Experts Revise Guidelines on Daily Aspirin for Heart 03.15.09, 08:00 PM EDT MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Amid the continuing debate over who should pop an aspirin each day to fight heart disease, and at what dose, U.S. experts have revised guidelines stating that lower doses appear to be at least as effective as higher doses and safer at preventing ...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that develops as a result of a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experience. PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event or events in some way, tend to avoid places, people, or other things that remind them of the event (avoidance), and are exquisitely sensitive to normal life experiences (hyperarousal). Although this condition ...

Pernicious anemia (per-NISH-us uh-NEE-me-uh) is a condition in which the body does not make enough red blood cells due to a lack of vitamin B12 in the body. It usually occurs in people whose bodies have lost the ability to absorb vitamin B12 from food. Anemia Pernicious anemia is one of many different types of anemia. Having anemia means you do ...

The heart is a two stage electric pump whose job it is to circulate blood through the body. The pump is dependent on the electric current that the cells of the heart generate to have a coordinated squeeze so that the pump can pump. The heart has four chambers, the right and left atria (singular= atrium) and the right and left ...

You're a busy healthcare professional, and you've probably got a lot more on your plate than just your job. You might have a family. A hobby (or two, or three!). A social life. Between everything you take it, you might forget about the food you put into your body. It's easy to swing by the fast food restaurant on the way ...

The March of Dimes would like to see all babies in all states screened for the following 29 disorders, for which effective treatment is available. This recommendation is based on endorsement of a report by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) urging screening for these disorders. The report was commissioned by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.The 29 disorders ...

As the heart beats, it pumps blood through a system of blood vessels called the circulatory system. The vessels are elastic tubes that carry blood to every part of the body. Arteries carry blood away from the heart while veins return it. Vascular disease includes any condition that affects your circulatory system. This ranges from diseases of your arteries, veins and ...

Reactive arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis featuring the following three conditions: (1) inflamed joints, (2) inflammation of the eyes (conjunctivitis), and (3) inflammation of the genital, urinary, or gastrointestinal systems. This form of joint inflammation is called "reactive arthritis" because it is felt to involve an immune system that is "reacting" to the presence of bacterial infections in the ...

Binswanger's disease (BD), also called subcortical vascular dementia, is a type of dementia caused by widespread, microscopic areas of damage to the deep layers of white matter in the brain. The damage is the result of the thickening and narrowing (atherosclerosis) of arteries that feed the subcortical areas of the brain. Atherosclerosis (commonly known as "hardening of the arteries") is a ...

A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus (womb). For certain conditions, the Fallopian tubes and ovaries are also removed. The most common medical reasons for doing a hysterectomy include benign fibroid tumors of the uterus (30% of cases), abnormal uterine bleeding (20%), endometriosis (20%), genital prolapse (15%), and chronic pelvic pain (about 10%). Some women choose to have a hysterectomy ...

Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. Among people who do, the average weight gain is between 6 and 8 pounds. Roughly 10 percent of people who stop smoking gain a large amount of weight - 30 pounds or more.

Klinefelter syndrome, also known as the XXY condition, is a term used to describe males who have an extra X chromosome in most of their cells. Instead of having the usual XY chromosome pattern that most males have, these men have an XXY pattern. Klinefelter syndrome is named after Dr. Henry Klinefelter, who first described a group of symptoms found in ...

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) is a relatively rare type of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). It is resistant to almost all drugs used to treat TB, including the two best first-line drugs: isoniazid and rifampin. XDR TB is also resistant to the best second-line medications: fluoroquinolones and at least one of three injectable drugs (i.e., amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin).

There are a number of problems that affect the oral health of children, including tooth decay, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking, and early tooth loss. Even though baby teeth are eventually replaced with permanent teeth, keeping baby teeth healthy is important to a child's overall health and well-being.

Newborn infant hearing screening programs are designed to identify hearing loss in infants shortly after birth. All states have implemented these screening protocols within hospitals and birthing clinics. About 95% of hearing screening tests are done prior to discharge from the hospital or birthing clinics. Typically, nurses or medical assistants are trained extensively on how to operate automated equipment for testing ...

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a condition characterized by abnormal electrical pathways in the heart that cause a disruption of the heart's normal rhythm (arrhythmia). The heartbeat is controlled by electrical signals that move through the heart in a highly coordinated way. A specialized cluster of cells called the atrioventricular node conducts electrical impulses from the heart's upper chambers (the atria) to the ...

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease of the connective tissue. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses which occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Scleroderma is characterized by the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the skin and organs of the body. This leads to thickness and firmness of involved areas. Scleroderma, when it's diffuse or widespread over the ...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is breathing failure that can occur in critically ill persons with underlying illnesses. It is not a specific disease. Instead, it is a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is severe fluid buildup in both lungs. The fluid buildup prevents the lungs from working properly—that is, allowing the transfer of oxygen from air into the body ...

The human nervous system develops from a small, specialized plate of cells along the back of an embryo. Early in development, the edges of this plate begin to curl up toward each other, creating the neural tube—a narrow sheath that closes to form the brain and spinal cord of the embryo. As development progresses, the top of the tube becomes the ...

Pheochromocytoma is a very long word, even for someone who speaks "medical language." If you happen to be a fan of TV dramas involving young confused doctors, you may have heard the word a few times. It is made up of four parts: pheo-chromo-cyt-oma. If you are one of the few people who have had a personal experience or know someone ...