Category: Heart Health

Deadlines. Emails. Meetings. Performance reviews. Long commutes. Constant notifications. For millions of office workers, stress has become a normal part of the workday. Many people think of stress as a mental or emotional problem. However, cardiologists increasingly recognize that chronic workplace stress can have significant effects on physical health—particularly the heart. Research suggests that long-term…

A heart attack can be life-changing. After leaving the hospital, many people wonder whether it’s safe to exercise again—and if so, how much activity is appropriate. The answer is encouraging: for most people, physical activity becomes an important part of recovery. In fact, structured exercise is one of the most effective ways to rebuild cardiovascular…

A stroke can change life in an instant. One moment everything feels normal; the next, speaking, walking, thinking, or performing everyday tasks may become challenging. For stroke survivors and their families, one of the biggest questions is: “What happens now?” The first year after a stroke is often a period of significant recovery, adaptation, and…

When your doctor places a stethoscope on the side of your neck during a physical exam, they’re often listening to the blood flow through your carotid arteries—two major blood vessels that supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain. This simple exam can sometimes provide clues about carotid artery disease, a condition that increases the risk of…

Have you ever felt your heart racing, fluttering, skipping beats, or beating irregularly for no obvious reason? While occasional palpitations can be harmless, they can sometimes signal a condition called atrial fibrillation (AFib)—the most common sustained heart rhythm disorder in adults. AFib is important not only because it affects the heartbeat, but because it significantly…

Many people think of stroke as a problem that only affects the elderly. However, strokes can occur much earlier than most people realize, and the risk begins to rise significantly during your 40s and 50s. The encouraging news is that many strokes are preventable. In fact, the factors that have the greatest impact on stroke…

Imagine suddenly losing vision in one eye, having trouble speaking, or feeling weakness in an arm—only for the symptoms to disappear minutes later. Many people assume that because the symptoms went away, the problem is over. In reality, those temporary symptoms may have been a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), often called a mini stroke. A…

Many adults receive their cholesterol test results and immediately wonder: “Are these numbers good or bad?” Understanding your cholesterol results is important because they help assess your risk for conditions such as: However, no single cholesterol number tells the whole story. Doctors look at several measurements together, along with other risk factors such as age,…

Years after the start of the pandemic, researchers are still studying how COVID-19 affects long-term cardiovascular health. While most people recover without serious complications, evidence now shows that some survivors face elevated risks of heart and blood vessel problems months or even years after infection. The risk appears highest in people who had severe illness,…