In early January 2019, 35-year-old Aaron Mount woke with shortness of breath and minor chest pain. His Apple Watch showed his resting heart rate at about 165 beats per minute, well above the normal range. Aaron decided to go to an urgent care center to see why he wasn’t feeling well. “I really didn’t think…
New recommendations for taking baby aspirin daily to prevent heart attacks and strokes may have you wondering what to do. According to a cardiologist and a neurologist, fundamentally, advice on the topic really hasn’t changed. With a few exceptions, if you have never been diagnosed with heart disease, vascular disease or had a stroke, you…
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, currently affecting over 5 million people in the U.S. Twenty percent of all strokes occur in patients with A-fib; and A-fib-related strokes are more frequently fatal and disabling. The most common treatment to reduce stroke risk in patients with A-fib is a blood-thinning medication such as…
“Beverly Hills, 90210″ star Luke Perry died less than a week after suffering a major stroke. He was just 52 years old. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. While most strokes occur in people over age 65, they are not limited to this…
Heart disease kills more Americans than any other disease, and according to the American Heart Association, African Americans may face a higher risk for heart disease compared with other groups. Kelly C. McCants, M.D., cardiologist and medical director of Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure Program, said uncontrolled high blood pressure is the…
Studies show that African Americans’ risk for stroke and stroke disability is higher than that of other groups. Lacy Shumway, stroke outreach coordinator for Norton Neuroscience Institute, explains some of the statistics from the National Stroke Association and discusses what health care providers and other partners can do to decrease the risk of stroke for…
After 10 years of trying for a second child, Amanda Slayton and her husband, Scott, were jubilant when they conceived their son Seth. Born in February 2018, he is every parent’s prayer — happy, healthy and undemanding. In ways they couldn’t have predicted, their baby’s good nature has been a godsend to the Slaytons. Less…
We’ve all heard “time is money” and “time heals all wounds.” What about this one? “Time lost is brain lost.” Treating a stroke quickly can mean the difference between recovery and irreversible brain damage, or even death, according to Bryan J. Eckerle, M.D., neurologist with Norton Neurology Services, and Tom L. Yao, M.D., endovascular neurosurgeon…
Simple snoring is a problem in bedrooms across the world. But 1 in 5 adults have at least mild sleep apnea. They stop breathing for periods while they’re asleep. While it’s not breathing, your body reflexively responds to the lack of oxygen by releasing adrenaline. Your heart beat accelerates, and your blood pressure rises. Sleep…
Too much bad cholesterol or too little good cholesterol coursing through your bloodstream increases the risk that the waxy substance can start lining the walls of arteries that supply blood to the heart and brain. That’s bad enough, but why exactly can high cholesterol cause heart disease? Why is high cholesterol bad? Whether the good…
High blood pressure puts extra strain on the heart and arteries. Years of untreated high blood pressure and the strain it puts on artery walls creates places for cholesterol to build up and form hardened patches of plaque. If the plaque ruptures, bits and pieces enter the bloodstream, where they can form blood clots. High…
If you are experiencing stress or not handling your stress with healthy tools, it may affect your heart health. When the body feels stress, the natural reaction is to release adrenaline and cortisol, hormones that can cause your breathing and heart rate to speed up and your blood pressure to rise. Many know this…