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Like most everybody else, people with heart disease spend a lot of time thinking about sex. But if your heart's in trouble, those thoughts can turn dark. You may worry that sex can kill you. You may also wonder what happened to your desire. If heart trouble has cast a shadow over your sex life, talk to your doctor. With a little help and reassurance, many people with heart disease can lead full, s...

Remember those high school chemistry experiments in which you mixed two harmless chemicals and got a bizarre reaction? You may be performing a similar experiment on yourself every time you take two medications at the same time. Certain drugs react strongly when taken with others, often causing serious side effects. In rare cases, drug interactions can even be deadly. Drugs can affect each other i...

Her scrunched-up shoulders and urge to weep when she got to work told Christine Zook all she needed to know about her future as a bus driver. Zook used to drive a bus for an urban transit district in Northern California. There was much about the job that she loved, especially the economic rewards -- decent pay, good family medical benefits, and a great pension. But after 10 years behind the wheel...

It was more than a decade ago when Shawna Lee stepped into the sun room of her parents' house in Champaign, Illinois, and found her 60-year-old mother, Hsiu Lee, looking disoriented. "She told me, 'Your grandfather treated me badly his whole life.' Then she started crying and told me she couldn't button her blouse." "I thought this was weird and called the doctor, who said to come in right away," ...

Editor's note: The story of Donald Drake's heart attack at age 45 begins here in an article he wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1980. Drake, now 76, periodically chronicled his battle with heart disease for years afterward. The pioneering former science and medical reporter at The Inquirer took a buyout after 35 years at the newspaper and went on to become a successful playwright. Here we re...

Editor's note: The story of Donald Drake's heart attack at age 45 begins here in an article he wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1980. Drake, now 76, periodically chronicled his battle with heart disease for years afterward. The pioneering former science and medical reporter at The Inquirer took a buyout after 35 years at the newspaper and went on to become a successful playwright. Here we re...

Editor's note: Donald C. Drake, a former medical writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, has been writing about his battle with heart disease since having a heart attack in 1980 at the age of 45. Since that time, he has undergone an angioplasty, which improved his steadily worsening angina, but did not cure his disease. In this installment, Drake devotes himself to a program of lifestyle changes who...

Want to know your vulnerability to heart disease? Like it or not, one of the best ways to know is to get on the scale. If you're unhappy with what the scale tells you, you're not alone. Despite our national obsession with thinness, Americans are heavier and less active than ever before. Over half of us are overweight, and self-esteem isn't the only thing at stake. Even a few extra pounds can be ha...

What's the link between depression and heart disease? Depression and loneliness put a terrible strain on the heart, and not just in the emotional sense: Psychological distress can turn a survivor of heart disease into a victim. Consider the words of physician Dean Ornish in his book Love and Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy. "Among heart patients, depression is as g...

Most cigarette smokers know the dangers of tobacco. After all, the Surgeon General stamps a warning right on the pack. But what about the people sitting next to the smoker? What about his friends and coworkers? His children? Secondhand smoke doesn't come with a warning label. If it did, more smokers might try harder to kick their addiction. According to the best current estimates, secondhand smoke...

In the Jazz Age, flappers wielded foot-long cigarette holders as emblems of panache and independence. During World War II, monthly ads with Chesterfield cigarette girls featured such stars as Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. Twenty years later, the U.S. Surgeon General linked smoking and death, but images of cigarettes as symbols of feminine freedom, mystery, and sex appeal were by no means extingu...

What is athletic heart syndrome? Athletic heart syndrome is a heart condition that may occur in people who exercise or train for more than an hour a day, most days of the week. Athletic heart syndrome isn't necessarily bad for you -- if you're an athlete. And it's not what makes young athletes expire in mid-court. While it does lead to structural changes in the heart, a person with the conditio...

Years ago, a rare heart problem nearly killed Kristy Michael while she was on a bike ride. Today she's walking to help the American Heart Association raise money to research her disease. On her 31st birthday, Kristy Michael, an avid cyclist, swimmer and runner, found herself lying on the side of the road, her heart racing out of control, convinced she'd met her end. "I was riding my bike to the ...

We all owe our lives to the arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood from our lungs to our heart. If one of those arteries becomes blocked, part of the heart will begin to die. Doctors call this sudden blockage an "acute myocardial infarction," but it's also known as a heart attack. The pain of the attack itself may last for minutes or hours, but the roots of the problem often stretch back several d...

What is angina pectoris? Angina is temporary pain or discomfort in the chest that occurs when not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches your heart muscle. (The term "angina" means "pain," while "pectoris" refers to the chest.) Sometimes angina feels like heartburn, the similar sensations you may get after eating a heavy meal. But if you feel this pain regularly, it may be a symptom of heart diseas...

By all accounts, Lew Pringle was a ham when he taught his mathematics classes at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Striding around the room, waving his arms, and indulging in occasional theatrics, he kept his students entertained. But in the middle of one colorful lecture, he collapsed suddenly, in mid-sentence. "A pain deep in the middle of my chest had hit me like a truck,"recalls the 59-year-ol...

No medical checkup is complete without getting your blood pressure measured. Pressure that stays too high for too long can damage blood vessels and greatly increase your risk of a heart attack, a stroke, or kidney damage. On the bright side, this simple test can give you the information you need to help prevent and control high blood pressure. What do the numbers mean? When you check your pressur...

Can exercise help lower my blood pressure? Researchers have spent decades developing new treatments for high blood pressure, but exercise is still one of the best remedies around. A single workout can reduce blood pressure for an entire day, and regular exercise can keep the pressure down for the long run. What's more, low to moderate intensity training appears to be as beneficial -- if not more ...

Is your blood pressure discriminating against you? Like so many other things, blood pressure is a mixture of luck and lifestyle. While some people seem to have low pressure by nature, others are predisposed to dangerously high numbers. But no matter what hand you're dealt, it's likely that you have the power to lower your blood pressure. About 73 million Americans have high blood pressure (defin...

If you're a heart patient, how do you know which treatment you need? Donald Drake, the Philadelphia Inquirer's former medical writer, found himself researching this question -- not for the newspaper, but for himself. The result was Drake's series of stories for the Inquirer on his search for the right treatment. In 1999, when he was 65 years old, Drake underwent angioplasty, a procedure in which a...

What is coronary heart disease? If the human body were a machine, it would have been recalled by now. A case in point is the heart. The muscle itself is a marvel of engineering, a tireless pump that moves 75 gallons of blood every hour. But there's a glaring flaw in the system. The arteries that carry blood to the heart often become clogged, a condition called coronary heart disease or coronary a...

What are statins? If you have high cholesterol that you can't lower through diet and exercise, doctors will likely recommend statins as a treatment option. Some of these medications which include atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor), lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev), pravastatin (Pravachol), simvastatin (Zocor), and fluvastatin (Lescol) can lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol by as much ...

At this very moment, your blood vessels are pulsing with the raw material that can cause a heart attack. Every drop of human blood contains cholesterol, a compound popularly referred to as a fat, which your body needs to form healthy cells and tissues. From birth on, your liver manufactures cholesterol, which is pushed out to the gut and reabsorbed back as part of a system for fat absorption. In a...

"Driving that train/high on cocaine
Casey Jones, you better watch your speed ...
Come 'round the bend, you know it's the end
The fireman screams and the engine just gleams ..." -- The Grateful Dead Nearly four decades after the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia wrote the lyrics to "Casey Jones," the drug that inspired the song is enjoying a resurgence. More than 35 million Americans 12 y...

C-reactive protein, once obscure, may play an important role in predicting the risk of heart disease. Rethinking heart disease Studies suggest that a key component of heart disease is inflammation, and researchers believe chronically inflamed blood vessels set the stage for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Inflamed patches become "sticky" and start collecting plaque. In an article en...

After years of dodging bullets and taking on bad guys, the fictitious NYPD Blue character Detective Bobby Simone finally died -- after a visit to his dentist. He caught a bacterial infection from an oral treatment in the dentist's chair, and the germ went straight to his heart. Within a few episodes, Andy Sipowicz had a new partner. The story may seem incredible, but similar dramas unfold in real ...

What is hypertension? Every time you get your blood pressure checked, you get two numbers, perhaps something like 130/85. These numbers tell you how hard your blood pushes against the walls of your arteries as it flows through your body. The higher figure, called systolic pressure, indicates the force pushing on blood vessels as the heart contracts. The lower figure, called diastolic pressure, sh...

What do Inuits in Greenland have in common with residents of downtown Tokyo? More than you might think: Both groups rarely suffer heart attacks, and both groups eat a lot of fish. Nutritionists now believe it may not be a coincidence that such dramatically different populations have a similar low incidence of heart disease. Whether you live in an igloo or a skyscraper, fish is good for your heart....

Heart attacks aren't as deadly as they used to be. Thanks to advances in emergency treatment, hundreds of thousands of Americans who have had heart attacks survive the experience, some after more than one attack. If you're one of those survivors, protecting your heart should be your top priority. One out of four men and one out of three women who live through an attack will die within the followin...

What are the warning signs of a heart attack? According to the American Heart Association, the classic warning signs are:

"God in His goodness sent the grape to cheer both great and small. Little fools drink too much and great fools none at all." -- Anonymous Ask a doctor about preventing heart disease, and you'll hear a lot of clear-cut advice. Saturated fat: bad. Smoking: very bad. Exercise: excellent. Ask a doctor about alcohol and the heart, however, and the easy answers disappear. Depending on how it's used, al...

Everyone knows cigarettes can kill. By the time you reach middle age, you've probably known a smoker who has died or is dying of lung cancer. But the biggest threat from cigarettes isn't lung cancer or emphysema -- it's heart disease. Each year, in the United States alone, cigarettes are responsible for up to a third of all deaths from heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. O...

Poets aren't the only ones who see a connection between the mind and the heart. Many scientists now believe that anger, depression, and other forms of mental distress can help ignite heart disease. If you want to avoid heart trouble, exercising and watching your diet are a good start. But for ultimate protection, you may also need to ease your mind. How can emotions affect the heart? Negative fee...

Why do some people fully recover from heart attacks while others struggle to stay alive? The answer isn't always found in hospital charts or EKG readings. Most successful survivors often have something in common: A strong network of friends and family. If you've recently had a heart attack, you should know that healing isn't just a one-person job. Whether they're offering a ride to the doctor's of...

If you have a heart problem, chances are you also have a prescription -- or several. Medications are the cornerstone of treatment for almost every kind of heart disease. The right drugs can ease your symptoms and may prolong your life. But how much do you know about those pills in your medicine cabinet? With hundreds of heart drugs on the market, it can be hard to keep everything straight. Here's ...

What is heart failure? If you have heart failure, your heart doesn't pump as strongly as it should. The word "failure" may be frightening, but it doesn't mean that your heart has stopped working or is about to break down. With treatment and careful attention, many people can manage their condition and still be active and energetic. Heart failure is common, and the number of patients continues to ...

What is a pacemaker? An artificial pacemaker is a small device that helps your heart beat in a regular pattern at a normal rate, if it doesn't do so naturally. A battery in the pacemaker sends pulses of electricity through wires to your heart to stimulate a consistent heartbeat. Pacemakers can be temporary or permanent, depending on your individual condition. A doctor must implant a permanent pa...

What is a stress test? There's nothing like a good workout to find out how fit you really are. You may feel like a champion in your armchair fantasies, but playing a set of tennis can tell a different story. Likewise, you don't know how well your heart is working until you put it to the test. Almost everybody's heart beats in the same monotonous rhythm when they're resting. But during exercise, s...

How fast should my heart be beating? If you're an adult, your heart should beat somewhere between 50 and 90 times per minute when you're resting, regardless of your age or sex. If you're a super-fit athlete, your heartbeat may be as low as 40 or 50 beats per minute. If you're overweight, if you're a smoker, or if you have high blood pressure, your heart rate may be a little on the fast side. How...

It was eye-catching news in 2002 when researchers called a halt to a major government-run study of a hormone therapy used by millions of older women. Researchers stopped the study, one of a series of clinical trials under the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), after they found that long-term use of estrogen and progestin raised the risk of heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and invasive breast canc...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

February 28 Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a mara...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...

Editor's note: Mike Ashland loved running. But after he moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon, and began working on a home renovation with his partner, he found himself more and more exhausted. Medical tests revealed that without his knowledge, he had suffered a massive heart attack that destroyed nearly half of his heart muscle. Within a month, Ashland went from being a marathon runner ...