You have heard someone say it before, “they died of a broken heart”. Broken heart syndrome is a real condition brought on by stressful situations, such as the death of a loved one. Others at risk for the condition include mostly postmenopausal women, some stroke patients, persons with an acute medical illness and those undergoing ...
A heart attack occurs when the blood flow is severely reduced or cut off from the heart. If you think you are having a heart attack you must get to an emergency room immediately. The first few moments of a heart attack are critical because the longer you wait to get treatment, the less chance ...
The ejection fraction is an important tool in diagnosing heart failure, and determining how well your heart is pumping with each beat. It is a measurement of the amount of blood the left ventricle pumps out, or ejects, with each contraction, or beat. Since the left ventricle of the heart is the largest and the ...
Angina is a medical condition that is Latin for tightening or squeezing of the chest. Angina is chest pain or other discomfort that commonly occurs when there is a reduction of blood oxygen supplied to an area of the heart muscle. During most cases the lack of blood supply is commonly caused by narrowing of ...
Mitral Valve Prolapse is considered the most common cardiac condition in the U.S. Thought to be harmless in most diagnosed cases, some doctors don’t even tell their patients when they detect it in tests. The mitral valve, which is located between the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart, has two ...
What is a Heart Murmur? A heart murmur is an unusual sound heart while a physician or other medical professional is listening to your heartbeat. Murmurs can be very faint or they can be very loud. Sometimes they sound like a whooshing or swishing sound. The sounds are made when blood flows through the heart. ...
There is no particular order to what I will present, but I will try to present groups of related terms for a clearer picture. I will offer no opinions about the pros or cons of procedures or medications because that is between you and your doctor. As well, it would be illegal for me to ...
A bradycardia arrhythmia is one of two common types of arrhythmias. The other type is known as a tachycardia arrhythmia. Arrhythmias, also known as dsrhythmias or an irregular heart rhythm occur when there is a problem with the electrical system of one’s heart muscle. These problems then produce interferences that cause one’s heart rate to ...
It was a Friday morning in August when my husband announced that he wasn’t feeling well and was not going to work. He thought his blood pressure might be high. What he initially described was a tingling sensation in his head and some light pressure in his chest. Although tingling and chest pressure can be ...
