Mayo Clinic Q&A: Most Aortic Aneurysms Are Small, Develop Slowly
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What causes a thoracic aortic aneurysm? Does it always grow slowly, or do some develop more quickly? ANSWER: A thoracic aortic aneurysm occurs when one or more areas along the wall of the aorta — the body’s largest blood vessel — becomes weak or damaged. The aorta carries oxygen-filled blood from the […]
10 Great Habits That Can Help You Manage Diabetes
Managing diabetes doesn’t have to be complicated. While your doctor will help you put together a comprehensive plan to manage your condition, remembering these 10 tips can help you work toward better health every day. 1. Get moving. The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 150 minutes of activity a week, with no more than […]
In Covid-19 Long-Haul Syndrome, Symptoms Continue for Months
Patrick Malia, then-37, felt sick enough on March 12 to visit an urgent care center, wondering if he had Covid-19. The Elgin sterile processing tech’s young son had nausea and a high fever — 103 degrees — the week before; his wife, Keri, also was ill. Now, Malia — who had mild, well-controlled asthma — […]
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Treatment for Patent Foramen Ovale Usually Isn’t Necessary
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: After a recent echocardiogram, I was told I have a patent foramen ovale. I’m 36, and I don’t have any other medical concerns. My cardiologist said I don’t need treatment for it, but I’m still worried. Does this heart defect put me at risk for health problems? When is treatment for a […]
NSAIDs: How Dangerous Are They for Your Heart?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly referred to as NSAIDs, are one of the most common medications used to treat pain and inflammation. Ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin and other NSAIDs are effective across a variety of common conditions, from acute musculoskeletal pain to chronic arthritis. They work by blocking specific proteins, called COX enzymes. This results in the […]
You’ve Gotta Have Heart
Taking steps to protect your ticker Let’s get to the heart of the matter. The heart is one of the most important organs in your body. It’s about the size of your fist and is composed of muscle that expands and contracts to pump blood throughout your body, nourishing every cell. It is responsible for […]
The Heart’s Hidden Risks
Are you aware of these lesser-known factors for cardiovascular disease? Most of us know the drill when it comes to keeping our heart healthy: Exercise, don’t smoke, eat plenty of fruit and veggies, maintain a healthy weight and watch our blood pressure and cholesterol. Indeed those are smart habits to follow. High blood pressure, high […]
Healing Heart and Soul
Many patients with cardiac disease also suffer from depression When people used to ask Jang Jaswal, 61, what he did for a living, he would tell them he spent a lot of time in the hospital. “Are you a doctor?” they’d ask. “No,” he’d say, “I’m a patient.” From 1989 to 2014, Jaswal experienced a […]
Mind Your Meds
Not taking heart medications can lead to serious effects You go to your doctor, receive a prescription and never get it filled. For heart disease patients, particularly those with high blood pressure (hypertension), this is a frighteningly common occurrence — one with potentially serious consequences. As many as half of the 187 million patients with […]
Miss-Diagnosed: Heart disease is the number one killer of women, yet it’s often hidden
Who do you picture when you think of a typical heart disease patient? Most people think of an older, overweight male. While that is true, this group is far from being the only one affected. There’s another demographic whose risk is just as high: women. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in […]
Occasional skipped beats are common, rarely worrisome
Q: I have occasional skipped beats. It feels like my heart jumps when it happens. I exercise regularly and consider myself healthy. Does this mean I have a heart problem? A: Occasionally feeling your heart beat and having it skip is very common. It can be uncomfortable and cause worry that it may be […]
Learn how to stay in the sodium safe zone
Harvard Health Letters How’s your sodium intake? Most health-conscious adults already know that sodium raises blood pressure–and that high blood pressure, in turn, boosts the risk of heart disease and stroke. As for how much sodium an individual ingests from all sources, it’s hard to say. There’s no simple test you can take–like having your […]
Up for Grabs
An adventure through the evolving science of organ transplantation By David Himmel It is late morning in early May 2014. Ozzie Rivero’s pager buzzes. The message reads: “heart offer.” Rivero takes action. Within the next 24 hours, he will be part of a harried effort to retrieve a still-beating heart from a deceased donor’s body […]
Pump It Up: All your heart-healthy ingredients are right around the corner
By Donna Shryer From spring’s first warm breeze through summer’s last blast of hot, hair-frizzing humidity, Chicago’s 77 communities serve up one food fest after another. Taste sensations drenched in fat, salt, sugar and calories may pump up your taste buds, but they weigh down your heart muscle and increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. […]
The Un-sexiest Disease in the Room
Why is the idea of improving our heart health so unattractive to us? The problem with cardiovascular disease is that it’s not sexy. Upon first hearing this, it seems obvious, right? What could be sexy about bad cholesterol, hypertension or angina pectoris? But let’s take a moment to define sexy. We’ll use Merriam-Webster’s secondary definition: […]
Act Fast to Help Stroke Care
By Eve Becker Last January, Mark Kirk woke up with a headache. It worsened as the morning progressed, followed by vision problems and numbness in his hands. Symptoms became alarmingly more severe. His staff drove him to the emergency room, where it was determined that the junior senator from Illinois had suffered an ischemic stroke; […]
Going for Seconds
Complex medical issues may require more input than your doctor can provide. We tend to think of our doctor as having all the answers. We expect that he or she will know what’s wrong with us and know how to fix it. We expect this of our doctor, after all. We sometimes forget that science […]
Have a Heart
When the heart fails, it’s time to consider a transplant Glenn Bovard didn’t realize he’d had a heart attack six years ago. The Valparaiso, Ind., resident had been having trouble breathing while lying down at night. He was fatigued, too, but he assumed it was from working long hours as a state trooper. There may […]
Heart to Heart
A conversation about heart health with Loyola’s Dr. Binh An P. Phan Men and women are different. Should the two sexes be looking for different warning signs of heart disease? One of the biggest things to remember is that heart disease is the number one killer for both men and women. There is a lot […]
Change of Heart
Incredible new technologies keep the heart pumping On a multiple-choice quiz, a fair amount of people would be able to correctly select Christiaan Barnard as the first doctor to perform a human heart transplant in 1967. That milestone in cardiac surgery is now a commonplace procedure that no longer makes the headlines. But it doesn’t […]
Heartful
Finding top cardiac hospitals is no longer a guessing game When shopping for the best heart hospital for you and your family, you no longer have to pick one and hope for the best. Statistics are at your fingertips. Places like the Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care website (www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov), launched […]
