Arrhythmia – by definition a condition in which the heart beats with an abnormal or irregular rhythm. Often it is difficult for people to describe what this problem feels like – a “skip,” a “pause,” a “hard beat,” and sometimes words just fail to convey the strange feeling of an...
You put the leads on, push a button, and all of a sudden you see an electrical signal from the human heart – remarkable! I’ve always been fascinated by that, even in my early days as a medical student. But when I learned about how to use those squiggling lines...
People who have a heart problem, even though they are feeling well most of the time, have fears. In particular, there is fear that physical activity, of “overdoing it”, could cause heart symptoms and even damage the heart.It is true that some extreme forms of exercise, because it can raise...
This disease, and it is a disease, is caused by the accumulation of bacteria on the gums, leading to destruction of gum and tooth tissue, and eventually tooth loss.Periodontitis is a disease of inflammation, and as such can activate certain molecules involved in the inflammatory process, as well as white...
One of the stressful things that the doctor does is take your blood pressure. As we feel that cuff inflate and put a little pressure on our arm, we wonder what the number will be, and whether the doctor will smile or frown at the results.For many years, doctors and...
In men, there is a reason that Viagra is the largest selling drug in the world. As men age, their testosterone levels decrease, and with the availability of testosterone injections, topical patches and sprays, more and more men are asking their doctors to consider giving them “testosterone replacement therapy.” (TRT)The...
The elevation of blood lipids and in particular low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been implicated because of the deposition of this particle inside arteries, particularly the arteries of the heart or the coronary arteries.The receptor molecule on cell surfaces (“the key to the lock”) of the liver that breaks down LDL...
However, we do know that the process that causes cholesterol to build up In our arteries is a long-term process that can even begin in the teenage years, especially in people with a strong family history of atherosclerosis. A recent article in the journal Circulation, the major peer-reviewed publication of...
