Heart Attack
6 Surprising Causes of Heart Palpitations
With heart disease the leading cause of death in the US, people are right to be concerned if their heartbeat ever feels “funny.” Heart palpitations, when the heart skips a beat, flutters, or beats too hard or too fast, can occur for many reasons, only some of which require medical attention. Many people feel heart…
Read MoreLDL Cholesterol: Too Little of a Bad Thing is also Bad for You
It has long been known that high cholesterol levels are directly linked to numerous health risks, especially to the risk of cardiovascular disease. High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in particular have been directly associated with increased risk of heart attack. In an effort to combat cardiovascular disease, numerous medications and strategies have been developed…
Read MoreWhy Women are Less Likely than Men to Survive a Heart Attack
Picture a person having a heart attack. Chances are the image that came immediately to mind was of a middle-aged man clutching his chest. Yet cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, will kill six times as many women this year as it will men. Moreover, women, while less likely than…
Read MoreThe Facts about Pacemakers
A healthy adult heart beats between 60 and 100 times a minute. Each beat is prompted by a group of cells in the upper right chamber of the heart. This biological “spark plug” fires at regular intervals, generating an electrical signal that travels through the heart, keeping the heart beating regularly. But if the heart’s…
Read MoreAm I Eligible for Cardiac Rehabilitation?
In honor of American Heart Health Month, we are pleased to present the following information about one of the best tools in managing heart disease: cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation is a multi-pronged program designed to help people who have heart disease. You may benefit from cardiac rehab if you have or have had a heart…
Read MoreStable Angina vs Unstable Angina: What’s the Difference?
Angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain caused by Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Angina is usually felt as pressure in the chest, but may radiate to the shoulders, arms, back, neck, or jaw. Angina itself is not a disease, it is merely a symptom of underlying heart disease. The two most common types…
Read MoreIf Your Loved One Has a Heart Attack
Surprisingly, it is sometimes hard to know if a person is having a heart attack. While some people have the classic “elephant standing on my chest”–type of chest pain, heart attack symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for minor conditions, such as indigestion. However, a heart attack requires immediate medical intervention, so if you or a…
Read MoreAmerican College of Cardiology: Cardiac Rehab Saves Lives
According to an upcoming report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation saves lives, but too few people enroll in this critical intervention. The American Heart Association advises that nearly 2.5 million Americans should be receiving cardiac rehab each year. This includes nearly one million people who have undergone angioplasty (also…
Read MoreTop 5 Inhaler Mistakes for COPD
Inhalers are a daily fact of life for tens of millions of Americans, including 11 million with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Nevertheless, studies show that two-thirds of people do not use their inhaler correctly. COPD is a life-threatening lung disease in which airflow to the lungs is impaired. COPD, a progressive condition once known…
Read MoreHeart Disease: The Number One Killer of Women
Thanks to the efforts of marketing campaigns, awareness of breast cancer risk is widespread. However, women are not always aware that the biggest risk to their health is not breast-cancer but heart disease. Each year, 40,000 women die of breast cancer in the US. But ten times as many women — 400,000— die annually of…
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