The tricuspid valve, mitral valve, pulmonic valve and aortic valve comprise the four valves in the heart that control the flow of blood from the upper heart chambers to the lower heart chambers, as well as to the lungs and the body. Complications...
In essence, the heart is simply a pump that forces fluid through a series of pipes. The pipes are the body's arteries and veins, and the fluid is blood. All systems of pumps and pipes must have valves to control the direction that fluid flows...
A leaky heart valve can result from genetic factors or from acquired injury to your heart. Common acquired causes of heart valve dysfunction include high blood pressure and heart attacks. While some degree of exercise is important to prevent...
If you're considering beginning an exercise routine, good for you: Exercise, along with a healthy diet, is one of the best ways to stay healthy for life. However, if you have a "leaky" heart valve -- caused by any number of valvular heart diseases...
Adipex-P is a brand name of a prescription generic drug containing phentermine hydrochloride. Adipex-P is an appetite suppressant for weight reduction used for a short period of time as an adjunct to exercise, behavior modification and a...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 34 percent of people in the United States were obese as of 2005. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD), obesity puts people at...
Phentermine is an amphetamine that is used to stimulate weight loss and treat severe obesity by suppressing appetite. Phentermine accelerates weight loss by influencing the central nervous system, according to HealthCare.com. This medication...
Chronic heart disease, the number one killer in the United States, is responsible for more than 40 percent of all deaths, according to the Mayo Clinic. Chronic heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, describes a wide array of diseases that...
Heart valve disease is a broad term that encompasses several disorders resulting from a malfunction in one of the heart's several valves. Heart valves play a critical role in ensuring the blood flows properly into and out of the heart. They can...
Prescription diet pills are used to treat people who are obese or overweight with risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to the product labels for Xenical, Meridia and Adipex-P. Xenical contains orlistat, a substance that inhibits...
The heart has four chambers--the left and right atria, and left and right ventricles--that contract in series to push blood through and out of the heart. There are four heart valves--two that separate the atria and ventricles, and two between the...
Redux (dexfenfluramine hydrochloride) was a popular weight loss aid prescribed for moderately overweight to obese patients. Popular in the 1990s, Redux caused weight loss by increasing serotonin levels in the brain, thereby reducing appetite....
Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States today and is responsible for more than 40 percent of all deaths, according to the Mayo Clinic. The phrase heart disease (cardiovascular disease) is used to describe a wide array of...
Adipex, also known as phentermine, is a top selling prescription medication. It has been used alone or in combinations with other medications. It gained popularity in the nineties when it was widely prescribed in combination with fenfluramine. The...
Chronic fatigue can occur with a wide variety of disorders, ranging from cancer to sleep deprivation. Fatigue serves as a general warning signal, indicating a problem somewhere in the body. Common chronic diseases prove the most frequent causes of...
Pulmonary hypertension is elevated blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. The progressive injury from the elevated pressure results in an increase in the resistance inside the vessels. This is transmitted back to the heart and in the...
Aortic heart disease is a condition affecting the aortic valve, one of four valves in the heart. Most aortic valve problems are related to stenosis, when the valve becomes rigid an unable to open properly, or regurgitation, when the valve leaflets...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70 percent of all deaths in the United States are due to chronic diseases. Lack of physical activity, tobacco use, not consuming enough fruits and vegetables and drinking too much...
Atrial fibrillation (AF), also called A Fib, is an irregular, usually rapid heart rhythm (arrhythmia), that originates in the upper area (atria) of the heart due to abnormal electrical cardiac impulses that make the heart "quiver." Consequently,...
Learning you have heart disease can be devastating, and the road to recovery can seem endless. If you have not been an ardent exerciser in the past, your doctor's admonition to begin an exercise program may seem like one more thing you're not...
Compounds naturally occurring in grape seeds include vitamin E, linoleic acid--an essential fatty acid--flavonoids and oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPC's. These compounds have been studied for their health-promoting effects and found to be...
Cardiovascular disease is a grouping of disorders that affect the health of the heart and blood vessels. According to the American Heart Association, some of the more common include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart failure and...
A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood, and therefore oxygen, to a portion of the heart becomes blocked. Most often caused by coronary artery disease or blood clots blocking the flow of blood into the heart, heart attacks cause chest pain...
If you're obese, losing weight quickly and effectively might be key to lowering dangerous levels of cholesterol, blood sugar or blood pressure. Prescription weight loss drugs, although sometimes prescribed to overweight people, were created for...
Congestive heart failure is a heart condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. It is a progressive disorder caused by cumulative damage to the heart from various types of cardiovascular diseases....
The beating of your heart is a complex process that is initiated by an electrical impulse that starts at the sino-atrial node (SA), or natural pacemaker, at the top of the heart and spreads downward through the muscle in a precise pattern, causing...
Heart failure is commonly described as a condition where the heart is unable to meet the metabolic and oxygen demands of the body because the heart is not functioning normally. When the heart does not function optimally fluid can be retained and...
The excretory, circulatory, lymphatic and endocrine systems work together to maintain a normal level of fluid in the human body. When disease affects one or more of these systems, fluid accumulates in the tissues and cavities. This causes swelling...
Appetite is a natural human response to hunger and if you are trying to lose weight, you may have experienced this unpleasant sensation. Control of appetite can be challenging, but is necessary for weight loss success. Prescription appetite...
Heart disease is a general term including many diseases that deteriorate the heart's function or structures, including coronary heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Learn more about heart disease, including warning signs and treatments in this video.
