Heart failure is defined as the point at which the heart fails to pump enough blood throughout the body, resulting in fluid retention in the feet, ankles, legs and lungs. It also causes fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and night coughs. CDC...
Your body needs vitamin K2 for functions such as blood clotting. The small intestine can form some vitamin K2; however, supplementation may benefit health in a number of ways. Talk to your doctor before beginning a vitamin regimen to prevent,...
Of the K vitamins, K-2 is one of the most bioavailable forms, meaning that it can be readily used by the body. Although vitamin K-2 is produced by the body, supplementation may help improve health conditions, especially where a deficiency is...
The cost of many medical procedures rises over time, due in part to technological advances. New procedures often carry a high price tag as well. Many medical procedures, whether elective or necessary, are performed in the hospital, with the added...
Pulmonary heart disease, or cor pulmonale, is a condition where the right side of the heart fails, caused by long-term high pressure in the right ventricle and pulmonary arteries. In a normal heart, the right side pumps blood under lower pressure,...
Orthopnea refers to a symptom in which shortness of breath occurs while lying down. This can cause people to awake in the middle of the night in order to catch their breath. Sometimes, orthopnea is a sign of an underlying medical problem. There...
The heart is an important cardiac muscle that beats within the center of the chest. It contains such major blood vessels as the coronary arteries and aorta. The heart also consists of an electrical pathway that determines the heart's exact rhythm....
The months spent waiting for your new lung can be frightening. Take steps to get in shape before your lung transplant surgery to help your cardiovascular health, relax your mind and purposefully pass the time. Lung transplant recipients must...
Although lung transplants are often considered a last resort, more and more cases are seen with each passing year. The increased frequency of chronic obtrusive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension has all...
Ideal body size, also known as ideal body weight, refers to how much a healthy individual should weigh given her height and physique. For stronger women, a larger body size would be considered "normal," while for more petite women, a higher weight...
If you have had an organ transplant, you may take CellCept, the brand name for mycophenolate mofetil, a medication used to prevent organ rejection. Because your immune system recognizes the new organ as a foreign substance, it will reject the new...
Your physical health and endurance level prior to lung transplantation is going to have an impact on your recovery. If you are on the wait list for new lungs you already know what a mixed bag of emotions this news evokes: anxiety, fear, grief,...
A human heart transplant is a surgery that involves the replacement of a severely damaged heart with a healthy donor heart. Heart transplants are reserved as a life-saving measure, used only when all other treatments or surgeries have failed....
A urinary tract infection, or UTI, refers to any infection of the kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra according to MayoClinic. Most infections occurring in the bladder cause burning urination, frequency, urgency and colicky abdominal pain....
Antibiotics play a major role in the effective treatment of acne, and are selected according to the individual needs of each patient. For decades, they have been the mainstay drug of choice for doctors treating moderate to severe acne; however,...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a medical problem that consists of mainly two conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The Mayo Clinic says that COPD is the leading cause of death globally. Specific symptoms of COPD include...
Donating an organ is a powerful way to save a life. In the United States alone, more than 100,000 patients are currently waiting for organ transplants. Many of them will die waiting, because of the severe shortage of organs. The number of...
Donating bone marrow is a confidential procedure that carefully selects the best donor match for a patient. The steps and requirements to donating are for the health and safety of the patient and donor. According to the 2010 statistics published...
Sickle cell anemia is a condition in which there is an abnormally low red blood cell count, and these blood cells assume a sickled shape. Typically, red blood cells contain a pigment called hemoglobin that works to carry oxygen throughout the...
Sarcoidosis is an immune disorder that causes inflammation in different organs of the body. The chronic disease has no cure, but treatment options do exist. Often, physicians prescribe medications to control the inflammation. Although no research...
Organ transplants are medical procedures to replace an organ that has failed. The organ is taken from a donor and transplanted into the organ recipient. Organs that can be transplanted include the heart, kidney, liver, intestine, lung and pancreas.
Congestive heart failure is a serious physical condition, but it can be managed and lived with for quite some time. The American Heart Association defines CHF as occurring when the heart no longer has the ability to pump an adequate amount of...
Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, diarrhea, sinus infections, skin infections and certain pneumonias. Ciprofloxacin is also used to treat and prevent anthrax....
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, patients need to receive an extensive physical examination before a bone marrow transplant can be administered. Blood tests need to be done to get a sense of the body's overall health as...
According to "Mosby’s Drug Consult," cyclosporine is classified as an immunosuppressant prescription drug that was approved by the FDA in 1983. Cyclosporine is produced as a metabolite by the fungus species Beauveria nivea, and is an...
Cyclosporin is FDA approved for the prevention and treatment of organ transplant rejection. In combination with other prescriptions drugs such as steroids, cyclosporine works to suppress rejection of a new heart, kidney or liver. Cyclosporine is...
In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported high blood pressure in over 30 percent of the U.S. population. Also known as hypertension, this condition is a major risk factor for kidney disease, heart disease and stroke....
Septic shock is a serious, life-threatening condition that usually has another underlying cause. Bacterial infections, low immune system, artificial limbs or transplant, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, injury or previous medical conditions...
Red blood cells carry oxygen, an essential element for life, to every cell in your body. A decrease in the number of healthy red blood cells, called anemia, can have serious health consequences. Anemia can be an inherited condition caused by...
