Just because your carotid arteries are “clean” doesn’t mean you don’t have severe blockages in your coronary vessels. I was inspired to write this article after my father underwent an exam to see if there [...]
Low risk for heart disease but chest pain? Which test is warranted: CT angiogram or catheter angiogram? Find out what someone with low risk for heart disease should do if they have suspicious symptoms and [...]
A cardiologist explains why you can have a normal stress test one day and then a massive heart attack the next. You’ve probably heard of instances in which a person had a normal stress test [...]
A cardiologist addresses exercise safety in people with many PVCs, even nonstop. Some people have premature ventricular contractions seemingly nonstop, thousands and thousands a day, and fear that exercise may not be safe for them. [...]
A cardiologist explains how exercise suppresses or inhibits PVCs: premature ventricular contractions. Though some people with PVCs wonder if it’s safe to exercise, it’s a well-documented fact that exercise suppresses PVCs. In fact, many individuals [...]
Making lifestyle changes to help prevent a DVT is as easy as 1 through 7. Deep vein thromboses are much more common than you think and are very dangerous, requiring immediate medical intervention. “The problem [...]
An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a very serious condition, but not all cases require treatment. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. It comes out of the heart and travels all the [...]
Just because doctors haven’t mentioned peripheral neuropathy as the cause of your pain, doesn’t mean you can’t have it. “Peripheral neuropathy” means disease of the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, and I know at [...]
The death rate following the repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is something that you'd definitely want to know. However, if your doctor is already discussing surgical treatment with you, it's a safe bet that [...]
A DVT (blood clot) that's in your leg has a chance of breaking apart or completely dislodging and then going to your lungs...and how long this takes is not what you may think it is. I [...]
Find out the interesting answer to the question: Can a pulmonary embolism form in the absence of a DVT? “By definition a PE is an ‘embolus’ that has traveled to the lungs," says Seyed-Mojtaba Gashti, [...]
How likely is it that the swelling in only one ankle, but nowhere else in the leg, is being caused by a deep vein thrombosis? A DVT typically causes swelling up and down the lower [...]
What should be done when a patient gets a DVT in the neck after coronary bypass surgery? Seems like an SVC filter should be placed? Following coronary bypass surgery (a.k.a. CABG), it’s possible for a [...]
Is deep vein thrombosis common in people who use wheelchairs? Since prolonged “inactivity” is a risk factor for developing a DVT, the logical conclusion would be that this condition is quite common in people whose [...]
So you've been cramped on that airplane for hours and are finally walking on the ground; how long after will DVT blood clot risk last? “As far as I know, DVT forms while traveling," says [...]
Suffer from stomach pain and diarrhea? This could be Crohn’s disease, which can be diagnosed by swallowing a pill that has a camera. Crohn’s disease often presents with two key symptoms: diarrhea and stomach or [...]
Noise pollution is a very real problem, says the EPA, yet few people take the risks of hearing loss seriously. We are still in the Dark Ages when it comes to understanding the risks of noise [...]
An audiologist addresses a fair question: Can hearing be damaged by screaming children? I was inspired to interview an audiologist for this article because my sister has been diagnosed with bilateral moderate hearing loss. She [...]
Anybody who’s health conscious will want to know the truth about hearing loss dangers from pounding music in group fitness classes. Imagine you, the group fitness class enthusiast, are transported back in time about 60 [...]
It’s time for the big boys to admit it: Slamming and banging weights will likely damage hearing over time. For this article on hearing loss resulting from weights being thrown, slammed and banged around at [...]
I’m stunned that often, I see men without hearing protection working around wood chippers. Wood chippers can be screaming loud, yet many workers continue to “chip” without protection for their ears. A typical wood chipper comes [...]
Warning: A DVT can leave permanent effects. You want to do everything possible to avoid this very serious (and highly avoidable) condition. A vascular surgeon responds to the question: Can a deep vein thrombosis become [...]
Find out what a DVT expert says about fish oil and garlic supplements as preventive measures. A deep vein thrombosis is a pretty common condition in the general population, but there are those individuals who [...]
Excessive desk work certainly can increase one’s risk of DVT, says Dr. Paul Lucas. The human machine was not designed to spend all day sitting at a desk. Unfortunately, that's what many men and women [...]
A vascular surgeon is asked if chronic stress can actually trigger a deep vein thrombosis. “There is no real objective data on an association of chronic stress and DVT risk that I am aware of,” [...]
A doctor answers the question if compression socks or stockings can trigger dislodging of a DVT. Compression socks or stockings are well-known to people who have a medical condition that causes fluid retention in their [...]
Find out what a doctor says about rheumatic disease’s relation to a deep vein thrombosis. Psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune disease that has no cure -- only treatments -- and for some patients, the flare-ups [...]
Is there a way to tell the difference, without imaging, between DVT swelling and post-surgical edema or fluid retention from a joint replacement surgery? When a joint replacement patient views their affected limb for the [...]
Shutterstock/Naeblys The “grace period” for DVT development after joint replacement surgery is 90 days, but why so far out if by then, the patient is walking? Three months out from a knee or [...]
A doctor explains how long a DVT can measure in length; no wonder a breakoff can cause a massive fatal pulmonary embolism. Perhaps you’ve always thought that a DVT, a blood clot in a deep [...]
Find out what testing you should insist upon if you suspect a DVT but the ultrasound turns up negative. One of my articles on DVT is about Staci Stringer, who was told she did not [...]
Find out what can possibly cause a DVT when there’s no risk factors and no clotting disorders. A DVT is a deep vein thrombosis: a blood clot in a vein deep in the body, usually [...]
Learning you have a blood clot (DVT) in the leg is frightening. And even more unsettling is the thought that movement can cause it to break off and travel to the lung and become a [...]
There are four main conditions that can cause legs to swell after surgery. “There are a number of reasons for swollen legs post-operatively,” says Darren Klass, MD, clinical instructor of interventional radiology at the University [...]
A doctor may strongly suspect a pulmonary embolism based on a patient’s circumstances, such as suddenly struggling to breathe the day after hip replacement surgery, or sudden chest pain. Even if the patient has other [...]
A cardiologist says that if you have thousands of PVCs but a normal echo, you should get an EP test for a possible arrhythmia. If you have PVCs (premature ventricular contractions), you may have developed [...]
A cardiologist offers a simple explanation for why PVCs can cause some people to cough. PVC stands for premature ventricular contraction, and some people can’t help but cough after having one of these episodes. The [...]
It’s very true that an ultrasound can actually miss a DVT, but other tests are more definitive. Staci Stringer’s DVT was missed by an ultrasound. In September 2010, she experienced a deep vein thrombosis and [...]
Mild congestive heart failure may not even be noticeable to the person who has it, even when they are exercising. “Usually if the mild congestive heart failure comes on very gradually and it is only [...]
Edema refers to fluid retention such as that in the lower legs that causes swelling, but can this be the ONLY symptom of congestive heart failure? Can a person feel and function just fine otherwise, [...]
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