Category Archives: Heart Health

Nature versus nurture is a common juxtaposition, but when we talk about our body, these two aspects—genes and lifestyle—go hand in hand, shaping how we look. We are all different, but it’s possible for our size to extend from just being an appearance thing to actually becoming a health concern. One prominent example of this ...click here to read more

Stroke rehabilitation often involves exercises to improve post-stroke recovery. This is because many motor skills can become affected after a stroke depending on what area of the brain is affected. For example, patients may need to redevelop their ability to walk or even use their hands. Stroke rehabilitation is often conducted alongside a physiotherapist who ...click here to read more

Everyone is worried about some health ailment nowadays, and it’s often high blood pressure that’s on people’s minds. People who are sedentary tend to have higher blood pressure than their active counterparts. With that said, it’s safe to assume that becoming more physically active will lower your blood pressure. However, immediately after exercise, your blood ...click here to read more

Pericardial effusion is a condition that describes fluid accumulation around the heart. The double-layered structure that surrounds the heart is known as the pericardium, and there is normally a thin layer of fluid found between the layers. Fluid in greater amounts can accumulate in the pericardium as a result of an injury or disease—it can ...click here to read more

Having high cholesterol can be quite bothersome. Having to continually watch what you eat and remembering to always take your medicine can be a pain. Oftentimes, the most commonly prescribed medication are statins, which unfortunately come with a whole bunch of side effects such as muscle aches, weakness, and flushing of the skin. However, a ...click here to read more

The term lipid is commonly used in the health and wellness industry, but there are many people that don’t fully understand how important lipids can be to the functioning of the body. We begin by answering the simple question: Is cholesterol a lipid? Lipids are molecules that contain hydrocarbons. They make up the building blocks ...click here to read more

Patients who take statins to help lower and control their cholesterol levels should continue to do so up to and including on the day of their heart surgery. Statin use has been linked to better post-surgery survival rates in those who undergo heart surgery, and researchers are encouraging patients who are on the medication to ...click here to read more

High cholesterol is associated with a variety of health issues – which means, managing your cholesterol levels is imperative for your well-being. Do you know your cholesterol levels? Are they too high? Below are five potential complications that can arise from uncontrolled cholesterol levels – and five good reasons to get those numbers back under ...click here to read more

Portal hypertension is high blood pressure in the portal venous system. These are the veins that come from the stomach, intestines, spleen, and pancreas, and they merge into the portal vein that further branches out into smaller vessels and extends to the liver. If the vessels in the liver become blocked, this can contribute to ...click here to read more

Everybody knows that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your health, and a recent study from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph offers yet another piece of evidence supporting the importance of proper shuteye. The researchers uncovered that a disrupted circadian rhythm – your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle – can ...click here to read more

A study from the University College Dublin has found that consuming cheese does not raise blood cholesterol levels despite the food’s saturated fat content. While current health and dietary guidelines suggest that food high in saturated fats, such as cheese, may increase your risk of developing high LDL blood cholesterol, this new research has found ...click here to read more

Researchers from Duke University have found that many patients with irregular heartbeats who suffer strokes are not on the necessary anticoagulant medications. Approximately 3 million Americans have atrial fibrillation—an arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat that causes the upper chambers of the heart to quiver chaotically and can raise the risk of blood clots forming in the ...click here to read more

There are few basic principles to a healthy heart: don’t smoke, reduce stress, exercise, and eat healthy. Easy, right? Well, these fundamentals of heart health may be simple, but heart disease continues to be America’s number one killer. Obesity rates are rising, Americans are living sedentary lifestyles, and we are more stressed than ever, working ...click here to read more

When we talk about health, we can’t skip over the subject of high blood pressure. Go for any doctor appointment, be it with a GP or a medical specialist—most likely, your blood pressure (BP) will be checked. Take any household or visit a large pharmacy—you’ll find a sphygmomanometer there (yes, this is how blood pressure ...click here to read more