Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: What’s the Difference?
Heart rate and blood pressure are two of four measurements of essential body functions that help assess a person’s general health, and give clues to possible diseases. The other two are body temperature and respiratory rate. We are familiar with body temperature, since it is often measured at home to check for infection. Respiratory rate…
Read MoreWhat Is a Blood Gas Test?
A person is brought to the emergency room with difficulty breathing. Hospital personnel have only moments to determine the cause. Difficulty breathing can be caused by a wide variety of conditions, including heart disease, kidney failure, uncontrolled diabetes, or even chemical poisoning. In an emergency situation, a doctor will order a number of tests, including…
Read MoreMRIs shed light on Rheumatoid Arthritis and “Brain Fog”
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) doesn’t just cause painful joints. This autoimmune disease is also associated with memory and concentration problems, as well as with general problems in thinking. These cognitive symptoms, known colloquially as “brain fog,” are also found with other inflammatory conditions. Although the associations are there, it has been difficult to track down the…
Read MoreTop 3 Causes of Tremors
Do your hands tremble? Parkinson’s disease may lead to mind, but there are many causes of shaky hands. In fact, most people have a tremor in their hands, though they may not notice it unless they hold their arms straight out in front of them. Although tremors most commonly appear in hands, they also occur…
Read MoreUlcerative Colitis in the Elderly
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the colon, also known as the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease comprise what is known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). While most people with ulcerative colitis first have symptoms in their 20s, the second most common time to be diagnosed is between the…
Read MoreInfluenza: Not Just a Fancy Cold
Influenza is not just a fancy name for a cold. While the common cold and the flu are both caused by viruses, a cold is usually harmless while the flu is potentially life-threatening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 9 and 35 million people get the flu every year in…
Read More6 Causes of Edema
Are your feet or legs swollen? The swelling might be caused by something as simple as standing for too long, or as serious as a health condition that requires emergency medical attention. The medical term for swelling caused by fluid retention is edema. Other symptoms of edema include: Discomfort in the swollen area Reduced mobility…
Read MoreBlood Pressure and Dementia: The Hidden Connection
People tend to categorize diseases by which of the bodies systems they affect: there are heart diseases, such as such as arrhythmias and coronary artery disease; there are cancers; there are cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. But the truth is that the body is a giant system, and a disease that seems to fall squarely…
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New Research Offers Hope in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistance
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the very first antibiotic, and ushered in an era in which a simple ear infection was no longer a life-threatening illness. In the ninety years since then, antibiotics have saved countless lives — and have now led to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So serious is antibiotic resistance that…
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