Obstructive sleep apnea is a common condition that can increase your risk for a lot of other conditions that you really want to avoid. Complications from sleep apnea can include heart attack, dementia, glaucoma, diabetes, and even some types of cancer. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the best and … Read More
If you have varicose veins or spider veins, you are not alone. They affect one in five adults and half of people over the age of 50 in the U.S. Although varicose veins are an indication of weak or damaged veins, they are usually more of a cosmetic problem than … Read More
If you have unsightly varicose veins, self-help strategies—such as weight loss, physical activity, not standing up for long periods of time, elevating your legs when sitting down, and wearing compression stockings—can sometimes mitigate their appearance. However, if these approaches don’t help, and if you're bothered by the appearance of your … Read More
If you’ve ever had an ingrown toenail, that stabbing—and almost unbearable—pain and pressure is probably hard to forget. (Who knew that one tiny toenail could cause that much trouble?) An ingrown toenail occurs when the corner or sides of the nail dig into the skin. If the nail manages to … Read More
Vascular dementia (VaD) ranks second among memory loss causes after Alzheimer’s disease, yet it is often overlooked. But what is vascular dementia? The condition is caused by vascular problems affecting memory regions and supporting structures in the brain, and is closely associated with cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease. Causes of … Read More
Various dementia types can be caused by medical or psychiatric conditions, among them high fever, vitamin deficiency, head trauma, or depression. These are the so-called "reversible dementias." Other dementia types are irreversible and—if you’re wondering, "Is dementia hereditary?"—can be caused by family genes. Let’s look at reversible dementia first. It’s … Read More
You feel fatigued, and you tire out more easily, unable to do some of the things you used to do. You might attribute your symptoms to any number of health problems, but then you notice a fluttering sensation in your chest. You have atrial fibrillation. Fatigue, heart palpitations, progressive weakness, … Read More
Growing up in a medical family, I heard about many physical problems, but the one that always makes me grin when I think back is “varicose veins.” At the time, I listened as my mother’s friend discussed her varicose veins. She even pointed out the bulging blue, gnarly veins at … Read More
When you feel your heart skip a beat or beat faster than normal, the sensations are called palpitations. They may be brief and harmless—the result of a vigorous workout. Or, heart palpitations symptoms could indicate an arrhythmia or another heart problem. An arrhythmia is a condition in which the heart’s … Read More
Graves' disease is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own thyroid gland, leading to an overproduction of thyroid hormones. It is the most common form of hyperthyroidism and one of the most common autoimmune disorders in the United States. Graves’s disease causes numerous hyperthyroidism symptoms, … Read More
