Dr. Alain Bouchard is joined by Dr. Steven Nissen, MD.Chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. With the high prevalence of risk factors and cardiovascular disease in the US, looking at Statin vs Supplements for high cholesterol appears well-timed. As physicians, we face the hurdle that overall patients are reluctant to take medicine and would […]
What is a TIA? Transient Ischemic Attack Explained
Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke, and every year more than 795,000 people suffer from a stroke. Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), also known as a “mini-stroke,” is a stroke where blood flow to the brain is blocked only for a short time. It is often a precursor to a full stroke […]
Bedtime May Be the Best Time for Taking Antihypertensive Medication
In this article from November 18, 2019, Dr. Martin Juneau of the Montreal Heart Institute looks at a study into the effect of timing on antihypertensive medication. OVERVIEW 19,084 hypertensive patients were randomly assigned to take their antihypertensive medication in a single dose daily, either at bedtime or upon waking up. For six years, researchers […]
Benefits of Coffee : Getting To The Heart Of The Matter
Decades ago in the 70’s and 80’s there was a flurry of articles published in major medical journals that implicated coffee drinking as a risk factor for heart attacks. It was reported that the risk was related to the amount of coffee consumed: the more coffee, the higher the risk. But as research techniques improved, […]
Amlodipine Side Effects – What To Expect
The most likely reason to be started on amlodipine is for blood pressure control. It causes relaxation and dilation of the blood vessels leading to lowering of blood pressure. The other reason people are started on amlodipine is for control of chest pain in people with coronary artery disease, amlodipine is thought to achieve this […]
What is Heart Failure? – Everything You Need To Know
Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a very common heart condition. As doctors, we understand exactly what we mean when this diagnosis is given, but for the patient it is often a different story. The words “heart failure” lead people to assume that their heart has “given up” and is actually […]
Atrial Fibrillation – Part 1 – What is it?
Atrial fibrillation, sometimes called a-fib, is the commonest cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). In contrast to the metronome-like heart rhythm that we are used to, atrial fibrillation is characterized by an irregularly irregular heartbeat. If you were to check your pulse, there would be no pattern. The timing of your heartbeat would almost seem random. […]
The 35-45 Year Old Health Check – (Part 2)- The History
By Murtaza Ahmed MD Many people have come to think that the bulk of a health check consists of blood tests. While blood tests are very important and have their role, they are by no means the be all and end all when it comes to deciding if you are healthy. There are some Physicians […]
The 35-45 Year-Old Health Check – (Part 1) – Why is it so important?
By Murtaza Ahmed MD As I mentioned in my previous post, the obesity epidemic, one of the most common presentations of the 35-45 year old patient is for a ‘general health check’. There is something about this age that makes people conscious that there may be aspects of their health that require attention. The […]
Stroke – Part 1 – Types of Stroke
By Julian Booker MD Stroke falls under the category of cerebrovascular disease meaning disease involving the blood vessels of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord and visual system). We all know someone that has had a stroke but many of us do not know what a stroke is. I have heard people refer to […]