Can Peripheral Artery Disease Be Prevented with Exercise?
Can a regular exercise program, if begun sooner in life, actually prevent the occurrence of peripheral artery disease? Read more…
The Heart Problems that Can Cause Fainting
Whenever fainting is caused by a heart problem, you need immediate medical attention. Read more…
How Much Salt or Sodium Daily Will Harm Your Heart?
Certainly there has to be a tipping point or threshold after which the amount of salt every day can hurt one’s heart. Read more…
Can Chronic Heart Failure Lead to Liver Failure?
The kidneys get all the attention as the organ that fails secondary to chronic heart failure. However, the liver, which the heart pumps 25 percent of its blood flow to, will also decline with chronic Read more...
Can GERD Cause an Elevated Resting Heart Rate?
You have GERD and you’ve been experiencing an elevated heart rate without exertion. Could there be a connection? The elevated heart rate may occur while you’re at your computer, watching TV, texting or while lying Read more...
Is Exercise Worth It for Those with Genetic Heart Disease?
Are you genetically predisposed to heart disease (e.g., Dad had heart attack in his 40s) and have blown off exercise, thinking, “What’s the use?” Well, you’d better rethink that approach. Read Read more...
Shoulder Pain: Scared this Might Mean Heart Problem?
Shoulder pain is linked to heart disease and might even mean a heart attack in progress. But this doesn’t mean you should panic every time your shoulder aches or you get a twinge of pain Read more...
Are Water Aerobics Enough for Heart Fitness?
Bad News—Water aerobics will do very little for heart fitness. This isn’t vigorous lap swimming; it’s the so-called water aerobics, the classes you participate in with colorful implements… Read more…
How Does Aged Garlic Extract Reverse Heart Disease?
Yes, aged garlic extract CAN reverse heart disease plaque buildup. Heart disease is a slowly progressive disease that builds up in the arteries of the heart for over 10 years before the first symptoms. Through Read more...
Can You Have Severe Heart Disease but Good Cholesterol Numbers?
It's actually possible to be a ticking time bomb with severe coronary heart disease while also having a "normal" cholesterol (lipid) profile. This is why you shouldn't assume you're automatically out of the woods just Read more...
Can Very Sedentary Person Have Very Low Resting Heart Rate?
So if exercise lowers resting heart rate, why do some sedentary “lazy” people have very slow heart rates? Yes, this is very possible: A totally out of shape person who gets zero structured exercise could Read more...
Shortness of Breath from Heart Problem vs. Narcotic Drugs
Is there a way to distinguish between breathing difficulty from angina and from narcotic painkiller side effects? Narcotic painkillers can cause trouble breathing as a side effect, yet angina as well can result in this Read more...
Heart Rate in 60s BUT Also Heart Disease and Elderly?
How is it possible for an elderly person (over age 65) to have a low resting heart rate along with severe coronary artery disease (CAD)? Before my mother had CABG x 5, her resting heart Read more...
Does Good Carotid Angiogram Mean You Can’t Get Blood Clot?
Does a good carotid angiogram mean you’re safe from getting a transient ischemic attack? You had a normal carotid angiogram a few months ago, or even a few weeks ago, and thus feel immune to Read more...
CT Abdomen Scan Can Predict Heart Disease and Mortality
Plaque in your abdomen is a strong clue that there is plaque in your heart: heart disease, says a Henry Ford Hospital study. When a CT abdominal scan shows very high degrees of abdominal aortic Read more...
Does Normal Blood Pressure Mean You Don’t Have Heart Disease?
The answer is NO! In fact, you can have life-threatening heart disease - extensive coronary artery blockage -- and still have consistently normal blood pressure readings. "High blood pressure (Htn) causes the occlusions (blockages), but Read more...
Is Intense Exercise Possible with Clogged Arteries?
If you've been diagnosed with heart disease, does this mean that strenuous exercise is off-limits? Is intense exercise even POSSIBLE with blocked arteries? First of all, let’s define strenuous exercise. Some people think this is Read more...
Soft Plaque Rupture, Chest Pain, Low Heart Disease Risk?
Can chest pain in a physically fit person with low heart disease risk be caused by a soft plaque rupture? For this article I consulted with Monica Reynolds, MD, a cardiologist with ColumbiaDoctors Medical Group in White Read more...
Do Doctors Give too Many Tests for Heart Disease?
What does a cardiologist have to say about the belief that doctors order too many tests for heart disease? These tests include stress tests and angiograms. There are also various blood tests related to diseases Read more...
Zero Calcium Score in Asymptomatic vs. Symptomatic Patients
A zero calcium score is NOT an accurate predictor of cardiac events in patients with symptoms, but for those without symptoms, it’s over 95 percent. A group of people with symptoms like chest pain and Read more...
Do Clear Carotid Arteries Mean Clear Coronary Vessels?
Just because your carotid arteries are “clean” doesn’t mean you don’t have severe blockages in your coronary vessels. For this article I consulted with Monica Reynolds, MD, a cardiologist with ColumbiaDoctors Medical Group in White Read more...
Can Starting Exercise in Mid Life Help Fight Heart Disease?
It’s a huge mistake to assume that middle age is too old for exercise to help fight heart disease. If you’re middle-aged and have always been sedentary, it is nowhere near too late for an Read more...
How Long Can a Zero Calcium Score Last?
You’ve just learned your calcium score is zero, so now it's time to learn how to keep it at zero. If your calcium score is zero, this is not a green light to make a Read more...
Does Zero Calcium Score Always Mean Clear Arteries?
If your calcium score is ZERO, how confident should you feel about not having heart disease, and having nice clean arteries? Did you recently get your coronary calcium score measured and it was zero, but Read more...