Julia Y. Wen, MD, FACC

Rheumatic fever is a complicated, nonsuppurative disease that affects the joints, blood vessels, heart, brain, and skin. It is an acute inflammatory response that has a PAST untreated or slightly treated Group A or group B beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection, such as strep throat or scarlet...

Results of a study presented in the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego showed that coping with mental stress is harder on a  woman's heart, when compared to that of men. Researcher Chester Ray, PhD, professor of medicine, and cellular and molecular physiology at Penn State's College of...

Generic Name: DigoxinBrand Names: Cardoxin, Lanoxin, Digitek, LanoxicapsWhat is digoxin?Digoxin is derived from the digitalis plant leaves. It helps in making the heartbeat stronger along with a more regular rhythm pattern. Digoxin is mostly used for treating individuals who suffer from heart...

Unfortunately, there is an increasing prevalence of hypertension, which is the term used to indicate high blood pressure with a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher. It is being blamed on living a modern lifestyle, the frequency of alcohol and tobacco intake, certain physical activities, and processed...

Our heart rate is automatically controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that has two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The part of the ANS that is responsible for raising a person’s heart rate through the sympathetic plexus is the sympathetic division. The parasympathetic...

A recent CDC report shows that many of the foods used in restaurants and foods sold in grocery stores have the potential to increase sodium levels in the body when consumed. Breads and rolls were noted to be the most important culprits among the variety of foods that do this. Some foods that...