According to HeartHealthyWomen.org, many women wait two hours or more after the first symptoms of a heart attack to seek help, and that delay in treatment makes them more likely to die or suffer serious long-term complications. Women are more...
Statin drugs are commonly used to lower high cholesterol levels. They block a compound made in your body that is needed to make cholesterol. In addition, these drugs may assist your body in reabsorbing cholesterol that otherwise would build up in...
When you suffer a heart attack, medically termed a myocardial infarction, damage occurs to certain parts of your heart muscle, weakening its ability to pump. Damaged muscle allows enzymes to leak from the muscle into your bloodstream. Testing your...
One symptom of coronary artery disease is an angina. This symptom occurs when the heart muscle doesn't receive enough oxygen via the blood. The diminished blood flow can cause chest pain. An angina is a type of chest pain. It is a somewhat common...
When America as a country first began to become health and diet conscious, writes Harvard nutritionist, Dr. Walter Willett, we believed that there was one, completely unhealthy, kind of cholesterol. We now understand that there are three kinds of...
The lipid profile is a group of blood tests ordered to determine the risk of coronary heart disease. It typically includes total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides. Together,...
Loaded with omega-3 polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, fish oil is critical to your body's well being. The body does not produce fatty acids. The body uses fatty acids for normal growth and development, brain function, cognitive abilities and...
Excess coffee intake can lead to a variety of symptoms that mimic those of a heart attack. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath and lightheadedness can all occur in individuals who consume more than the recommended daily...
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and, according to 2010 information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year about 785,000 Americans suffer a first heart attack, while another 470,000 who have...
If you lower your cholesterol, you lower your risk for developing heart disease. It is the main indicator of your risk for heart attack, heart disease and stroke. There are two types of cholesterol that should concern you: LDL and HDL. The...
In some cases, chest pressure while exercising can be serious. In others, it might be the result of an inconvenient injury. While exercise is undeniably good for you, the American Heart Association recommends starting slowly if you have not...
Activella, a medication used to treat the symptoms of menopause, is a combination of two hormones--estradiol, a form of estrogen, and norethindrone, a form of progesterone. When combined into one medication, these hormones help relieve hot flashes...
Each year, over a million men and women are diagnosed with heart disease. More than 460,000 people will suffer from a fatal cardiac event annually. Heart disease is called the silent killer because many people are unaware that they have heart...
Heart attacks may not happen dramatically or with intense symptoms. Many heart attacks begin slowly with mild pain or discomfort, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These symptoms can happen erratically in women, making...
Coronary heart disease (coronary artery disease) occurs with inadequate blood flow through the arteries surrounding the heart. A narrowing of blood vessels from deposits of fat and other bodily substances restricts blood flow. This narrowing...
Cardiac output is equal to heart rate multiplied by stroke volume, or the amount of blood pumped by your ventricles with each heartbeat. Diseases effecting cardiac tissue may lead to decreases in cardiac output. This occurs because stroke volume...
Laboratory blood tests can help doctors to diagnose problems in their patients. While there is no such thing as a "standard blood test," there are several common blood test panels that your doctor may recommend. These can be ordered as part of a...
Research shows that one of the complications that results from rheumatoid arthritis is disfigurement. When this happens in the hands it could make daily activities extremely difficult to do. If you are in a field of work that requires you to use...
Amyloid proteins are abnormal types of protein. They are produced by cells in the bone marrow and when they build up and get deposited in tissues or organs, amyloidosis takes place. The parts of the body most affected by this disease include the...
Pulse pressure is actually related to the blood pressure. Blood pressure is one of the most commonly taken medical measurements because it is easy to obtain and gives a lot of information, both about the cardiovascular system and your overall health.
A heart attack refers to a sudden and potentially life-threatening condition in which the heart does not receive enough blood. The Mayo Clinic indicates that heart attack symptoms include crushing chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting,...
Statin drugs such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world. Doctors start patients on statins when total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol--the"bad" cholesterol--are too high....
Your body's muscle tissue contains several enzymes, which are catalysts that cause chemical reactions. Your muscles require chemical reactions to supply them with energy, help them repair damage and help them function. High muscle enzymes in your...
A healthy body needs potassium for normal functioning of the heart, muscles, and nerves. Hyperkalemia (high potassium) is typically a symptom of another problem. Potassium levels are monitored while a patient is being treated for a kidney...
Cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and often leaves you winded and breathing hard from exertion. Chest pains can be a huge red warning flag of serious health concerns, including a heart attack. However, chest pains don't always indicate...
The heart is a muscular pump. When a person experiences a heart attack, a portion of the heart muscle is damaged, causing symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain that can radiate, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and sweating. One way of...
Herbal weight-loss formulas, fat burners, diet teas and other weight-loss supplements promise miraculous results. But many are ineffective, and there are dangers even with herbal or "natural" formulas, warns the Food and Drug Administration. Many...
Electrocardiograms, known as EKGs, can give your doctor a quick clue about life and death situations involving your cardiac health. The EKG is a diagnostic tool that represents the electrical activity that controls your heart. According to Medline...
With the burgeoning burden of chronic disease, modern medicine increasingly focuses on disease prevention, which decreases the personal and societal hardship of illness. Medications and lifestyle choices are the principal modes of disease...
