Cardiac failure is a chronic condition wherein a structural abnormality or disease limits the heart's capacity to pump an adequate amount of blood through the body. Medications augment heart function in people with cardiac failure, also known as...
Cardiac decompensation--more commonly known as congestive heart failure--is a serious condition in which the heart can't pump an efficient amount of blood to the rest of the body, according to the American Heart Association. Medline Plus says...
Liver disease known as cirrhosis commonly occurs in two stages, compensated and decompensated. In first stage of liver damage, the liver still has the ability to function normally or compensate for the damage. When extensive damage occurs and the...
Heart failure is a condition wherein an abnormality of the heart limits its ability to pump sufficient blood. Doctors prescribe medications to help the heart function and meet the body's needs. When this proves successful, the heart failure is...
The treatments for acute decompensated heart failure include restoring circulation, strengthening the failing pump, relieving symptoms and stabilizing the patient until long-term treatment options can be identified and established. Patients with...
Sending your teenager to a wilderness camp can be intimidating to you and your teen. Most teens will resist the idea strongly. According to Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, a clinical psychologist specializing in teens, "conventional discipline strategies...
Liver cirrhosis is the end stage of chronic liver disease when normal liver cells have been injured and non-functioning scar tissue has formed. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states that Hepatitis C infection and chronic alcohol...
Cirrhosis and chronic liver failure were the 12th most common cause of death in the United States in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cirrhosis represents the end stage of any chronic liver disease, says the...
Cirrhosis is the end stage of chronic liver disease, in which normally functioning liver tissue has been replaced by non-functioning scar tissue. Commonly, the early stages of cirrhosis are asymptomatic, making diagnosis difficult. However, the...
Signs and symptoms of cirrhosis vary between the different stages and may be undetected until after the initial stage. Biological factors may play a part in inheriting cirrhosis, but that is rare. Behavioral factors play the biggest role. Knowing...
Heart failure affects approximately five million Americans and causes over one million hospitalizations annually, according to Debra Moser, DNSc and lead author of a 2008 article addressing decompensated heart failure published by the Postgraduate...
Blood ammonia comes primarily from the bacterial breakdown of unabsorbed dietary protein in the intestine. Intestinal ammonia passes into the bloodstream and travels to the liver, which converts ammonia into urea. Urea subsequently passes from the...
There are three types of shock, caused by several different initiators. It's important to monitor blood pressure changes and a few other symptoms to determine the type and cause of shock and proper intervention options. All forms of shock need...
Armour Thyroid, used in the treatment of mild to severe hypothyroidism in both adults and children, is considered a more "natural" form of the thyroid hormone than other, popular, thyroid medications. Although Armour carries this designation, it...
The last stage of liver failure, cirrhosis, usually develops over a number of years-- although acute liver failure can occur. Cirrhosis can be compensated--meaning that the liver retains enough function to perform vital processes--or...
The term "deconditioned heart" can indicate different degrees of disability. If you have a deconditioned heart, you could have a disorder ranging from stable heart disease to severe heart damage. The type of exercise that you can do for...
Cirrhosis of the liver is a degenerative process in which healthy liver tissue dies and tough scar tissue and nodules grow in its place. Common causes of cirrhosis include habitual alcohol abuse, biliary obstruction and hemochromatosis....
Anaphylactic shock is an allergic reaction that causes edema, also known as swelling of the airways. It is one of the most frightening types of shock because the airway is being occluded making breathing extremely difficult for the patient....
Urosepsis is the result of a urinary tract infection that gets into the bloodstream. Bacteria will move from the bladder into the kidneys and crosses into blood. If left untreated, urosepsis can result in complications that can shut down major...
Enlargement, or hypertrophy, of the prostate gland is a condition that affects many men of increasing age. It is commonly referred to as benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH. The majority of symptoms occur due to growth of the prostate into other...
A diagnosis of scoliosis may come as the result of a school screening. It might be found as a result of a friend or relative noticing a postural asymmetry. It may come as an incidental finding on an X-ray taken for an unrelated condition. For mild...
Extra skin on the upper eyelids, upper eyelids that droop or upper eyelids that turn in or out can all be repaired with plastic surgery. Upper eyelid surgery is an outpatient procedure that is usually performed by an ophthalmologist but can be...
Cirrhosis of the liver consists of a chronic and progressive destruction of healthy liver tissue and replaces tissue with scarred, nonfunctioning tissue. The liver performs several hundred functions vital to the body. These include metabolizing...
Seasonal influenza is a highly contagious virus that usually strikes in the winter months. A yearly vaccine is available that greatly lowers the odds of contracting influenza. Also called the flu, the symptoms of this virus vary from mild to...
Heart failure can be defined as the inability of the heart to pump blood effectively to the body. The left ventricle of the heart pushes blood out to the cells and tissues, while the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs. Although either, or...
Cytomel, or liothyronine sodium, is used to treat hypothyroidism, coma and goiter, and as a thyroid replacement hormone in both adults and children. The most serious and life-threatening side effects of Cytomel occur in the cardiovascular system....
While ibuprofen is available over the counter (OTC) at the 200mg level under brand names like Motrin, Advil and Midol, 800mg ibuprofen must be prescribed by a physician. This nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) helps relieve pain and...
The human body keeps blood sodium concentration in a tight range of 135 to 145 meq/L. According to Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, low blood sodium, or hyponatremia, is defined as a sodium level less than 135 meq/L. Mild hyponatremia...
When you take in a breath of air, oxygen transfers from your lungs to your blood. If your lungs are unable to deliver an adequate amount of oxygen to your blood, then you may require supplemental oxygen. Various diseases can cause this...
