Why isn't the CT angiogram used commonly in emergency rooms to evaluate chest pain? Studies have shown the value of the CT angiogram in distinguishing ER patients with cardiac chest pain from those with non-heart [...]
Emory University School of Medicine cardiologists note that X-ray via CT scan can measure the size of the fat layer surrounding the heart. The fat layer around the heart is called epicardial adipose tissue. Knowing [...]
If you're at low risk for heart disease but have a calcium score above zero, just what does this mean for you? Though the calcium score has been shown to be a strong predictor of [...]
Is your resting pulse fast and you're worried that this will eventually cause harm to your heart? And can this damage the heart if you're otherwise healthy? Can a fast resting pulse, in and of [...]
How long should you wait with chest pain before deciding it's time to visit the ER? After all, you could be in that 15-30% of patients who end up having a heart attack. “It’s important [...]
The higher the calcium in your arteries (shown by a calcium score test), the likelier you'll suffer a heart attack. Maybe it's time to get your calcium score! Researchers may be able to predict future [...]
Don't kid yourself: Women's heart disease is very different from men's in more ways than you may be thinking, and that includes the effect that stress has on the heart. Dr. Gordon A. Ewy, MD, explains [...]
New research shows that the stress test is not effective at detecting obstructive heart disease, and that the CT angiogram wins considerably. The CT angiogram wins out over the cardiac stress test when it comes [...]
If your coronary calcium score gets higher with each subsequent test, you have every reason to be very alarmed. How many coronary calcium tests have you had, and has your score gotten higher each time? [...]
You’re not out of the woods if a doctor discharges you from the emergency room after you reported chest pain. It may be a matter of life or death that you follow up within 30 [...]
The following symptoms together strongly indicate a serious heart problem: "thumping" heartbeat, dizziness, chest pain and fatigue. Even three out of the four can suggest this serious problem with the heart: aortic stenosis. Though these [...]
Find out what the latest research says about calcium intake and heart disease. Milk is rich in calcium, and calcium deposits correlate to degree of heart disease, says Mayoclinic.com. A calcium score of zero means [...]
Since the Cozaar drug significantly shrinks rate of aortic aneurysm growth in Marfan’s patients, how well could it work for patients who do not have Marfan syndrome? An aortic aneurysm is an abnormal enlargement of [...]
Esophageal cancer has a very poor prognosis; certainly there HAS to be a way of lowering the risk: could exercise be one? A meta-analysis of four studies shows an association between a reduced risk of [...]
Pedophiles often use candy to lure their child victims. Here's how to teach young children to refuse candy being offered by a "nice" stranger! A predator with half a brain will always have a bag [...]
Knowing your calcium score just might save yourself from death by heart disease. But it’s not as simple as an absolute number that applies to every single individual in the same way. There are multiple [...]
If you’ve been diagnosed with heart failure, you’ll want to seriously consider changing your diet as part of your treatment. A study from the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center shows that after only 21 [...]
Is there a link between how mild or severe chest pain is, and how mild or massive a heart attack is? Heart attacks often come with chest pain, but some come without or with just [...]
A treadmill stress test to determine the presence of heart disease in women is not as accurate as you may think. If you’ve always imagined that all a woman needs to do, to find out [...]
Hearing loss causes; which is No. 1? The screaming at ball games and other sporting events is literally deafening, yet very few people think to wear earplugs at these events. You're ruining your [...]
Here’s how to prevent getting that pills stuck in chest feeling after taking several supplements at once. Have you found that often, if not always, whenever you take your usual “handful” of supplement pills, that [...]
One of the symptoms of ADHD, according to WebMD, is the following: “Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others.” This describes me [...]
If you have a worsening cough, get to the emergency room because it can be serious; here’s what’s involved. When my mother developed a cough with phlegm that sounded horrible -- and after several days [...]
Do you know an elderly person who blacked out for no apparent reason, with no history of fainting? An elderly person apparently blacks out and falls. First of all, you need to determine -- if [...]
A bad cough in the elderly can mean pneumonia, a top killer of the elderly, so head to the emergency room promptly. If an elderly family member (over age 65) has a cough that seems [...]
A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in the lungs, and can be fatal within a minute, and for women who sit a lot on a daily basis, their risk is two to three times [...]
Find out which poses a higher risk of a DVT blood clot: estradiol pills or Premarin pills. To help manage menopausal symptoms, women can be prescribed estrogen-type pills, but these carry with them the increased [...]
Trouble breathing with chest pain after joint replacement surgery never has a benign cause, says Barbara Bergin, MD, an orthopedic surgeon. NEVER assume that chest pain with difficulty breathing following joint replacement surgery is a [...]
Certain kinds of patients have the highest risk of a DVT following joint replacement surgery. A DVT is a deep vein thrombosis which could break off and travel to the lungs and be life threatening. [...]
Wondering about the pros and cons of retrievable IVC filters vs. permanent ones? Since you're here you probably know what an IVC filter’s job is: prevent pulmonary embolism. The largest study on following people with retrievable [...]
The rate at which a deep vein thrombosis kills an American will floor you. Every year in the United States, a significant number of people die from VTE: venous thrombus embolism. “DVT kills more people [...]
A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can be deadly, but does this mean it can’t go away on its own? If you suspect a DVT, get to the emergency room, because a deep vein thrombosis can [...]
A treadmill desk will go a very long way at helping prevent DVT: deep vein thrombosis. Perhaps you’ve heard that prolonged sitting during air travel or road travel is a risk factor for developing a [...]
A urine test may soon replace the D-dimer to screen for DVT (deep vein thrombosis) blood clots. Imagine being in the ER with a suspected DVT (deep vein thrombosis), and instead of getting your blood [...]
That's one of the most frightening symptoms: a sudden feeling of being short of breath even though you're at rest. Even if the sensation of being short of oxygen is your only symptom -- it's [...]
Can DVT treatment be more successful with both ultrasound and drugs, rather than just the clot-busting medications alone? DVT stands for deep vein thrombosis, a life-threatening blood clot that can result from surgery (especially joint [...]
There's a unique circumstance under which a fainting episode may be caused by a pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism results when a deep vein thrombosis (“DVT” or blood clot) breaks loose and travels to the [...]
Find out if aspirin reigns over the powerful blood thinner Coumadin for blood clot prevention following joint replacement surgery. Typically prior to joint replacement surgery, the patient is given Coumadin (warfarin), a powerful blood thinner, [...]
There may actually be a such thing as a pulmonary embolus that does not require treatment. “ A pulmonary embolism (PE) is the development of a blood clot, usually in the veins of the legs, [...]
A doctor answers this question as well as if low vitamin D levels can make psoriatic arthritis worse. If you suffer from psoriatic arthritis, you may be curious over whether or not vitamin D in [...]
