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Question:

I have recently started monitoring my blood pressure and noticed it changes during the day and night. Is there a better time to take it to arrive at an “average pressure,” or does it matter that much? Also, how accurate are the newer electronic blood pressure monitors? Continue reading →

Bradycardia literally means “slow heart,” and refers to a pulse rate of less than 60 beats per minute. As your question implies, it may occur as a result of physical conditioning such as found in endurance runners as an adaptation to a high level of fitness. In addition, several medications, including the so-called beta blockers (used in treating high blood pressure, migraine and other conditions), may cause a slowing of the heart rate to abnormal levels. Continue reading →

Usually, bundle branch block shows up as an abnormality on an electrocardiogram (ECG) taken on a person without symptoms. It is due to a slowing or complete blockage of the electrical signal associated with each heartbeat at some point along the pathways in the heart called the conduction system. Continue reading →

Cardiomyopathy is a medical term for a disease or defect of the heart muscle. Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is characterized by a thickening and stiffness of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. The result is impaired blood flow into and out of the heart. Continue reading →

Ouestion:

I’m told that I’m genetically predisposed to heart disease (on my father’s side) and high cholesterol (on my mother’s side), and that there is nothing I can do about it. For instance, my father is in excellent physical condition and jogs daily. He doesn’t smoke or drink, and never has. Despite all this, he had a mild heart attack last year.
Is this inevitable? There have got to be some preventive measures I can take. Continue reading →

When the heart is located in the right side of your chest, it’s known as dextrocardia (from the Latin words right — dextro — and heart — cardia). It’s a rare condition.

In some cases of dextrocardia, the heart is otherwise structurally normal and in that situation, there is no risk to health. In other cases, however, dextrocardia may be associated with various forms of congenital heart disease. In such cases, the prognosis depends on the effect of the other associated defects. In addition, dextrocardia may be part of a congenital disorder in which there is also a right and left reversal (transposition) of abdominal organs (situs invertus).

The heart is surrounded by a membranous sac known as the pericardium. (See graphic below.) When the pericardium becomes inflamed (pericarditis), patients often develop chest pain and fever.Dressler’s syndrome (also known as postmyocardial infarction syndrome) is a specific type of pericarditis which occurs weeks or months after a heart attack. Some believe that it’s caused by antibodies to heart tissue that may develop following a heart attack. Continue reading →

The aorta is the main vessel that delivers blood from the heart to all tissues of the body. The arch portion of the aorta gives rise to arteries supplying the head and neck.Double aortic arch is one type of congenital heart disease (present at birth). In the embryo, two aortic arches normally develop with one arch in front of the trachea and esophagus and the other behind these structures. As the embryo develops further, the second aortic arch eventually disappears.Under unusual circumstances, both aortic arches may persist and encircle the trachea (windpipe) and esophagus, leading to problems with breathing and swallowing. Surgery is often necessary to correct the problem.