'heart attack' posts

Carotid stenosis is a build of up plaque in the large arteries that supply the brain with blood. This buildup of plaque increases the risk of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke. Risk factors for carotid artery stenosis include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and tobacco use. Symptoms of carotid artery stenosis include facial droop, weakness or numbness on one side of the face and body, slurred speech, garbled speech, gait instability, dizziness, and visual disturbances including blurred vision, loss of vision and double vision.

Carotid artery stenosis can be diagnosed with several diagnostic studies including carotid ultrasound, MR angiography (MRA), CT angiography (CTA), and cerebral angiogram.

Treatment options for carotid artery stenosis vary depending upon the severity of stenosis, history of TIA or stroke, and...

This post is reposted with permission from Spike O’Neill – see his original post here.

Some of you may have heard of my recent health scare. For those of you who heard and sent along your well wishes, I thank you. For anyone who hasn't, please allow me to share a scary story of ignorance and arrogance that almost cost me big time.

About a month ago, I was carrying my 8 year old daughter on my shoulders. We were leaving a family outing and she was griping about being tired. I didn't have to carry her very far, but when I put her down I noticed a weird ache in my jaw and in both arms, as well as a dull thick ache and a kind of puffiness in my hands. It went away pretty quickly and I blew it off as a pinched nerve or something. But when I felt the same thing a week later after lifting a few boxes in my garage I was a bit more concerned.

I tried again to dismiss the incident, but I have to give it up for my family, who INSISTED that I go see my family doctor just to be sure. I saw my Doc, who had just given me a complete physical a couple months ago, He checked me over, gave me an EKG and suggested a stress test just to be sure. I figured what the hell? Better to be safe than sorry right?

I had no idea how good that advice really was.

I took my stress test 4 days later at Swedish Hospital's Cherry Hill facility. A stress test is just you on a treadmill, wired to a bunch of stuff that measures heart function, pulse and blood pressure. Well, the normal EKG they gave me before the test started went completely sideways a few minutes later when they fired up the speed and incline of the treadmill. That's when they brought in Dr. Peter Demopulos, cardiologist.

Dr. Demopulos said that...

Risk is not a four letter word. Well, technically it is. But the point being “risk” does not have to be scary or taboo. Regardless of your age or how healthy you look or feel, we all have “risk factors” and they are as unique as our fingerprints. It’s what we do about our risk factors that matters most.

“Risk” is one way to measure how likely it is that you will experience a heart attack, cancer, stroke, diabetes or any number of things. But what are risk factors, you might wonder?

• Demographics: Age, for instance, can put you at a higher risk for some diseases.

• Behavior: Some habits can increase your risk. Are you a smoker? Smoking ups your risk for just about every nasty disease you’d ever want to avoid.

• History: Your family history (genetics) sometimes plays a role in your risk for disease. Also, if you have a history of high blood pressure, for example, you are at a higher risk for stroke.

• Body changes: Certain changes in our bodies make us more prone to disease. For example, during menopause when the chemicals in women’s bodies change, they are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis (weak bones).

The first step to managing risk is knowing your own risk factors—how your personal demographics, behavior, history and body changes can affect your health. Take a quick, free quiz to figure out your risk for:

Even though regular exercise is important for cardiovascular health, exercising in hot weather can lead to heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. These conditions result from the production of excess body heat, overwhelming the body’s capacity for heat release and raising the core body temperature.

What you should know:

The signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• heavy sweating
• fatigue
• headache
• pale and clammy skin
• thirst
• increased heart rate
• dizziness or fainting
• nausea and vomiting
• muscle and abdominal cramps
• elevated temperature.

What is heat stroke?

Heat stroke occurs when the core body temperature exceeds 104 degrees F, accompanied by seizure or coma. The primary cause of heat exhaustion and stroke is dehydration with inadequate fluid and electrolyte repletion. Those with the following risk factors are particularly prone to heat exhaustion and stroke: extreme young or old, pregnancy, chronic illness (in particular cardiac or respiratory diseases), alcohol consumption, extreme physical exertion, and certain medications.

So how do I exercise in the heat?

SEATTLE, March 30, 2012 - Seattle NBC affiliate KING Television (Channel 5) aired a story during their 5 p.m. PT newscast tonight about a relatively new, FDA-approved medical device called LifeVest ®. The wearable defibrillator is a treatment option for sudden cardiac arrest that offers patients advanced protection and monitoring as well as improved quality of life.

LifeVest is the first wearable defibrillator. Unlike an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the LifeVest is worn outside the body rather than implanted in the chest. This device continuously monitors the patient's heart with dry, non-adhesive sensing electrodes to detect life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms. If a life-threatening rhythm is detected, the device alerts the patient prior to delivering a treatment shock, and thus allows a conscious patient to delay the treatment shock. If the patient becomes unconscious, the device releases a Blue™ gel over the therapy electrodes and delivers an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm.

(Ed. note - As it is heart month, we asked Dr. Rocco Ciocca, Chief of Vascular Surgery, to explain a little more about heart attacks and peripheral artery disease.)

In the last blog we defined a condition known as PAD, which is a constellation of problems related to narrowing of the arteries outside the heart.

PAD, If left untreated, can lead to having a stroke, worsening high blood pressure, difficulty walking, non-healing sores on the legs and feet and in extreme cases gangrene necessitating amputation of the involved body part.

I briefly mentioned how it can be diagnosed and would like to describe that in more detail here.

The great news is that doctors do not need order a bunch of painful or expensive tests to diagnosis PAD. The best and most cost-effective test is a thorough history and physical exam. During that, the health care provider will listen to your symptoms and ask questions about your medical history and your risk factors.

The major risk factors for PAD are:

• smoking
• diabetes
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• high cholesterol levels

(Ed. note - As it is heart month, we asked Dr. Rocco Ciocca, Chief of Vascular Surgery, to explain a little more about heart attacks and peripheral artery disease.)

Most people are familiar with the phrase “heart attack” and know that it can be a life threatening condition.

The most common case of a “heart attack” or myocardial infarction is the sudden closure or clotting of a vessel or vessels that supply blood and thus oxygen and other nutrients to the heart. The heart is a muscle and without adequate blood flow the muscle dies. The most common case of a heart attack is “hardening of the arteries” or atherosclerotic disease of the arteries. The disease, which is most commonly related to various risk factors such as age, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high suger levels in the blood (diabetes), causes abnormal blockages to develop in critical blood vessels in the body limiting flow. The blood vessels of the heart are not the only vessels affected.

In fact, hardening of the arteries is a systemic (total body) process that involves many other blood vessels of the body. When it involves the other peripheral arteries of the body it is know as PAD, peripheral artery disease. The diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of PAD are managed by vascular specialists such as vascular surgeons.