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Causes could include:
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Left coronary artery occlusion
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Heart failure may affect the right side, the left side, or both sides of the heart. The left side of the heart receives blood rich in oxygen from the lungs and pumps it to the remainder of the body.
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Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, is a life-threatening condition in which the heart can no longer pump enough blood to the rest of the body.Heart failure is almost always a chronic, long-term condition, although it can sometime...
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Detailed information on congestive heart failure, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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If you have congestive heart failure, knowing your body can help you manage your condition.
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Detailed information on congestive heart failure, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Medicines can help your heart work better. But they can't do their job unless you take them exactly as directed by your doctor. Some results: Medicines help you feel better. They help your heart work better. They can help you stay out of the hospital.
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Heart failure can happen in two ways. The heart muscle may become weak and enlarged (systolic dysfunction). The weakened muscle doesn't pump enough blood forward when the ventricles contract. Or, the heart muscle may become stiff (diastolic dysfunction). The stiff muscle can't relax between contractions, which keeps the ventricles from filling with enough blood.
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When you're living with heart failure, it's normal to feel sad or down at times. Some medications can also affect your mood. Following your treatment plan may seem like a lot to remember. If you feel overwhelmed, just focus on one day at a time.
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Here's how you can stay healthy and prevent the problems that lead to a stay in the hospital.
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It's important to ask your provider questions during your visit to make sure you understand your condition and what your treatment involves.
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Once you have heart failure, flare-ups can happen. Gaining weight is often the first warning sign of trouble. That's why you need to weigh yourself each day. But there are other signs of trouble, too. Here are some things to watch for.
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If you have CHF, it's important to stick with your treatment, even when you're feeling better. You also need to maintain healthy habits.
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Being active doesn't mean that you have to wear yourself out. Even a little movement each day helps to strengthen your heart. If you can't get out to exercise, you can do simple stretching and strengthening exercises at home.
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Certain procedures may help in some cases of heart failure. They are done to treat health problems that are affecting your heart. Here are some examples.
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If you have COPD, it may be difficult to tell whether you also have heart failure (HF). This is because the two diseases have similar symptoms and common risk factors.
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When you have heart failure, excess fluid is more likely to build up in your body. This makes the heart work harder to pump blood. Controlling the amount of salt (sodium) you eat may help prevent fluid from building up.
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A sudden weight gain or a steady rise in weight is a warning sign that your body is retaining too much water and salt. This could mean your heart failure is getting worse. Weighing yourself each day is the best way to know if you're retaining water.
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To evaluate your condition, your doctor will examine you, ask questions, and run tests. Along with looking for signs of heart failure, the doctor looks for any other health problems that may have led to heart failure.
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Over time, new medications and techniques have made heart failure somewhat less life-threatening than it used to be.
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The pacemaker has come a long way since its earliest days: Examining promising results from a study that shows cardiac resynchronization therapy, via a new biventricular pacemaker, may help heart patients.
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BiDil, a drug recently approved to treat heart failure in African-Americans, may be useful for any heart failure patient. A guide to the FDA's approval of the controversial drug.
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Heart failure makes it hard for oxygen to get into the blood, causing shortness of breath.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about medications appropriate for recovery from heart failure.
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Nesiritide (Natrecor), used to treat symptoms of heart failure since 2001, may be less safe than once thought.
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"Heart failure" is a broad term—often used inter-changeably with"congestive heart failure"(CHF)—to describe the heart''s inability to consistently pump enough blood to the body''s organs and tissues. Heart failure occurs either from a st...
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Heart failure is a condition in which the heart has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body''s tissues. With too little blood being delivered, the organs and other tissues do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly.Ac...
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High heat and humidity is more dangerous for those with heart failure, because the body chooses to maintain blood pressure rather than disperse body heat via blood vessels near the skin.
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Some medications taken by people with heart disease to counteract water buildup in the body can remove too much potassium from the body, while others can leave too much behind.
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Analysis of benefits and risks regarding beta blockers.
Not that long ago, beta blockers were believed to make heart failure worse. By slowing the heart rate, reducing the force of the heart's contractions, and relaxing blood vessels, so the thinking went, these drugs contributed to the deterioration of heart function. Large clinical trials showed just the opposite — beta blockers help people with heart failure live longer and stay out of the hospital, and over time strengthen the heart.
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I was just diagnosed with heart failure. My husband and I like to travel. Is it okay for people like me to fly?
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It's important for people with heart failure to monitor potassium intake and levels when taking the diuretic spironolactotone.
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About half of those diagnosed with heart failure survive for at least five years, but the number of diagnoses has increased significantly.
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A study comparing different forms of exercise for people with moderate heart failure found that ballroom dancing was as effective as a traditional exercise regimen, and also improved patients' quality of life.
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The possible heart benefits of Tai chi.The easy exercises and deep breathing of this Chinese martial art could offer excellent self-defense for the damaged or failing heart.
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For people with severe heart failure, a pumping device called a left ventricular assist may prolong life for those who are not healthy enough for transplant surgery, or who face a lenghty wait on the transplant list.
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Remote monitoring is the wave of the future in managing heart disease.New technology makes it easier to keep tabs on your heart, and heart disease.
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People with heart failure may benefit from a device implanted in the upper chest that monitors blood pressure inside the heart.
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Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure.Blood pressure readings are measured in millimeters of mercury(mmHg) and usually given as two numbers. For example, 120 over 80(written as 120/80 mmHg).The top number is your systolic p...
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The lower number is the diastolic pressure, which is the pressure when the heart is filling or relaxing before the next beat. Normal blood pressure for an adult is 120/70(on average), but normal for an individual varies with the height, weight, fi...
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Detailed information on high blood pressure, also called hypertension, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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In populations, blood pressures fit a normal distribution, but the attendant risks of heart disease and stroke increase curvilinearly with increasing levels of blood pressure, without any obvious breakpoint ( Fig. 63-1 ). Thus, the separation of normal from high blood pressure is arbitrary, and the definition of hypertension has been a moving target.
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Primary, or essential, hypertension is caused by external factors; secondary hypertension is related to an underlying disorder, such as a congenital heart defect or kidney disease. Factors that increase the risk of high blood pressure include age(...
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High blood pressure is a sneaky ailment. The condition has no symptoms that you can see or feel. Having your blood pressure checked is the only way to know if it is high.
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Detailed information on high blood pressure, also called hypertension, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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Detailed information on high blood pressure, also called hypertension, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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This report explains what your blood pressure numbers mean and how hypertension can be prevented and treated by making diet and lifestyle changes. Also includes information on medications.
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Each day that your blood pressure is too high, your chances of having a stroke are increased.
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Knowing the definitions of terms your doctor may use when talking with you about your blood pressure is important.
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The following Clinical Topic Tour provides an overview of hypertension (HTN) and was adapted from materials published by the NHLBI.
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Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them.
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When I get up in the morning, my systolic blood pressure is 30 to 50 points higher than it is later in the day (about 110). I am taking three different blood pressure medications. Is this unusual?
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Prehypertension is a new term that alerts people to the risk of developing chronic high blood pressure if they don't take timely steps to improve their lifestyle habits.
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High blood pressure is more common among African Americans than other ethnic groups. Nearly 40 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have hypertension.
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High blood pressure has joined type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol on a list of ailments that once struck only adults but now afflict children.
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Hypertension is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, leading causes of morbidity and mortality in North America. Concern has been raised that there is inadequate outpatient detection, evaluation, and treatment of hypertension, and that this is resulting in increased hospital admissions with complications of untreated hypertension: heart failure, and end-stage renal disease .
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The National High Blood Pressure Education Program(NHBPEP) was established in 1972 by the National Institute of Health to translate research results on the health hazards of high blood pressure into clinical and public health practice. Before 1900...
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Detailed information on high blood pressure, also called hypertension, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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Is it absolutely necessary for a diabetic who does not have high blood pressure to take a blood pressure pill anyway?
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While people with high blood pressure are typically told to abstain from alcohol, a study suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may help prevent them from having a heart attack.
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Did you know you can purchase your own blood pressure monitor and check the reading yourself at home?
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A Harvard Medical School doctor discusses possible causes of low blood pressure.
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Risk factors are things that make you more likely to have a disease or condition. Do you know your risk factors for high blood pressure?
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High blood pressure (hypertension) is called the silent killer. This is because many people who have it don't know it. You can take an easy test to see if your blood pressure is too high. If it is high, you can take steps to lower it. Doing so could save your life.
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What causes high blood pressure in a 4-year-old?
Claire McCarthy, M.D., is a senior medical editor for Harvard Health Publications. She is an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician at Children's Hospital of Boston, and co-director of the pediatrics department at Martha Eliot Health Center, a neighborhood health service of Children's Hospital. The author of two books, "Learning How the Heart Beats" and "Everyone's Children", Dr. McCarthy was a regular columnist for "Sesame Street Parents Magazine" from 1995 to 1998 and is currently a contributing editor for "Parenting Magazine".
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A healthy blood pressure level can reduce your risk for many serious diseases and increase your longevity.
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The FDA has approved a new blood pressure drug that works by inhibiting hte production of renin, a substance made by the kidneys that is the first step in the body's system of regulating blood pressure.
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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the most common chronic adult illness in the United States. There is no cure for high blood pressure, but it can be controlled.
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Even if your blood pressure is normal or high-normal, you're still at increased risk for hypertension (high blood pressure), the condition in which your heart works too hard and the resulting forceful blood flow harms arteries.
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Prehypertension is a new term that alerts people to the very real risk of developing chronic high blood pressure if they don't take timely steps to improve their lifestyle habits.
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Hypertension, or high blood pressure, isn't limited to those 18 and older.Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects almost one in three adults in the United States. But this serious health condition isn't limited to those ages 18 and older, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
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In most cases, high blood pressure responds to treatment, but the success of the treatment is up to you.
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For those living with high blood pressure, lifestyle changes such as eating a healthier diet, exercising regularly, and losing weight will likely have a positive effect not just on blood pressure, but on overall health.
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Is it possible for a blockage in the kidneys to cause high blood pressure? What type of blockage would there be in a kidney?
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The number of Americans with high blood pressure has risen steadily since the 1960s, and now tops 65 million.
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High blood pressure can contribute to sexual problems, as can some treatments for it.
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If you have high blood pressure, you need to know, so you can control it. If you don't, you increase your risk for serious illness.
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Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries.
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A study reports that if the vertebra that supports the skull is misaligned, careful manipulation of it may result in a significant drop in blood pressure.
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Isolated systolic hypertension, when the systolic blood pressure is above 140 while the diastolic pressure is below 90, is caused by stiffening of large arteries. Medication may be prescribed, but lifestyle changes will have more impact on overall health.
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Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them.
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An old theory about the connection between headache and high blood pressure makes a comeback.
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The category of prehypertension was established to serve as a warning. Those whose blood pressure reading falls in it should work to lower their pressure through diet, exercise, and weight control, though in some cases medication may be prescribed.
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Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them.As blood flows through arteries it pushes against the inside of the artery walls.
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Coronary heart disease(CHD) is a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. CHD is also called coronary artery disease.Coronary artery disease; Arteriosclerotic heart disease; CHD; CAD.Coronary heart disease is...
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Coronary artery disease is a narrowing or blockage of the arteries and vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to the heart. It is caused by atherosclerosis, an accumulation of fatty materials on the inner linings of arteries.
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Detailed information on coronary artery disease, including anatomy of the coronary arteries and disease symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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Coronary artery disease is a stenosis(narrowing) or blockage of the arteries and vessels that provide oxygenated blood to the heart. It is caused by atherosclerosis(hardening of the arteries), an accumulation of fatty plaque on the inner linings o...
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You often hear only bad news about heart disease. After all, it is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing one in five people. But here is the good news: Prevention efforts and treatment advances have made a difference. Between 1950 and 1999, the death rate from heart disease fell by almost 60% and is still falling.
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Coronary artery disease(CAD) is the most common cause of death and disability in the United States and other industrialized countries, and it can be manifested if these arteries become narrowed by cholesterol to about half their normal diameter(se...
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Atherectomy is a procedure that relieves symptoms of coronary artery disease by improving blood flow to your heart.
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Coronary artery bypass surgery creates a path for blood to flow around a blockage and helps prevent a heart attack.
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Omega-3s are a beneficial and essential form of fat, one that your body needs but can't make.
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C-reactive protein is emerging as a key risk factor for heart disease. A guide to new research on this protein, how to test for it, and how exercise can lower its presence in the blood.
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Are CHF and CAD the same thing?
Howard LeWine, M.D., is chief editor of Internet Publishing at Harvard Health Publications. He is recognized as an outstanding clinician and teacher and is a recipient of the Internal Medicine Teacher of the Year award at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. LeWine continues to practice Internal Medicine; most recently he became a hospitalist after practicing primary care for over 20 years.
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A number of studies show a definite correlation between erectile dysfunction and risk of heart disease. In many cases, the symptoms have not been diagnosed. Men with ED should have their cardiac health evaluated.
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Angioplasty has become common for treating blocked arteries, but not all patients need the procedure. Many people with artery disease can be treated by taking medications and adopting healthier habits.
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Myocarditis is an uncommon disorder that is usually caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections that reach the heart.Coxsackie Cytomegalovirus Hepatitis C Herpes HIV Parvovirus.Aspergillus Candida Coccidioides Cryptococcus Histoplasma Schisto...
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Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle(myocardium) that can result from a variety of causes. While most cases are produced by a viral infection, an inflammation of the heart muscle may also be instigated by toxins, drugs, and h...
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In aortic stenosis, the aortic valve does not open fully. This restricts blood flow.Aortic valve stenosis; Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction; Rheumatic aortic stenosis; Calcium aortic stenosis.As the aortic valve becomes more narrow, the ...
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When aortic valve stenosis occurs, the aortic valve, located between the aorta and left ventricle of the heart, is narrower than normal size.A normal aortic valve, when open, allows the free flow of blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. When...
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Detailed information on aortic stenosis, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Aortic stenosis means your aortic valve has a problem opening. The left ventricle has to work harder to push the blood through the valve. In some cases, this extra work will make the muscle of the ventricle thicken. This type of stenosis can quickly get worse.
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Recent studies suggest statin drugs do not help prevent aortic valve narrowing in the elderly, but the message on whether statins can prevent age-related memory loss is less clear.
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Detailed information on heart defects that cause obstructions in blood flow Heart defects that cause obstructions to blood flow require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below are some of these defects, for which we have provided a brief overview.
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Large amounts of alcohol can result in depression of the various body systems, resulting in coma or death. The immediate physical effects of alcohol depend on the amount and frequency of drinking, while the mental and emotional effects are influen...
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This report includes information on recognizing the symptoms of problem drinking, treatment techniques, coping with a loved one's drinking, and overcoming denial.
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Alcoholism is defined as alcohol seeking and consumption behavior that is harmful. Long-term and uncontrollable harmful consumption can cause alcohol-related disorders that include: antisocial personality disorder, mood disorders(bipolar and major...
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It's important to understand how alcohol and drugs can affect your health and well being.
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Besides having trouble with school and relationships, teenagers taking drugs may display emotional extremes with irritability, anger and changes in sleep patterns.
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Excessive drinking can cause potentially fatal conditions, not only high blood pressure, but also damage to the brain, heart or liver; diabetes and stroke.
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Like cancer or heart disease, alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with its own symptoms and causes. The disease is progressive and often fatal if not treated.
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Effective treatment for alcohol dependency is available, but treatment rates among alcohol abusers are low because of lack of awareness and embarrassment.
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Misuse of alcohol can lead to serious consequences. Alcohol abuse differs from alcoholism. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in failure to meet work, home or school responsibilities, among other things.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes an extremely strong craving for alcohol, loss of control over drinking, or physical dependence.
Learn more about the effects of abusing alcohol by taking this quiz, based on information from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
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Mitral stenosis is a heart valve disorder that involves the mitral valve. This valve separates the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart.
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Valve disease occurs when a valve doesn't open or close the way it should. If a valve doesn't open all the way, the heart has to push blood through a smaller opening. If the valve doesn't close tightly, some blood will leak backward.
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Mitral stenosis means the mitral valve stiffens and doesn't open right. Blood must move through a smaller opening. In severe cases, fluid can build up in the lungs, leading to coughing and breathing problems.
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The term stenosis means an abnormal narrowing of an opening. Mitral valve stenosis refers to a condition in the heart in which one of the valve openings has become narrow and restricts the flow of blood from the upper left chamber(left atrium) to ...
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