Heart disease doesn't have to keep you from donating blood
As blood centers and hospitals face critically low levels of blood supplies, many people with heart disease may wonder if they can help by donating.
Mar 10, 2024
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As blood centers and hospitals face critically low levels of blood supplies, many people with heart disease may wonder if they can help by donating.
Mar 10, 2024
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16
In the largest genome-wide association study to date on type 2 diabetes, a team of international researchers, co-led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst genetic epidemiologist, has located 1,289 genetic markers associated ...
Feb 19, 2024
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Using intravascular imaging to guide stent implantation during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in heart disease patients significantly improves survival and reduces adverse cardiovascular events compared to angiography-guided ...
Feb 21, 2024
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A study of people with obstructive sleep apnea suggests that high CPAP pressures may explain why the machines do not lower a patient's risk of heart disease, which is about two to three times higher than average.
Feb 26, 2024
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Plasma 4β-hydroxycholesterol (4βHC) measurement could offer a possibility to predict and prevent sudden cardiac deaths in men with coronary artery disease, according to a study by the University of Oulu.
Feb 28, 2024
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Discovery of a DNA shift in the innate immune memory of cells may aid in the fight against one of humans' most deadly foes—sepsis.
Mar 12, 2024
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Ultrahigh-spatial-resolution photon-counting detector CT improved assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD), allowing for reclassification to a lower disease category in 54% of patients, according to a new study published ...
Feb 20, 2024
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Heart health is an essential part of your overall health and well-being. Your primary care provider will monitor your blood pressure and lab work during an annual physical exam or more frequently. If you have symptoms that ...
Mar 5, 2024
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If at 58, I were to agree to a boxing match with a person half my age, much alarm would be caused. My daughters would burst into tears, my partner would have strong words, and my students would have final confirmation that ...
Mar 15, 2024
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For thousands of Americans each year, a bone marrow transplant has the potential to cure diseases such as leukemias, lymphomas, and immune deficiency disorders. While lifesaving, bone marrow transplants are taxing procedures ...
Mar 12, 2024
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Coronary artery disease (CAD; also atherosclerotic heart disease) is the end result of the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the coronary arteries that supply the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) with oxygen and nutrients. It is sometimes also called coronary heart disease (CHD). Although CAD is the most common cause of CHD, it is not the only one.
CAD is the leading cause of death worldwide. While the symptoms and signs of coronary artery disease are noted in the advanced state of disease, most individuals with coronary artery disease show no evidence of disease for decades as the disease progresses before the first onset of symptoms, often a "sudden" heart attack, finally arises. After decades of progression, some of these atheromatous plaques may rupture and (along with the activation of the blood clotting system) start limiting blood flow to the heart muscle. The disease is the most common cause of sudden death, and is also the most common reason for death of men and women over 20 years of age. According to present trends in the United States, half of healthy 40-year-old males will develop CAD in the future, and one in three healthy 40-year-old women. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Northern Ireland is the country with the most occurrences of CAD. By contrast, the Maasai of Africa have almost no heart disease.
As the degree of coronary artery disease progresses, there may be near-complete obstruction of the lumen of the coronary artery, severely restricting the flow of oxygen-carrying blood to the myocardium. Individuals with this degree of coronary artery disease typically have suffered from one or more myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), and may have signs and symptoms of chronic coronary ischemia, including symptoms of angina at rest and flash pulmonary edema.
A distinction should be made between myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction. Ischemia means that the amount of blood supplied to the tissue is inadequate to supply the needs of the tissue. When the myocardium becomes ischemic, it does not function optimally. When large areas of the myocardium becomes ischemic, there can be impairment in the relaxation and contraction of the myocardium. If the blood flow to the tissue is improved, myocardial ischemia can be reversed. Infarction means that the tissue has undergone irreversible death due to lack of sufficient oxygen-rich blood.
An individual may develop a rupture of an atheromatous plaque at any stage of the spectrum of coronary artery disease. The acute rupture of a plaque may lead to an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
This text uses material from Wikipedia licensed under CC BY-SA