Having bradycardia (say “bray-dee-KAR-dee-uh”) means that your heart beats very slowly. For most people, a heart rate of 60 to 100 beats a minute while at rest is considered normal. If your heart beats less than 60 times a minute, your doctor may diagnose bradycardia. Continue reading
Palpitations are heartbeat sensations that feel like your heart is pounding or racing. You may simply have an unpleasant awareness of your own heartbeat, or may feel skipped or stopped beats. The heart’s rhythm may be normal or abnormal. Palpitations can be felt in your chest, throat, or neck. Continue reading
Cigarette smoking can be really addictive and can become habit forming. Bad habits don’t change overnight. Quitting is a difficult task. The cold-turkey stage can be a tremendous nightmare. Many substance abusers often go back to zero. We all know that cigarette smoking is one of the many causes of death due to cardiac diseases, pulmonary diseases and several cancers. Cigarette smoking predisposes a person to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Hypertension, heart attacks and strokes are results of unhealthy lifestyles. Cessation of tobacco smoking results in a lower rate of cardiac events. A positive attitude is most likely needed in order to achieve good outcomes in quitting. Participating in an educational class, support group, or behavioral program can gradually change your habits and outlooks in life and health. Continue reading
The first step in your assessment should be to get a general sense of the EKG. Mentally note if you see something out of the ordinary and come back to it as you go through your assessment. Do all the leads look normal?
Is there normal R-wave progression? Is AVR inverted? Be very general in this first assessment.
The second step begins our formal analysis of the 12-lead EKG. Check the calibration block on the 12-lead. Is it standard, half-standard, or 2 times standard? Don’t forget to do this. Continue reading
Elevated blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and myocardial infarction can be treated and managed when you know how. Your doctor could really help you deal with the signs and symptoms. Lifestyle changes, diet changes, and medications are the most effective ways to treat hypertension.
There are so many cases of hypertension. Some may be caused by stress, others by diet and lifestyle. Bottom line is that it should be immediately corrected or treated so that complications may be avoided. Hypertension can be very dangerous because it targets the blood vessels. If the pressure in your blood vessels is not right, then circulation is compromised. Oxygenation then becomes insufficient and from there, other disorders may come about.
Cholesterol per se is not bad for your body at all. In fact, it is needed by your body to form cell membranes and to form vital organs such as the brain and the heart. But there are times when the bad cholesterol overwhelms the good cholesterol (HDL – high density lipoprotein). This should definitely be corrected because this condition will lead to cardiovascular problems.
When you hear the word “cholesterolâ€, you immediately think of heart disease. This is not because cholesterol is harmful per se. It is only harmful when it reaches elevated levels. High cholesterol level in your blood puts you at very high risk of getting heart disease and when it becomes worse, a heart attack may ensue. Cardiovascular diseases cause a high percentage of death in so many countries, especially the United States.
Hypertension afflicts so many people from all walks of life all over the world. This is known as a traitor disease because some people may have it for years and not manifest any symptoms. Blood pressure has two parts systolic pressure (upper value) and the diastolic pressure (lower value). Normal value for blood pressure is established as 120/80 mmHg. Prehypertension is a condition wherein systole is 120-138 mmHg or diastole is 80-89 mmHg. Hypertension is stage one is the systole is 140 – 159 mmHg or diastole is 90 – 99 mmHg. It is in stage two if the systole is above 160 mmHg or diastole is 100 mmHg and above.
Diabetes comes in two forms—type I diabetes and type II diabetes. Type I is the one that is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes which still has an unknown cause. Some patients are diagnosed when they go beyond the age of twenty. This type of diabetes is a condition where the pancreas has little or no insulin at all. Type II diabetes is known as the non-insulin dependent diabetes that is seen in adulthood and is brought about by obesity and sedentary living. Being a type II diabetic is a very difficult truth that you have to deal with every single day of your life. This involves exerting a huge amount of effort to deal with everyday with proper diet, exercise, and of course, prescribed medications. If you cooperate with your doctor and follow the routine that is designed for you, then you will surely manage your condition better.