Not all headaches are warnings of a stroke, not all chest pains are the onset of a heart attack, you need to learn the signs to look for. If you have shortness of breath and sweating, this is your body telling you that something more serious going on.
There are normal headaches caused by stress, eyestrain or allergies this type of headache will fade. If the headaches persist you should see your health care provider. If you experience a headache that feels as if your head will explode and it persists you need to see your health care provider immediately, this …read more

I don’t know how to relate this to diabetes or heart disease, but being an American, I must write about this today September the 11th… so I am sharing this here as well…
I still remember like it was yesterday… I was in room 435 with the patient in A bed when the patient on the other side of the curtain screamed, “Oh my God, we are under attack”. I remember turning to see what the hell was going on, and everything just sort of going into slow motion. A few other doctors, nurses and visitors had peeked their heads …read more

Music man Isaac Hayes died of a stroke on Sunday in his Memphis home. The deep-voiced soul singer died after he was found unconscious at his residence. Very sad- many prayers to his family.
However, it was also reported that no autopsy had been performed. No official determination has been released by the medical examiner’s office or filed with the Memphis health department, which issues death certificates.
via Perez Hilton and AP

Remember when beloved Cheers and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer had a ’small’ heart attack last month. Well, he is back in the hospital. It is so scary. Even for celebrities- remember they are real people as well.  He had just come out last week and stated how scary his heart attack was. Mr. Grammer said that he almost died and that his heart actually stopped and needed to be hit twice to revive him.
Television star Kelsey Grammer is back in hospital with an irregular heartbeat, two months after suffering a heart attack the actor has said nearly killed him.
Kelsey presented …read more

I am off on vacation this evening. I am looking forward to the rest and relaxation. You know that they say it is good for your heart!
Using information from the Framingham Heart Study, which started in 1948, researchers looked at questionnaires women in the study had filled out over 20 years about how often they took vacations. Those women who took a vacation once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year, said Elaine Eaker, a co-author …read more

Here is something that should make you smile. Optimism is good for heart health. Yes… emotional wellbeing. I know that so many disregard how we as patients and people are felling and coping, but it is so important! I am a firm believer.
Optimism is good for heart health, at least among men, a new study shows. University of Rochester Medical Center researcher Robert Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., found that men who believed they were at lower-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease actually experienced a three times lower incidence of death from heart attacks and strokes.
The same results were not found among …read more

Still on the heels of the death of Tim Russert there is yet another test raving of benefits… calculating cardiac calcium scores.
“Calcium scoring is helpful to see if somebody has coronary disease,” she said. “It’s not as helpful to determine … where critical blockages are or which plaque is going to cause a problem. It’s a good screening test. We go from there to try to reduce the risk of having a heart attack.”
With a positive test the patient then has the knowledge to go and have a stress test and ultimately a cath to fix any blockages.
via Baltimore Sun

This is interesting. Since Tim Russert’s sudden cardiac death appointments with cardiologists are up and awareness is at an all time high.
“Any time a celebrity has a medical problem that hits the news, there’s a heightened awareness of the condition. That’s human nature,” said Dr. Stephen Green, chief of cardiology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. “We’ve been seeing more people coming into the emergency room and scheduling appointments.”
Good does come out of hardship and sadness. Are you up to date with your cardiology appointments?
via Newsday.com 

Kelsey Grammer suffered a heart attack this weekend…
Sources say Kelsey was swimming on the beach in Kona when he had the attack and that his heart definitely stopped for a few seconds. The Cheers star had to be airlifted by helicopter from Kona to Honolulu for tests and treatment.
Hopefully he will bounce right back. Get well… I loved Cheers!!!!!!
via Perez Hilton

I was examining my search items for this site as of recent and found quite a few for heterotaxy. So this is a Dear Kendra of sorts…
What is heterotaxy?  
First, heterotaxy has a prevalence of less then 0.1% but is thought to account for1% of infant mortality.  Heterotaxy is also called asplenia. Asplenia is a heterogeneous disease that primarily affects the asymmetric organs, including the heart, liver, intestines, and spleen. Heterogeneous meaning genetic.  Primarily, this disease includes cyanotic congenital heart disease, asplenia, and intestinal malrotation. Asplenia is thought to have some familial predisposition. Embryologically, it results from failure of development …read more