Can Low Thyroid Cause Shortness of Breath or Is It Mental ?
Do you feel short of breath lately and wonder if it’s a low thyroid causing this or all in your head, even though you have not been diagnosed with hypothyroidism? […]
Can Leg Edema Cause a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) ?
Edema in the legs is the result of a process that involves the veins, and a DVT is also the result of a process that involves the veins. So how likely, then, can having edema [...]
Benign Causes of Both Ankles Being Swollen & Puffy and Treatment
You can’t always tell by simply looking at your swollen puffy ankles if the cause is serious or benign. If you’re worried about the bilateral swelling in your ankles, especially if it seems to be [...]
Why Is Hand Grip Strength Linked to Heart Health?
It’s no secret in the medical world that hand grip strength is associated with heart health, cardiac events and death. You may be wondering what on earth does hand grip strength have to do with [...]
Treating Pneumonia in the Elderly with Heart Failure
Here’s what you need to know about treatment if your elderly family member is diagnosed with pneumonia but has pre-existing heart failure. Pre-existing heart failure poses a significant risk of higher mortality when such patients [...]
Why Chronic Heart Failure Patients Should Exercise the Legs
Exercised legs are very important for chronic heart failure patients. Don’t assume that legs don’t matter just because they’re far from the heart. […]
Should Patient with Acute Heart Failure Receive IV Fluids?
If a doctor didn’t order IV fluids for a patient with acute decompensated heart failure, this was probably a very smart move… even though it would seem—from an intuitive standpoint—that IV fluids would be beneficial. [...]
How Much Weight Gain Can Cause Future Heart Failure?
Gaining weight over time can put you at risk for future heart failure. The "fat acceptance" subset of the body positive movement needs to understand this. Chronic heart failure should never be an "accepted" disease. [...]
Heart Failure Deaths vs. Death from Cancer
It’s odd that with all the people so afraid of dying from cancer, these same individuals often don’t give heart failure a second thought. Though getting the “big C” may scare the daylights out of [...]
Why You Twitch After Prostate Cancer Surgery
Following prostate cancer surgery, a man may experience twitching down there, or what seems like a kind of twitching within or near his manhood. This not only can be quite annoying to some patients, but [...]
Spinal Stenosis: Why Back Extension Exercise Is Not Safe
It seems that the logical treatment for spinal stenosis is to repeatedly extend the back throughout the day or do sustained back extension exercises to “force” the lumbar region into a more upright position. [...]
Inside Knee Pain During Deadlift: Possible Causes, Solutions
“There are several possible causes for medial knee pain when deadlifting,” says Dr. Tom Carpenter, corrective exercise specialist, certified personal trainer and chiropractor, inventor of Stand Corrected™, a portable harness-like stretching tool that helps alleviate [...]
Shoulder Pop When Bring Bar Down in the Bench Press: Causes
Causes and solutions for shoulder popping when you bring the bar down when bench pressing. ****** Bringing the bar down in the bench press can put more stress on the shoulder than the act of [...]
Barbie Now Has a Realistic Body, but Her FACE Is Unrealistic!
It’s supposedly a big achievement that the Barbie doll body now comes in a curvy or “realistic” version—yet her face remains totally unrealistic. […]
Contraindications for Ventricular Assist Device in Heart Failure
It would seem that most patients with advanced heart failure who are getting worse would be suitable candidates for a ventricular assist device. […]
Cardiorenal Syndrome Death: Would Sooner Intervention Matter?
If someone with chronic heart failure goes into acute decompensated mode triggering cardiorenal syndrome and dies, is there a sooner point in time for which medical intervention could have saved this individual? […]
Does Ejection Fraction Decrease with Acute Heart Failure?
How can doctors tell that ejection fraction has worsened over the course of a few days in someone admitted with acute decompensated heart failure if only one echo was taken on the day of admission? [...]
What Contraindicates Drug Therapy for ADHF & Worsening Kidneys?
The contraindications for drug therapy in critically ill patients with acute decompensated heart failure with worsening renal function leave physicians in a very tough spot, because without these drugs, the patient is sure to die. [...]
Cardiorenal Syndrome in Elderly: Who Gets Drugs, Who Doesn’t?
What determines when drug treatment in the elderly with acute heart failure and worsening renal function can be helpful vs. harmful? Cardiorenal syndrome has no clear-cut cookie-cutter treatments. […]
Can Gym Workouts Offset Blood Clot Risk from Watching TV ?
Bad news for workout enthusiasts who watch a lot of TV: Your gym exercise may not cancel out the blood clot risk of sitting a lot in front of the TV. Now if you walk [...]
Fasting Glucose Always in the 90’s: Why You Should Worry
Is a fasting blood sugar that’s always in the 90 range as good as always in the 80’s or 70’s, or does this mean you’re at higher risk for eventually developing type 2 diabetes? [...]
Dangers of Double Dose of High Blood Pressure Drug
There is good reason never to double up on a drug for high blood pressure if you miss a dose. “Double dosing on hypertension drugs can be potentially dangerous (even fatal), but most often, there [...]
Fasting Glucose Reading of 119: How Dangerous Is This?
It’s not health anxiety if you keep worrying about your fasting blood sugar being around 119. Because if you keep seeing 119, you’re in big trouble – and your excessive worrying is quite justified. [...]
Just How Bad Is 135 Over 90 Blood Pressure As a Baseline ?
A blood pressure reading of 135 over 90 is so very borderline for high, but don’t let that fool you because it’s dangerous! “Blood pressure is called the ‘silent killer’ for good reason,” says Stacy [...]
How Long Before Prediabetes Turns into Type 2 Diabetes?
Been just diagnosed with prediabetes and are fearfully waiting—or calmly wondering—how long before you have type 2 diabetes? […]
Niaspan vs. B3 Supplement for Coronary Artery Plaque Reversal
Is Niaspan really more effective than a B3 supplement for coronary plaque reversal or is this the pharma industry’s way to a profit stream? […]
A1C of 5.9: What Exactly Does this Mean for Diabetes?
Beware if your A1C came back as 5.9. Though this doesn’t mean (yet) that you have diabetes, it means that type 2 diabetes is rapping hard on your door and you’d better up the ante [...]
Irregular Heartbeat vs. Twitching Muscle in Chest: Comparison
This is about how to tell the difference between an irregular heartbeat and a twitching muscle in your chest. When a muscle twitches (fasciculates), it can be very rhythmic, kind of like the beat of [...]
Low Blood Pressure but Fast Heart Rate: Is This Okay?
Your blood pressure is impressive: always low, but dang, your baseline heart rate is always fast, like in the 90’s. “Every body is different; however, higher resting heart rates can be an indication of underlying [...]
How Dangerous Is Blood Sugar in the 500’s? Organ Failure Possible
Just how dangerous is a blood sugar reading in the 500’s? VERY. “Blood sugar in the 500’s is dangerous, especially if it stays there for any significant period of time (like hours),” says Stacy Mitchell [...]
Bleeding, Oozing Smelly Belly Button: Causes & Solutions
Eeuuugh! What could be causing your belly button to stink and be oozing and bleeding? Could it be some form of cancer? […]
Can a Sinus Cold Cause only One Eye to Water ?
If you have a bad sinus congestion from a cold, what typically happens is that both eyes will be watery as a result. Epiphora is the medical term for excessive watering of the eyes. When [...]
Can a Cold or Flu Raise Blood Pressure?
While you’re lying in bed as sick as a dog with the flu and wondering if this is raising your blood pressure, you’re right. The flu -- even the common cold -- can actually cause [...]
Why Does the Diastolic Blood Pressure Vary So Much?
Your diastolic (the lower number) blood pressure just jumps around so much whenever you have a blood pressure reading. One day it’s 80. Next day or even next hour it’s 68. A few days later [...]
Why Your Chest Feels Heavy After Eating: Heart vs. Heartburn
Ever get that heavy feeling in your chest after eating and wonder if the food is triggering a heart attack or if some heart problem is responding to your meal? And the meal doesn’t necessarily [...]
Throbbing Blood Vessels vs. Twitching Muscles
You suddenly feel something squirming or thumping in your neck, stomach or leg: Is this a blood vessel throbbing or a muscle twitching? Sometimes, the “crawling” sensation occurs in multiple spots at the same time [...]
One Nipple in Men Bigger than the Other: Why?
Are you a man who spends too much time inspecting the nipple that’s bigger than the other? Or perhaps you see it as one nipple being smaller than the other. […]
Can Low Blood Pressure Make You Cold?
Do you ever get waves of suddenly feeling cold or chilly, despite the room temperature being 72 or even 75? Could this be low blood pressure? Not only do your hands feel cold, but you [...]
Why Does My Heart Beat Fast when Trying to Fall Asleep?
It’s not always increased awareness that makes you realize that your heart is beating pretty fast as you lie in bed to go to sleep at night. Though for some people, this explanation holds. “It [...]
Can an MRI Miss a Head Injury and Not Show It?
Head injuries are very common, including among kids, so it’s crucial for an MRI to show a head injury. However, this isn’t always the case — in that this technology doesn’t always show trauma to [...]
