Heart Health

New Hope for Advanced Heart Failure

Jan 21, 2020 · JoAnn Milivojevic · Heart Health

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is too weak to pump enough blood for the body’s needs. People with advanced heart failure are often subject to frequent hospitalizations and diminished quality of life. In the advanced state, it can be difficult to breathe even at rest. Heart … Read More

This Leaky Heart Valve Disorder Affects Millions

Jan 21, 2020 · JoAnn Milivojevic · Heart Health

Mitral valve regurgitation (MR) is the most common heart valve disease in the United States, affecting about 4 million people. By middle age, many people have some minor leakage due to natural deterioration of the valve. By age 75, about one in 10 people has moderate to severe MR. As … Read More

Ask the Doctor: Daily Aspirin; Memory Trouble; Worrying

Jan 21, 2020 · UHN Staff · Heart Health

Q: What is the current thinking about daily aspirin therapy to prevent a heart attack or stroke? I know the risk of bleeding and a hemorrhagic stroke is higher among people who take aspirin routinely. A: The advice doctors give their patients about aspirin has certainly changed a lot through … Read More

Newsbriefs: New Heart Transplant Procedure; Insulin Injections; Warfarin

Jan 21, 2020 · Carrie Adkins-Ali · Heart Health

Duke Performs New Heart Transplant Procedure. A Duke University Hospital team has become the first in the United States to transplant an adult heart into a recipient through a process known as donation after circulatory death (DCD). Circulatory death occurs when the heart stops before the brain ceases function. Although … Read More

Resources

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics eatright.org 800-877-1600 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190 Chicago, IL 60606-6995 American Academy of Sleep Medicine aasm.org 630-737-9700 2510 N. Frontage Rd. Darien, IL 60561 American College of Sports Medicine acsm.org 317-637-9200 401 W. Michigan St. Indianapolis, IN 46202-3233 American Diabetes Association diabetes.org 800-342-2383 2451 … Read More

Glossary

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors: Drugs that reduce blood pressure by blocking the conversion of the hormone angiotensin to angiotensin II (which constricts blood vessels), allowing for easier blood flow through relaxed blood vessels. acute coronary syndrome: A term used to describe situations (angina or heart attack) in which atherosclerotic … Read More

9. Conclusion

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

Now that you’ve read about what blood pressure is, the risk factors for hypertension, the potential harms it poses to your health, and the ways you can keep your blood pressure under control, it’s time to focus on those two very important numbers. After all, as you now know, they’re … Read More

8. Medications to Treat Hypertension

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

If you’re diagnosed with hypertension, your doctor may recommend that you start on a blood-pressure-lowering, or antihypertensive, medication. The decision about whether to start medical therapy, and how intense your initial treatment should be, is based primarily on where your blood pressure is on the hypertension spectrum and your overall … Read More

7. Lifestyle Can Help Blood Pressure

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

You probably like to feel in control of your life: your finances, your schedule, your business and your personal life. When it comes to your blood pressure, there are certain factors that strip you of the control you seek, such as your age, race, and genetic makeup. Quite simply, you … Read More

6. Recommended Blood Pressure Levels

Dec 18, 2019 · Jim Black · Heart Health

Since 2017, when guidelines from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) were published, most experts in the United States have considered a systolic blood pressure of 130 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or higher or a diastolic pressure of 80 mmHg or greater as hypertension. Yet, … Read More