How I convinced my father that my mother’s depression would not go away on its own. Is one of your parents depressed, and the other parent in denial, and thus, a hindrance to treatment? My [...]
Wouldn't it be great if your IBS stomach cramping and pain and bloating could be relieved with a simple antibiotic drug? IBS relief that lasts is here with an FDA approved drug, thanks to Cedars-Sinai [...]
Are you thinking, “I can’t possibly have IBS because I’m too old!”? Then think again. You can be as old as the hills and still develop irritable bowel syndrome. ***** An individual being too old [...]
A dangerous bleeding in the brain can be the cause of a sudden and severe headache that comes on during weightlifting. Now let’s suppose you’re a longtime enthusiast of building muscle. You’ve been pumping serious [...]
Barbell squats, leg press and the hack squat are favorite weightlifting routines among fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders. So as a former certified personal trainer, I decided to pit the barbell squat, leg press and hack [...]
You can stop a panic attack dead in its tracks with your MIND, without relying on drugs every again. I’ve had only two full-blown panic attacks because by the time I started to get a [...]
How long would it take to reverse insulin resistance with diet and exercise? So how long does it usually take to reverse insulin resistance with diet and exercise? As far as how long it would [...]
Wondering if insulin resistance can be caused by anxiety and emotional stress? “Insulin resistance is when insulin is no longer able to trigger the same physiological response as it once did, or as is normal,” [...]
Insulin resistance can be reversed with diet and exercise, but how long does it usually take? So how long should it take to reverse your insulin resistance? I asked Dr. David Edelson, MD, board certified [...]
Cymbalta snuffed out my mother’s crippling depression. Yes, the antidepressant Cymbalta literally saved my mother’s life. Cymbalta wiped out my mother’s depression and panic attacks, with no side effects save for a few brief dizzy [...]
Does that nasty headache from heavy weightlifting mean you might have an aneurysm? Sometimes heavy weightlifting (squats, deadlift, etc.) can cause a headache and make you think this is an aneurysm. I’m a former certified [...]
A cardiologist provides insight into how a specialist can examine a woman with severe heart disease and then tell her she’s in great shape Cardiologists do indeed miss severe heart disease in women (men as [...]
So your calcium scan score is high, but your stress test was negative and showed no diminished blood flow through your coronary arteries. Are you off the hook? Do you wonder about the implications of [...]
Fear of radiation exposure keeps some people from getting a calcium score done for their coronary arteries. The calcium score is a strong predictor of likelihood of a future heart attack. The equipment used for [...]
How young is too young to have measurable plaque buildup in the coronary arteries? A coronary artery calcium score exam has been proven to be very reliable at predicting the likelihood of a coronary event [...]
Is it possible to have blocked arteries but at the same time a low coronary calcium score? The calcium score is a numerical value that's associated with the likelihood of having soft plaque heart disease. [...]
Suppose you’ve been wanting a CT angiogram, and your cardiologist has informed you that the CT angiogram would be pointless -- -- because your very high calcium score indicates that all the calcification in your [...]
You can be fooled into thinking that you don't have a family history of heart disease! Do you really know for sure? Would your relatives tell you they had heart disease? My mother repeatedly told [...]
Must some people live with angina instead of getting it treated with stents or bypass surgery? So many people live with stable angina rather than get stents or bypass surgery. “It is rare that angina [...]
Plaque in your abdomen is a strong clue that there is plaque in your heart: coronary artery disease, or "sludge" in your heart's arteries. When a CT abdominal scan shows very high degrees of abdominal [...]
Are you scared to have a catheter angiogram, but need one? A catheter coronary angiogram is an invasive procedure, and if your doctor recommends you should have one, you may end up too afraid to [...]
A fast resting pulse rate in postmenopausal women is correlated to a higher risk of heart attacks and coronary deaths. But should you allow this study's unexpected results to scare you into worrying about your [...]
The research-verdict is out that early menopause appears to double heart attack risk and increase risk of cardiovascular disease. But does this take into consideration variables of exercise, diet, body weight and smoking history? The [...]
Ever notice an increase in heart rate when eating or swallowing? Perhaps you can feel your heart rate increase upon eating or swallowing; or, maybe you accidentally discovered this by happening to take your pulse [...]
When one thinks of obesity's harm to the heart, it's usually clogged arteries. But being fat can impair the heart's pumping action: heart failure. The heart fails to pump the amount of blood it's supposed [...]
Wondering if your risk of deep vein thrombosis goes up if you must wear a cast or a splint? “Any kind of immobility, which slows down the blood flow in the legs, will increase the [...]
The common-held belief among physicians is that pulmonary embolism is always from a DVT, a blood clot that forms in the legs or pelvis. The DVT may break away and end up in a lung, [...]
Is deep vein thrombosis from air travel exaggerated? DVT from long air travel times is not likely in healthy people, says the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). The IQWiG reveals [...]
What’s better for coronary bypass surgery: a vein from your leg or an artery from your arm? In coronary bypass surgery (aka CABG), the saphenous vein from the leg is typically used for the grafting [...]
Stroke is a real risk during and following coronary bypass surgery -- which may be on or off pump. There are actually four kinds of CABG, but which one has the lowest risk of stroke? [...]
Can angiogram, bypass surgery and valve replacement be done in the same day? And if so, how life-threatening could this trio be? Coronary angiogram, coronary bypass surgery with heart valve replacement, all in the same [...]
The heart-lung machine used in coronary bypass surgery is a two-edged sword. The cognitive problems that are associated with it have led to the name "pump-head" to describe some patients who -- seemingly -- are [...]
If you need bypass surgery you might wonder about having it done without the heart lung machine and instead with the "beating heart" procedure. The absence of the heart lung machine is called off-pump or [...]
How much sleep should you get during recovery from coronary bypass surgery? A healthy amount of sleep is so very important following CABG: coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. “Most patients have difficulty returning to their [...]
Can thyroid levels be affected by heart bypass surgery? The thyroid controls metabolism. And metabolism is a lot more than how many calories per hour your body burns at rest. "Metabolism is the process by [...]
Why don’t more heart surgeons perform off-pump (beating heart) surgery? Off-pump heart surgery carries less risk of stroke and other serious issues when compared to on-pump heart surgery (i.e., operations that use the heart-lung, or [...]
How long do the grafts from coronary bypass surgery last if the patient continues eating a junk food diet? Is coronary bypass surgery a green light to continue eating a junk food diet, and how long [...]
Can orthostatic hypotension be caused by coronary bypass surgery? If you’re wondering if orthostatic hypotension can be caused by coronary bypass surgery, you’re not alone. “Hypotension after surgery is a common problem and takes several [...]
Does the heart lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass) affect sense of taste? The heart lung machine is used during cardiac surgery so that the surgeon can make repairs on a completely still heart (no pumping), but [...]
Here's what goes on the day you're told a family member needs emergency quintuple bypass surgery after an angiogram shows severe blockages in five major coronary arteries. My mother was wheeled into the OR for [...]
