Submitted by Dr T on April 2, 2011 – 6:36am in Cardiac Risks Question: I am a 43yr. female. I have a pacemaker, due to an AV ablation, so I am dependant on my pacer. I recently had an echocardiogram, and will soon have a right heart cath. and venogram. I was wondering if you could help me to understand …
On Newt’s weight, chocolate, beer and other tough choices
Submitted by Dr T on March 31, 2011 – 3:44pm Last night I heard former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives political activist and conservative Guru Newt Gingrich’s opinion of the world. The Salem State University Series invited Mr. Gingrich to appear on March 30. As he is floating rumors about running for the next presidential election, I was …
Pulse wave and Long QT Syndrome
Submitted by Dr T on March 31, 2011 – 9:57am in Your heart rhythm Question: Thanks for all of the good information that you are providing to us about various heart related conditions. Would a radial pulse waveform (audio recording presented graphically) be a close enough representation of an ecg to imply the possibility of long qt syndrome if all …
More on A fib
Submitted by Dr T on March 30, 2011 – 7:43am in Your heart rhythm Question: I have been diagnosed with a fib and am now on lopresser medicaton 50 mg 2x day. Had to go to er 3 weeks ago for heart rate of 170 for over 3 hours. today my heart rate has been around 120-130 all day. I …
Atrial fibrillation follow up
Submitted by Dr T on March 29, 2011 – 9:13am in Your heart rhythm Question: Follow up: I guess, as a dentist, with a medical background, I don’t know why my doctors don’t answer me when I ask about my long term prognosis.If I feel fine, can exercise, and am keeping INR between 2-3, can I hope for a relatively …
I have chronic Atrial Fibrillation. Am I OK?
Submitted by Dr T on March 29, 2011 – 7:19am in Your heart rhythm Question: Diagnosed with A-Fib 1 year ago after very mild heart attack, continue to exercise 3x/wk. for 2 hrs., ht 6’3″/ wt. 230, normal cholesterol, feel fine except occasional palpitations…bp med. controlling, coumadin daily, digoxin daily, 1 baby aspirin daily. Have tried cardioversion, had many tests, …
March is National Nutrition Month
Submitted by Dr T on March 28, 2011 – 9:15am Healthy Ideas for Your Children and Family I hope this finds you all feeling well! The semester is in full swing and classes are going great. I have started research for my thesis, which is very exciting. My focus will be on childhood obesity, this is an epidemic that will …
Can constipation cause PVCs?
Submitted by Dr T on March 28, 2011 – 8:53am Question: I had an EKG and it show 2 PVCs and I wore a halter monitor for 24 hours and was told it was normal to have PVC’s and not to worry. I worry! When they first started about a year ago, (I’m a 55 year old healthy female) …
Different blood pressures in each arm
Submitted by Dr T on March 27, 2011 – 7:14am in Cardiac Risks Question: My little brother is 15. We checked his blood pressure in each arm and they were greatly different. What does that mean? He may have a condition called Coarctation, which can be diagnosed with a CT scan or MRA. Although a bit complicated, I wrote this …
Stabbing chest pains
Submitted by Dr T on March 25, 2011 – 6:30pm in Chest Pain Question: I have been having stabbing chest pains in the center of my chest that come and go, but anytime I try to start jogging I always feel it within a minute or so. I also have that same stabbing pain that I can feel to the …