We are back from Disney and I would like to say thanks to the bazillion- yes that is a word- miles of walking during the 5 days at the Disney parks… I actually lost a pound or two on vacation! Imagine that. I was sure that I would see the scale move in the wrong direction, but I lost 2 pounds. I sure did eat ice cream and more snacks then usual. It is not every day that you take the kids to Disney World right? It was so much fun and the girls had to walk a ton as well. We did rent a 2 person stroller and the kids took turns riding but they still walked about 6-8 hours a day. Our favorite park was the Magic Kingdom followed by Hollywood studios followed by Animal Kingdom then Epcot.  Although I think that the Animal Kingdom was a close... [Read more]

Sex is heart healthy! Here are the top 3 hearty reasons to incorporate sex into your weekly exercise regimen… 1. Orgasms boost your circulation, helping the body rid itself of harmful toxins. Regular sex can even keep your heart healthy and lower your risk of heart attack. 2. Sex uses every muscle group, gets the heart and lungs working hard, and burns about 300 calories an hour. 3. It’s fun! Okay, that last one isn’t clinical but it is true! Now go get that heart pumping, haha. [Read more]

I was so impressed with my 5 year old- at the time- when we did this and since I am nearing the end here at AHL- I am sharing this with you yet again.  We will call her Siddy for short…. So here we go. Her cardiac I.Q. quiz is on…1. Ok, Siddy… what does your heart do? “Beats. It runs your body by the veins and blood” 2. How big is your heart? “As big as this.” (she put her fist up) “Daddy’s must be bigger then yours cause he is taller and has a bigger fist.” 3. Does your heart ever take a brake? “Yes, when I sleep. Wait, it does… it has to. No it can’t. I don’t know mommy?” 4. What is a heart attack? “Your heart gets a boo boo and you have to take needles.” 5. What keeps your heart healthy? “Fruits and... [Read more]

If you have a heart-zapping defibrillator implanted in your chest, you’re not supposed to compete in sports any more intense than bowling or golf. Lots of patients ignore those guidelines, trying everything from school basketball teams and community tennis leagues to running marathons and rock climbing — although no one knows if the life-saving implants work as well under that kind of stress. Many of these athletes will now take part in a nationwide registry to see once and for all if this is a validated risk. Do the athletes need more “shocks” to the heart than other persons that would watch from the sidelines? Can the implanted defibrillators withstand a direct hit to the chest? This registry will hopefully be able to give us more... [Read more]

* Chest compression alone nearly doubled the chances of a good neurological outcome in patients at greatest risk (those that stopped breathing, which accounted for 90 percent of those in the study). * The good outcomes were most likely if the rescue attempt began within four minutes of the collapse. * Mouth-to-mouth ventilation provided no real benefit. * Those given compressions alone survived as often as those given traditional CPR (chest compressions plus rescue breaths). What do you think about this?  This follows new research that shows mouth to mouth is not necessary for survival of cardiac arrest.  This was studied due to the fact that when an average bystander witnesses someone go down from cardiac arrest, they are not super psyched... [Read more]