A low heart rate may be a sign of an efficiently working heart. Or, if the rate becomes too low, it could be a sign of health complications down the road. A normal or healthy resting heart rate for an adult is between 60 and 100 beats a minute. A … Read More
Most of the time you don’t feel a thing as the force of blood pressing against your blood vessel walls builds and damages arteries in your brain, heart, kidneys, and other areas of your body. Only when your blood pressure reaches very high levels do symptoms tend to arise. If … Read More
A common type of hypotension, or low blood pressure, is known as orthostatic hypotension. Also called postural hypotension, it involves a sudden drop in blood pressure when you stand up from a prone or seated position. Orthostatic hypotension happens when blood pools in your legs upon standing. The result—within three … Read More
At some point in life, you may have experienced dizziness while standing up. Dizziness includes three subtly different symptoms: Lightheadedness, where your head feels light, as if you may feel faint Vertigo, where you feel that the room or world is spinning Unsteadiness, where you feel like you are unstable … Read More
If you’re blessed with the gift of perfect or near-perfect eyesight, it can be quite jarring when you first experience a significant period of blurred vision. You’re not sure whether it’s a temporary occurrence or a sign that you might be losing your eyesight. Blurred vision refers to a lack … Read More
Typhus is a group of bacterial diseases with a long history. “Epidemic typhus caused by Rickettsia prowazekii is one of the oldest pestilential diseases of humankind,” according to researchers of an article published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum. Despite hanging around for centuries, giving generations of researchers a chance to … Read More
Over the past decade, we've seen a significant increase in the number of older adults dying from falls, per research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Falls are also a leading cause of nonfatal injuries in seniors. People are living longer, but the increased longevity makes us … Read More
Ahh, brain fog. Why do you toy with me so? The other day I looked everywhere for my car keys. I was rushing so I could drop off my kids at school (finally!) when I realized they were missing (the keys, not the kids). I searched frantically: the kitchen, the … Read More
Balance—or your sense of equilibrium—is something you may take for granted. It helps you stay upright when standing, know where you are in relation to gravity, and walk and move without falling. Balance is controlled by the vestibular system in the inner ear: essentially, this system tells you how your … Read More
When it comes to high blood pressure, symptoms tend to show up only when the condition is serious. You’ve heard the phrase "silent killer"? It was coined for hypertension (high blood pressure) because it can linger for a long time without you knowing before it causes a stroke or other … Read More
