Heart Health

In general, premature atrial complexes (PACs) and premature ventricular complexes(PVCs) are not harmful. This holds especially true if there is nothing else wrong with the heart. When someone presents with both... continue reading  about  I'm a woman (52) who's had heart palpitations for 20 years. Now they happen more often. I get 10 - 50/day where I feel my heart skip around. I've been to cardiologists and they find nothing wrong and say it's just PVCs and PACs. Should I worry?

I am sorry for your losses.Cardiomyopathy can be a serious condition. In addition to chest pain and shortness of breath, patients can have dyspnea on exertion, fatigue, edema, and in some cases hepatic or kidne... continue reading  about  I've been through some bad loses this year (relationship, foreclosure) and have had chest pain and shortness of breath. My doctor said I had stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome). What are the other symptoms, is it dangerous, will I get it again?

PSVTs, or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias, are generally quite bothersome, but almost never life-threatening. The only time when PSVTs can pose serious danger is in the rare setting of Wolff-Parkinson-... continue reading  about  I have occasional rapid heartbeats, which my doctor recently diagnosed as PSVD. But I have no other heart conditions. So he did not suggest any type of treatment except to avoid certain things like alcohol. Is there anything else I should be doing?

"Mini-stroke" is a term that commonly refers to the medical condition transient ischemic attack (TIA). TIA refers to loss of neurologic function that is transient (less than 24 hours). These occur due to blocka... continue reading  about  What is a mini stroke? Are there any warning signs before it happens?

When the heart beat starts to slow down, or when the conduction starts to block every so often, sometimes it is because a medication is stressing the heart's electrical system. If there are no medications to ac... continue reading  about  My heart has been skipping and I'm feeling dizzy. I went in for testing and was diagnosed with second degree heart block. The doctor said that if it goes to third degree, he might suggest a pacemaker. What can I do to avoid moving to third degree?

Statistics have shown that the leading causes of death among people with diabetes are heart disease and stroke. That is because people with diabetes often times have hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and they... continue reading  about  I'm a woman (51) who has diabetes. I read recently that women with diabetes have a much greater risk of developing heart disease than those who don't have it. Why is this, and what can I do to protect myself from heart problems?

Moderation is the key, as in many areas of health. In general, moderate alcohol consumption, medically defined as up to two drinks per day for men and one per day for women (different metabolism), has been show... continue reading  about  How much does alcohol contribute to high cholesterol, and can I drink while taking Lipitor?

Ankle swelling can be due to a number of issues, with cardiac issues likely to be the most concerning. Other causes include, but are not limited to, venous insufficiency (incompetent valves), venous thrombosis ... continue reading  about  If you are a cardiac patient, what does it mean when your ankles are swollen? How much is too much, and for how long? Could this be diet, meds or both?

Some migraines can be associated with neurological symptoms such as weakness, numbness, tingling, vision and speech changes, and some strokes can be associated with headaches. Therefore, sometimes it is difficu... continue reading  about  Migraine and stroke symptoms seem to overlap. How do I know I'm just having a migraine and not a stroke?