Aortic Stenosis (AS) is a disease of the aortic valve that obstructs the outflow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body. It's usually diagnosed by a combination of history, including symptoms of chest pain and dizziness, as well as...
Vitamins, including vitamin B12, are important for your health. Vitamin B12 is especially important if you are trying to become pregnant, as a lack of it can cause severe birth defects. Talk to your doctor if you have a B12 deficiency and want to...
The American Heart Association warns that cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Individuals who smoke cigarettes have a higher risk of developing chronic disorders that include...
In addition to causing health problems for smokers, cigarette smoke has become recognized as an indoor pollutant that threatens the nonsmoking public. Children and fetuses prove especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of tobacco smoke, which...
Emphysema is one of the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD's). With this condition, tiny air sacs in both lungs gradually change into a form that reduces the amount of oxygen getting into the bloodstream. Other damaging effects alter the...
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that resides in the lower portion of the neck below the voice box or larynx. It releases two hormones called T3 and T4, which are responsible for controlling the body’s metabolism. The thyroid does...
The Surgeon General's report of 1982 states that cigarette smoking is the single major cause of cancer death and that one in five of all deaths are the result of tobacco use. It is not difficult to understand why these statements are true when you...
Cigarettes contains nicotine, a drug that makes smoking highly addictive. In addition to nicotine, tobacco and cigarette smoke contain thousands of other chemicals, many of which are known carcinogens. Cigarette smoking is associated not only with...
Pectus excavatum is a condition where your breastbone is sunken, making your chest look like it is caving inward. It is more common in males than females and is usually present at birth, but it may worsen during adolescence. In severe cases,...
Beta blockers are medications used for treating high blood pressure, chest pain, congestive heart failure, irregular heartbeat and glaucoma. They work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, on your body....
In medicine, compliance and elasticity are different ways to describe how stretchy, springy or flexible something is. The more compliant the lungs are, the more they are able to stretch in response to a force, and the lower the compliance, the...
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the lower portion of the neck, below the voice box, or larynx. It releases two hormones, T3 and T4, which are responsible for controlling the body’s metabolism. The thyroid does not release T3...
Radiation therapy for lung cancer, breast cancer and other types of cancer that may involve the chest can impact the lungs. The damage to the lungs depends on the area of lung that was involved in the radiation and the amount of radiation used in...
When a doctor recommends a bone density scan or a densitometry (DXA or DEXA) scan, it is to rule out serious conditions like osteopenia ( the beginning of bone loss) or osteoporosis (thinning bones). These diseases if untreated can lead to the...
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a condition where blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs is abnormally high. Symptoms, including shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting, can be made worse by exertion, meaning patients have a decreased...
The thyroid gland produces and secretes the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine. These hormones circulate in the bloodstream, controlling the overall pace of body functions. Abnormally increased or decreased thyroid hormone...
Health conditions, such as thyroid disease, can make exercising difficult or even impossible. Thyroid disease manifests itself as either an underactive thyroid gland, or hypothyroidism. The disease can also cause overfunctioning of the gland, or...
Your red blood cells are expressly designed to perform one function: as they course through the tiny capillaries in your lungs, these oddly shaped discs capture life-giving oxygen from the air you breathe, transport it to the remotest corner of...
Bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide is a prescription drug combination used for the treatment of high blood pressure. This medication contains a beta blocker, which slows the heart rate and decreases the force of the heartbeat, and a...
Iron deficiency occurs in two stages. During the first stage, your body gradually depletes stored iron. During the second stage, not enough iron is available for the production of red blood cells, so you become anemic. Red blood cells use iron to...
Stamina is the body's ability to sustain itself under prolonged physical and/or emotional stress. Positive lifestyle habits such as eating a proper diet, exercising regularly and effectively managing stress can contribute to increased stamina and...
Numerous conditions or factors can cause low potassium and high blood pressure. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, potassium is an important mineral and electrolyte that helps your cells, tissues and organs function...
A stroke occurs when there is either a break or block in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Strokes that result from blocked arteries are referred to as ischemic; strokes that result from a break in an artery are referred to as...
Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, most commonly results from alcohol abuse or hepatitis. In end-stage cirrhosis, the liver's function has significantly declined, and you are more likely to have symptoms of this condition that can make physical...
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Cigarette smoke contains many harmful ingredients, with nicotine and carbon monoxide being among the most lethal. The...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that smoking accounts for approximately 443,000 deaths each year in the United States. That is one of every five deaths that occur, or more than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol, motor vehicle...
Many elements in tobacco and cigarette smoke harm the human body, causing a wide variety of health problems. Cigarette smoking can cause disease in people who smoke, people who breathe the air around smokers and people who contact nicotine...
Failing to keep the heart healthy can have major consequences. A heart attack or any other injury to the heart may cause irreversible damage, otherwise known as congestive heart failure (CHF). The Centers for Disease Control reports the estimated...
As smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes takes a toll on the body, the risk for health problems grows, while financial stability shrinks. Long-term tobacco use has been linked with a wide range of diseases and mental and physical disorders, not the...
Wheezing is continued coarse or troubled breathing often associated with a lung disease. Learn about wheezing in this respiratory health video.
If your chest starts to feel sore and you develop a cough followed by the chills or a slight fever, you just might have bronchitis. Bronchitis is a condition that occurs when the inner walls that line the main air passageways of your lungs become...
