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If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, it is important to understand the condition can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. You should attend all recommended medical appointments and adhere to all recommended lifestyle changes even if your symptoms are not bothersome day-to-day. Poorly managed heart disease can have major health consequences, including an increased risk for stroke. Types of Heart Disease Associated With Stroke Stroke is a serious medical condition characterized by interrupted or reduced blood supply to the brain....

Herniated disc surgery is an operation in which a spinal disc that has herniated is cut away from a nearby nerve. The procedure is typically performed by an orthopedic or neurological surgeon. The goal of herniated disc surgery is to relieve pain and restore normal motion when a disc herniates, or is pushed out of place, and is compressing a spinal nerve. What Is Surgery for a Herniated Disc? If you have low back pain, sciatica, or cervical radiculopathy, a herniated disc may be causing your problem....

Hashimoto’s disease, also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, is an autoimmune condition that attacks the thyroid gland, often resulting in an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). Treatment for this condition depends on whether it is causing subclinical (without symptoms) or overt (causing symptoms) hypothyroidism. Some people with Hashimoto’s have normal thyroid-stimulating hormones (TSH). The treatment for Hashimoto’s with normal TSH usually does not involve medication. Instead, there are lifestyle changes a person can make, like getting optimum nutrition, that can help them manage the disease....

If you think you or your child may have a fever, you reach for a thermometer to check. However, getting an accurate reading means knowing the right way to use the type of thermometer you have. Several different ones are available, from temporal to oral, rectal to axillary, and it’s easier than you may think to get it wrong. Types of Thermometers You have the option of digital or manual (mercury) thermometers for taking a temperature in three ways:...

What Is Incruse Ellipta? Incruse Ellipta is an oral inhalation powder used as a maintenance treatment for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Its main ingredient in powder form is called umeclidinium. Umeclidinium is in the anticholinergic drug class. Anticholinergics relax the muscles in the lungs to help expand the airways. Allergens or irritants can cause receptors called muscarinic M3 receptors to turn on in the brain and release acetylcholine, a chemical found throughout the nervous system....

What Is Lipitor? Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a prescription medication used to treat high cholesterol. It belongs to a class of drugs commonly known as statins, antihyperlipidemics (cholesterol-lowering drugs), or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. Statins work by blocking an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase. This enzyme’s role is to speed up the body’s process of building cholesterol. Blocking this enzyme by taking a statin drug slows down natural cholesterol production and lowers the amount of cholesterol in your blood....

Lower abdominal pain has a lot of causes and can feel significantly different depending on the cause. Most of the time, it’s something innocuous like trapped gas or indigestion. Sometimes, though, lower abdominal pain can be a symptom of a more serious issue. Pay attention to any other symptoms you have, as they may be clues as to what’s going on. This article looks at many causes of lower abdominal pain, their symptoms, what causes them, and how they’re diagnosed and treated....

“Lymphoma” is a general term used to describe diseases of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of the body’s immune system and helps fight infection. There are two categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Lymphoma symptoms in women can mimic other gynecologic health conditions and hormonal changes. Although women are slightly less likely to get lymphoma than men, their symptoms may be overlooked. This can delay diagnosis and treatment....

If you buy your own health insurance in the U.S. (i.e., you don’t get it from an employer or a government-run program like Medicare or Medicaid), you’re probably aware of the premium subsidies (premium tax credits) created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While most people are aware that subsidy eligibility is based on income, there’s still plenty of confusion in terms of how your income is actually defined under the ACA....

While it may cause your heart to race, missing your period doesn’t always mean you’re pregnant. Lifestyle, age, and health factors can cause your body to “skip” a menstrual cycle. In addition to keeping track of your missed period, take notice of other symptoms you may be experiencing, like a gassy stomach. If pregnancy is ruled out, other symptoms will help give you and your healthcare provider an accurate diagnosis....

The red cell distribution width (RDW) blood test measures how equal your red blood cells are in size and shape. The RDW test is one of several tests included in a complete blood count (CBC), a standard set of labs done on a blood sample. A lower RDW means that your red blood cells are all about the same size. If the red cell distribution width is high, the sizes of your red blood cells vary more than what’s considered normal....

Early on in the pandemic, scientists turned to wastewater as a warning system for COVID-19 outbreaks. Testing wastewater samples for the presence of the virus has proven useful in singling out a building or area where COVID-19 is already present, even if carriers are asymptomatic. The method has been implemented everywhere from colleges to local communities. Key Takeaways Testing wastewater for COVID-19 is an effective way to track potential outbreaks.Thanks to an improved method, this type of surveillance can be done faster, more efficiently, and cheaper....

One of the more controversial parts of the Affordable Care Act is the issue of a health insurance mandate – the requirement that all Americans must have healthcare coverage. The vast majority of people in the U.S. have health insurance through work or a public plan such as Medicare and Medicaid, and that was already the case prior to 2014 when the individual mandate took effect. The mandate, therefore, targeted the portion of Americans who did not have health insurance....

It’s unclear what exactly causes most thyroid cancer, though some cases are linked to inherited conditions. There are certain risk factors for thyroid cancer, including exposure to radiation, having a diet that’s low in iodine, and being female. The four main types of thyroid cancer are papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic. Less common thyroid cancers include thyroid lymphomas, sarcomas, and other rare tumors. Common Causes Thyroid cancer occurs when the DNA in your thyroid cells mutates (changes), causing the cells to multiply in an uncontrolled manner and invade locally....

Medical ultraviolet therapy, also described as phototherapy, is a type of intervention used for treating several conditions, including certain skin infections, inflammatory disease, and cancer. The dose and method of treatment differ depending on the illness that’s being treated. Often, phototherapy is used as an adjunctive treatment, along with other medications or therapies, rather than as the only method of treatment. Your healthcare provider might also prescribe a specific medication for you to take before each treatment to maximize the benefits of ultraviolet light therapy....

Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis) is an herb from regions of Europe and Asia with medicinal use dating back to ancient Greece and Rome. It is believed to have many benefits, including as a treatment for both insomnia and anxiety. However, the research is lacking. Valerian root contains valerenic acid, an active ingredient with sedative effects. Specifically, valerenic acid is thought to act on brain receptors for the chemical (neurotransmitter) gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)....

People with migraines often need consultations with a neurologist—a specialist in brain medicine. Increasingly, telehealth—the use of technology to conduct video consultations with healthcare providers online—is emerging as an option to help with migraine diagnosis and management. Telehealth is more comprehensive than talking to a neurologist on the phone, and it improves access to care. Not only is telehealth a viable alternative for people with migraine, but it also points to the future of care for this and other disorders....

For the nearly 10% of kids age 5 to 15 years and 30% of teenagers 15 to 19 who have migraines, school can present a unique challenge. As a parent, you can help by working closely with your child and his or her school to develop a three-part approach that includes identifying and avoiding triggers, early symptom identification, and a clear action plan. Here’s how to do it, as well as some strategies to help prevent migraines at school....

What Is Xifaxan? Xifaxan (rifaximin) is an oral prescription antibiotic used to treat traveler’s diarrhea caused by certain bacteria and irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), a disorder of the large intestine. Healthcare providers also prescribe Xifaxan to prevent hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a condition that causes changes in thinking, behavior, and personality in adults with liver disease. These changes occur when a toxin produced by certain bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract builds up and travels to the brain....

A baby’s skull is made up of six bones, as well as fontanelles (“soft spots”) and sutures (fibrous tissue bands connecting the skull bones), that allow it to pass through the birth canal during delivery. The cranial bones, including the parietal bones, will remain separated through infancy. They eventually grow together until they are connected after 18 months. They will stay that way through adulthood. Anatomy of an Infant’s Skull An infant’s skull is made up of bony plates, sutures, and fontanelles....