Medical Conditions

Diabetes occurs when your body makes too little insulin or resists insulin's effects. Heart disease describes conditions affecting your heart and blood vessels. Alzheimer's disease occurs when...

Every man will experience some type of erectile problem at some point in his life. Intermittent problems are fairly normal, but persistent problems are a cause for concern. According to the Mayo...

A Holter heart monitor records the electrical activity in the heart for 24 to 48 hours. A Holter monitor is used to assess abnormal heart rhythms and chest pain, and also evaluates your response...

Heart palpitations are when a person's heart is beating irregularly. Some people who experience heart palpitations describe it as their heart stopping, others associate it with an irregular pulse...

According to the National Institutes of Health, all stem cells have three general abilities: to divide and renew themselves for long periods of time, to be unspecialized, and to become specialized...

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common congenital heart defect, accounting for 6% to 11% of children born with heart disease. Before birth, a blood vessel, the ductus arteriosus, connects the...

The most common reason someone might want to slow their heart rate down is because they are suffering from palpitations or a racing heart. When a heartbeat becomes more than 100 beats per minute,...

Atrial Fibrillation is a condition that causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat erratically. This condition can be caused by a number of factors, and can lead to many dangerous complications.

A pacemaker is inserted when the heart cannot perform its basic function of pumping blood to the vital organs on its own. In relation to the importance of the work it does, a pacemaker is...

Defibrillators are often implanted in heart patients or, in the event of cardiac emergencies, used externally. They employ electrical jolts to return a heart beat to normal or get it started...

Electrocardiograms, or EKGs, are used to test a variety of heart-related functions. EKGs will show doctors if your heart has been damaged in any way, the speed of your heart beat and whether your...

Rapid and irregular heart rates are often caused by diet, medications or increased activity, but frequent or constant racing heartbeats can be a sign of abnormality in the electrical pathway of...

Generally, having a low pulse rate means you are perfectly healthy. However, sometimes your pulse rate can become dangerously low. A normal, healthy pulse rate is usually between 60 to 100 beats...

Heart problems can range from relatively mild conditions, requiring little more than a healthy lifestyle and ongoing monitoring, to serious diseases and defects requiring life-saving surgery.

People with heart palpitations experience fluttering, rapid or pounding heartbeats. This is frequently caused by stress, physical exercise or drugs. Heart palpitations can often be prevented by...

An average man has about 270 milligrams or 9 ounces of potassium in the body. Most of this potassium is found inside the cells, since it is the major cat-ion of the intracellular fluids (155...

Digoxin is a heart medication made from the leaves of the digitalis plant and prescribed under the brand names Digitek, Lanoxin and Cardoxin. It is used to regulate and strengthen heart rate and...

First-degree heart block is a condition that occurs when signals are impaired from the upper (atria) to the lower (ventricle) chambers of the heart. Also known as atrioventricular (AV) block, it...

An ECG, known also as an EKG or an electrocardiogram, is a test used to identify potential heart or circulatory-system conditions and abnormalities. Coronary artery disease, a condition that...

Poor blood circulation can lead to numerous problems, including hypertension, varicose veins and hardening of the arteries. On a less dire level, it can leave you feeling cold in your extremities,...

Heart palpitations are described as a racing or pounding heart, or it may feel like the heart is skipping a beat. These palpitations are not painful, though they can be worrisome.

Vascular disease used to be called "hardening of the arteries." Today it is called atherosclerosis. This disorder is caused by the deposit of fatty plaque along the interior of arteries and veins...

Certain heart conditions can cause low blood pressure when the heart is unable to pump enough blood. Heart attack, bradycardia, or low heart rate, heart valve disorders, and heart failure can all...

Hypertensive disorders involve high blood pressure and are sometimes referred to as "hypertension." Many people suffer from hypertension without knowing it because the disorder has no symptoms....

The circulatory system includes the heart, blood vessels (arteries and veins) and the blood that circulates within. Diseases of the circulatory system occur due to poor diets, illness or genetic...

A pounding heartbeat is the body's response to increased stress, anxiety or physical activity; it is a completely normal body function. But if you have a frequently pounding heartbeat, it may...

Heart rhythm problems, or heart arrhythmias, are serious medical conditions. It is defined as a abnormality with the electrical impulses in your heart, causing an abnormal heart rhythm.

When you suffer from acute decompensated heart failure, it essentially means that the vascular disease causing the inability of your heart to pump a sufficient amount of blood has suddenly...

Fetal heart problems, otherwise known as congenital heart defects, are the most common genetic disorder and responsible for the most fetal deaths in the U.S. According to the March of Dimes, one...

Nutrition plays an important role when it comes to recovering from congestive heart failure. When congestive heart failure occurs, the heart muscle reduces the amount of blood that is being pumped...

A blood pressure reading is a measurement of how hard blood flows through the arteries. High blood pressure is also called hypertension and low blood pressure is also called hypotension.

Kawasaki disease, also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, is a potentially fatal inflammatory disorder that may affect the heart, mucous membranes, skin and immune system. Although the...

Broken heart syndrome is a condition that develops out of a stressful situation. Often referred to as stress cardiomyopathy, times of great turmoil can actually cause your body to produce an...

Adrenal fatigue is a commonly occurring condition triggered by overstress on the body's adrenal glands through excessive physiological or emotional pressure. Rapid heart rate after exercise is...

Carbocaine is the brand name for the generic drug mepivacaine. It is a local anesthetic used for minor and major nerve blocks, epidurals and arthroscopy. As with all prescription medications, side...

Arrhythmia is just a complicated way of saying "irregular heartbeat." Most of us experience these from time to time, and it's not usually anything to worry about. They can be caused by stress,...

Heart palpitations are essentially a series of brief irregular heartbeats. They can manifest as a rapid or pounding rhythm of the heart as well as a fluttering sensation within your chest. It's...

Calcium channel blockers, also known as CCBs, are a group of medicines that promote heart health by reducing the power of the heart's pump, thus promoting healthier, more relaxed blood flow. CCBs...

The American Heart Association (AHA) says rheumatic heart disease occurs when the heart valves are harmed by rheumatic fever. This condition may also be referred to as rheumatic valvular disease....

When you suffer from rhythmic problems of the heart, such as arrhythmias, atrial fibrillations or some cases of palpitations, one treatment option is a procedure known as cardiac ablation. While...

Feeling dizzy or lightheaded during exercise can result from a temporary or relatively simple problem, or it might signify a serious medical issue. If you begin to feel dizzy, stop immediately....

Low blood pressure, or hypotension, has many causes, from common ailments to serious illnesses. Hypotension is brought on by two conditions, the first being a lower than normal amount of blood...

Blood circulation is the highway from which all the body's oxygen and nutrients come. Consequently, any problems with the circulatory system affect every part of the body within the system. In...

When an excess amount of fluid accumulates around your heart, you're actually suffering from a condition known as pericardial effusion. Swelling of the pericardium, which is the protective lining...

Echocardiograms use a device called a transducer that emits high-frequency sound waves that bounce off the heart tissue. The information sent from the transducer to the machine creates a picture...

Blood pressure is the force of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. This pressure is produced mainly by the heart muscle's contractions. Low blood pressure is called hypotension...

Your body is an incredibly efficient machine that constantly adapts its outputs to match the requirements of its environment. Placing your body under stress, whether psychological or...

Heart arrhythmias are abnormalities of the heart's electrical impulses. Normal heart impulses keep the beat at a regular pace, but if an electrical impulse interruption occurs, the heart rate...

A heart valve infection is also known as endocarditis, which can refer to an infection of the heart valve, the heart muscle or the lining of the heart. If you do not treat your infection as soon...

Heart palpitations are typically identified with a flutter or an increase in your heart rate. They are common when they occur over a short period of time. An abnormal heartbeat for a longer period...