or strangulate.
Example: EGD: 4 cm sliding HH with LA grade A esophagitis; continue PPI, consider surgical evaluation.
Hiatal hernias are classified as types I (sliding) through IV, with types II–IV called paraesophageal. Many small hernias cause no symptoms and are found incidentally on CT. Large symptomatic paraesophageal hernias are repaired laparoscopically, often with fundoplication. In hepatology HH also means hereditary hemochromatosis.
2. Home health
Medical · Hospital Abbreviations
Skilled care delivered in the patient's home by nurses, therapists and aides, such as wound care, IV therapy, teaching and rehabilitation after a hospital stay.
Example: D/C home with HH: skilled nursing for wound care, PT for gait.
Medicare covers home health when a patient is homebound, needs intermittent skilled care and has a face-to-face encounter documented by a physician or allowed practitioner. Agencies complete the OASIS assessment. In gastroenterology HH means hiatal hernia or hereditary hemochromatosis.
3. Hereditary hemochromatosis
Medical · Gastroenterology Abbreviations
Inherited disorder of excessive intestinal iron absorption, most often from homozygous C282Y mutations in the HFE gene, leading to iron overload in the liver, heart, pancreas and joints. Treatment is regular phlebotomy to bring ferritin down to target levels.
Example: Transferrin saturation 68 percent, ferritin 1,100, C282Y homozygous; HH, start weekly phlebotomy.
C282Y homozygosity is found in roughly 1 in 200 to 300 people of northern European ancestry, but far fewer develop organ damage. Ferritin above 1,000 ng/mL raises the risk of cirrhosis. Classic untreated disease was called "bronze diabetes" for its skin pigmentation and pancreatic damage. Men tend to present earlier than women.
4. Hands high (hh)
Units & Measurements · US Customary and Imperial Unit Abbreviations
Height of a horse measured in hands from the ground to the top of the withers, where one hand is exactly 4 inches. The figure after the point counts extra inches, so 15.2 hh means 15 hands and 2 inches, or 62 inches.
Example: For sale: bay gelding, 16.1 hh, nine years old, schooled in dressage.
The point is not a decimal: 15.4 would be written 16.0. In competition rules, a pony is generally an animal under 14.2 hh, about 147 cm. The hand derives from the width of a man's palm and is now fixed at exactly 4 inches.
5. His Holiness (H.H.)
Religion · Religious Title Abbreviations
Style of address for the pope and for leaders of some other religious communities, such as the Dalai Lama and the Coptic pope. It appears in formal correspondence, news headlines and diplomatic documents.
Example: H.H. the Dalai Lama addressed the conference by video link.
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is styled "His All-Holiness". In speech, the pope is addressed as "Your Holiness" or "Holy Father". Both letters are usually capitalized, and some publications omit the periods.
Related abbreviations
More gastroenterology abbreviations
- GU – Gastric ulcer
- H. pylori – Helicobacter pylori
- HCC – Hepatocellular carcinoma
- HE – Hepatic encephalopathy
- HIDA – Hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan
- HNPCC – Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer
- HRS – Hepatorenal syndrome
- IBD – Inflammatory bowel disease
See all 85 gastroenterology abbreviations →
More hospital abbreviations
- HAC – Hospital-acquired condition
- HAI – Healthcare-associated infection
- HCAHPS – Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems
- HCW – Healthcare worker
- ICF/IID – Intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual…
- ICU – Intensive care unit
- IMCU – Intermediate care unit
- IP – Inpatient
See all 89 hospital abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.