Pericarditis : Risk Factors
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Chest Injury
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Heart injury
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Respiratory Tract Infections
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Autoimmune disorders are conditions in which a person ' s immune system attacks the body ' s own cells, causing tissue destruction. Autoimmunity is accepted as the cause of a wide range of disorders, and it is suspected to be responsible for many more.
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Autoimmune disorders are conditions caused by an immune response against the body's own tissues.
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Detailed information on autoimmune diseases and pregnancy
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Autoimmune disorders are conditions in which a person's immune system attacks the body's own cells, causing tissue destruction. Autoimmunity is accepted as the cause of a wide range of disorders and suspected to be responsible for many more.
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Doctors divide autoimmune diseases in two categories: Those that attack a specific organ and those that target many organs.
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Diseases in which the immune system attacks the body ' s own healthy tissues, forming antibodies in an assault on mistakenly identified " foreign invaders. " Autoimmune disorders occur when the body ' s immune system loses its ability to recognize the differences between self and nonself tissues.
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An esophageal perforation is a hole in the esophagus, the tube through which food passes from the mouth to the stomach.
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Usually referred to as the flu or grippe, influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease. The disease is caused by certain strains of the influenza virus.
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The flu is a contagious infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by the influenza virus.
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Usually referred to as the flu or grippe, influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease. The disease is caused by certain strains of the influenza virus.
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Usually referred to as the flu or grippe, influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease. Its name comes from the Italian word for " influence, " because people in eighteenth-century Europe thought that the disease was caused by the influence of bad weather.
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Usually referred to as the flu or grippe, influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by certain strains of influenza virus. When the virus is inhaled it attacks cells in the upper respiratory tract causing typical flu symptoms such as fatigue, fever and chills, hacking cough, and body aches.
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You can protect yourself against these illnesses. It's also important to know the symptoms of each.
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Influenza is a potentially severe acute respiratory illness caused by various strains of the influenza virus. The different strains all produce characteristic symptoms, and because major outbreaks are associated with increased mortality, occurrences can be identified in history.
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Immunization against the viruses that cause influenza can prevent an infection or lessen its severity. Find out if you should be getting a flu shot each year.
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Does your blood sugar level go up when you have an illness, such as the stomach flu?
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You don't want to spend this winter battling a runny nose, a nagging cough or a fever. Here's what to do.
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You can avoid the flu this season by taking one simple step: Get a flu vaccination.
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Detailed information on influenza (flu), including symptoms, treatment, prevention, and the flu vaccine
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Each fall you hear that the flu threatens senior citizens and folks with chronic ailments. But the rate of hospital stays is highest in another group—young children.
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Information about annual flu shots.Don’t forget your flu shot There’s still plenty of time to be vaccinated against this year’s strains of influenza. In the United States, the peak flu season is December through March. The CDC recommends that most people receive their flu vaccine in October and November. A flu shot begins to protect you after one to two weeks. Who should get a flu shot? Anyone may receive flu vaccine, but the CDC recommends it especially for adults age 50 and over, women who may become pregnant during flu season, anyone with a chronic medical condition that weakens the immune system, children 6–23 months, and healthcare workers. Why get a flu shot? It will reduce your risk of getting an illness that kills about 36,000 Americans each year and hospitalizes another 114,000. Immunizing yourself also reduces your chance of passing influenza on to others. For more information about influenza and flu shots, visit www.cdc.gov/flu.
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Suggests alternatives to the flu vaccination for flu prevention, from hand-washing to prescription drugs.
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Flu and pneumonia are respiratory illnesses that should not be taken lightly. In the United States, pneumonia and the flu combined are the sixth leading cause of death. Older adults are at greater risk than younger adults for contracting pneumococcal pneumonia, the most common bacterial form of the disease.
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Is it OK to get the flu shot when you have a cold?
Anthony Komaroff, M.D., is professor of medicine and editor-in-chief of Harvard Health Publications at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Komaroff also is senior physician and was formerly director of the Division of General Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Komaroff has served on various advisory committees to the federal government, and is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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I am a diabetic, and am allergic to eggs, which prevents my getting a flu shot. Can I receive a pneumonia shot? Also, are flu shots the only available medical preventative for the flu?
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I have severe asthma and take oral corticosteroids, as well as cyclophosphamide, to control it in addition to inhaled medications. Should I get an influenza vaccination while being on these medications?
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I am over 65, have asthma and am diabetic. According to all recommendations I am eligible to receive a flu shot, but none of my doctors are able to obtain any vaccine. Where do I go, or whom do I contact to get my shot this year?
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Lung cancer is caused by mutations in cell DNA, which is unconnected to the influenza virus or vaccine.
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The Harvard Health Letter celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. In the fifth of a series, the Health Letter takes a look back at three decades in medicine.
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Here???s a rundown of some winter-related dangers, including heart attacks and other heart problems, the flu, snow shoveling, seasonal affective disorder, vitamin D, hypothermia, frostbite, and carbon monoxide poisoning.
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A study found that heart disease deaths peaked each year during flu season, because the flu can trigger a heart attack or stroke. Those with heart disease, and those at higher risk of getting it, should get a flu vaccine each year.
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Heart patients are being encouraged to get a flu shot, because fiu can worsen heart disease or lead to pneumonia, which strains the heart along with the rest of the body.
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Getting the flu can be serious business for people with asthma. That’s why it’s important to take steps to prevent it.
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Pregnant women in their second or third trimester during influenza season should be immunized.
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Flu shots are important because the virus that causes the flu changes constantly, and a new strain appears almost every spring.
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The flu shows up each fall, and misconceptions come with it. Test your savvy about influenza by taking this quiz.
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A heart attack is the death of, or damage to, part of the heart muscle because its blood supply is severely reduced or stopped. Heart attack is the leading cause of death in the United States.
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A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when an area of heart muscle dies or is permanently damaged because of an inadequate supply of oxygen to that area.
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Detailed information on heart attack, symptoms of heart attack, warning signs, how to respond in an emergency, and heart attack treatment
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Detailed information on heart attack, symptoms of heart attack, warning signs, how to respond in an emergency, and heart attack treatment
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Detailed information on heart attack, symptoms of heart attack, warning signs, how to respond in an emergency, and heart attack treatment
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The Framingham risk-assessment tool is used to evaluate a person's risk of heart attack, but it does not consider the influence of inflammation. Researchers have developed a new tool that uses three additional factors to evaluate your heart attack risk.
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Over the long term, your quality of life is tied to how severe your heart attack was and how it was treated. Beyond that, any change will depend largely on you.
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Chest pain could be simple indigestion or a heart attack. Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack, and knowing how to respond, could save a life. The following guidelines can help you make the right decisions and take the right steps when seconds count.
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Discussion of what constitutes a heart attack and new ways to treat them.It’s a story that is played out countless times every day. A 58-year-old man develops chest pain while watching a playoff game on TV. He’s always been pretty healthy, but he hasn’t had a check-up for years. He’s had some heartburn from time to time, but this pain is different: a heavy pressure just below his breastbone with an ache in his jaw. He feels sweaty, nauseated, and a bit lightheaded. Probably the chips and garlic dip, he thinks, reaching for an antacid. But his wife knows better; she calls 911 and gives him an aspirin to chew. The EMTs arrive in a few minutes, but by then the pain is gone. Feeling foolish, he agrees to an IV, oxygen, and a trip to the hospital. In the emergency ward there are questions, EKGs, chest x-rays, and blood tests. And then the big question: Did I have a heart attack?
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A heart attack is an urgent message from your heart that it’s starved for oxygen. When oxygen-rich blood to your heart is blocked by a clot, heart muscle begins to die and symptoms of a heart attack start.
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Technology has given us the automated external defibrillator (AED), which is turning up far from hospitals. Some schools and public buildings already have AEDs.
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For many women, a heart attack may feel like a strange discomfort in the back or some other easily ignored sign, instead of crushing chest pain.
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Detailed information on heart attack, symptoms of heart attack, warning signs, how to respond in an emergency, and heart attack treatment
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A new study suggests an aspirin before bed may lower blood pressure while protecting against heart attack and stroke.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about how to tell heartburn from more serious heart trouble.
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People at risk for heart attack or stroke will likely benefit from taking low-dose daily aspirin, but for some there are greater risks (such as ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding) that outweigh aspirin's help.
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Research shows that heart attack risk varies by both the season and time of day.
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Besides the nutritional benefits, eating beans regularly can lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of a heart attack.
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People who are at risk for heart disease may be fine for some time, until a stressful event or situation acts as a trigger for a heart attack or stroke. Even in those with heart disease, some of these triggers can be minimized or avoided.
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Researchers believe that enough evidence exists now to list rheumatoid arthritis as a marker of increased heart attack risk. The next step is to examine how people with RA might alter their drug treatment plan or make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk for heart attack.
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The Women's Health Study, released in March 2005, provides surprising new information about the health benefits of aspirin for women.
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Studies suggest mental health care following a heart attack can improve patient health and mortality.
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Heart attacks rise during winter and, especially, over the holidays. Possible explanations for this phenomenon, and how to protect yourself this season.
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Aspirin is safe for some healthy women over age 65 to take to prevent stroke and heart attack, but probably not for most younger women.
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Although their symptoms and effects can be similar—and confusing—strokes and heart attacks are two different medical problems.
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Advisory ratchets down targets for LDL (bad) cholesterol for some people, not others; no one-size-fits-all recommendation yet.
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Though clot-busting drugs are delivered with little delay in most emergency rooms, angioplasty does not fare as well, according to a new study.
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Depression can often develop as a result of a heart attack or cardiac surgery, and has more serious effects on heart health and overall health than depression that was present before a heart attack.
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This article discusses the drug Plavix: what it does; who needs it; and, the risks and benefits.
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A myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is the death or damage of part of the heart muscle because the supply of blood to the heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped. Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in the United States.
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A heart attack is the death of, or damage to, part of the heart muscle because the supply of blood to the heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped. Heart attack is the leading cause of death in the United States.
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A pair of studies found that increased, prolonged strain in people's close relationships or jobs correlated with an increased risk for a cardiac event.
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An expert shares his beliefs about how best to treat and avoid cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.
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The benefits of aspirin for those at risk for heart disease are clear, but for women under 65 who are not at risk, there is no benefit to a daily aspirin. There is evidence that taking aspirin regularly may reduce the risk of stroke, regardless of age.
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Unlike traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as aspirin and ibuprofen, COX-2 drugs have been linked to heart attacks because they encourage blood clots to form.
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The Harvard Health Letter celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. In the first of a series, the Health Letter takes a look back at three decades in medicine.
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Sweating is an almost as common, but lesser-known, sign of heart attack as more "classic" chest pains.
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Many instances of "sudden" cardiac arrest are not sudden at all. In the majority of occurrences there is at least one warning sign before the event: chest pain, shortness of breah, nausea, and dizziness are the most common ones.
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A recent study offers evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may help those who develop depression after a heart attack.
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The experience of a heart attack can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder, which can delay recovery and perhaps cause heart disease to progress further.
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Two new tests aim to provide better measures of "bad" cholesterol in order to more accurately predict the risk of heart attack.
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More Americans have their hypertension under control. Folic acid does not prevent heart attacks. Exercise after heart surgery is safe and beneficial. Program your cell phone with an emergency contact.
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Angioplasty to treat chest pain will be most efffective if the procedure is done within the first 12 hours after onset. If you have had symptoms for longer, drug treatment is likely to be as effective as angioplasty.
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A review of advances in heart medicine since the 1950s, when President Eisenhower bucked conventional wisdom by returning to physical activity several months after a heart attack.
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If hospitals become accredited as "chest pain centers," it could make deciding where to go for treatment easier, and also increase recovery rates.
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Normally, your body warns you of a problem by making you feel pain. But over time, high blood sugar damages nerves in your body. This may keep you from feeling pain caused by a heart problem.
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If you're looking for a reason to exercise, try this one: A routine workout may help ward off blood clots, the villains behind most heart attacks. You suffer a heart attack when a blood clot forms in an artery, blocking oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart.
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If you're not quite sure what's up with AIDS these days, don't feel alone. Misconceptions and falsehoods concerning AIDS and HIV abound.
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New drug treatments can delay the effects of AIDS and are helping patients live longer. But the reality is that no medicine can cure AIDS or the virus that causes it, HIV. Once inside the body, HIV destroys immune system cells, making it difficult to fight off illness.
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A person with HIV can look and feel perfectly healthy. But that person can give HIV to others as soon as he or she is infected with the virus.
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What's true and what's not when it comes to AIDS? Here's a look at some common myths surrounding HIV infection and AIDS.
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Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is the final, life-threatening stage of infection with any of the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1, its many subtypes, or HIV-2), which are transmitted from person to person sexually (including via anal, oral, and vaginal intercourse, both heterosexually and homosexually), through contact with blood (mainly via equipment used to inject illicit drugs and, rarely, via medical uses of blood), and perinatally (from mother to fetus or newborn during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, or after birth through breast-feeding). ORIGIN AND HISTORY HIV-1 and HIV-2 both appear to have been transmitted to humans from primates in Central and West Africa, probably to hunters or processors of carcasses of primates consumed as food (referred to as " bush meat " ).
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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by infecting helper T cells of the immune system. The most common serotype, HIV-1, is distributed worldwide, while HIV-2 is primarily confined to West Africa.
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HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) was identified in 1983 by the French scientist Luc Montagier and his staff at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Ever since that discovery, scientists have been searching for ways to treat those infected with HIV, and to produce a vaccine to prevent its spread.
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Detailed information on HIV and AIDS, including transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on HIV and AIDS, including transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) during pregnancy
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Detailed information on HIV and AIDS, including transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Acute renal failure is sudden loss of the ability of the kidneys to excrete wastes, concentrate urine, and conserve electrolytes . ("Acute" means sudden, "renal" refers to the kidneys.)
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This guide discusses ways to recognize, prevent, and treat the most common types of kidney disease, such as kidney stones, glomerulonephritis, and chronic kidney disease.
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Chronic kidney failure occurs when disease or disorder damages the kidneys so that they are no longer capable of adequately removing fluids and wastes from the body or of maintaining the proper level of certain kidney-regulated chemicals in the bloodstream. Chronic kidney failure, also known as chronic renal failure, affects over 250,000 Americans annually.
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Chronic kidney failure occurs when disease or dis- order damages the kidneys so that they can no longer adequately remove fluids and wastes from the body or maintain proper levels of kidney-regulated chemicals in the bloodstream. Chronic kidney failure, also known as chronic renal failure, affects over 250,000 Americans annually.
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HemodialysisHemodialysis is one kind of dialysis. It uses a machine that holds a filter called a dialyzer.
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