In complete heart block the top and bottom of the heart stop communicating, and a backup rhythm takes over. It is serious, and it is also among the most fixable problems in cardiology.
Most people are home within hours of a coronary angiogram, but knowing what to expect from the TR band, the results conversation, and the days after makes a real difference.
Most people leave hospital with a DOAC and a thin explanation of what it does. Here is what apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran actually do, what to expect, and the few situations that need action.
Being told you have heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction can be confusing. Here is what ejection fraction means and why the distinction matters for treatment.
Second-degree AV block means most signals reach the lower chambers of the heart and the occasional one does not. Some causes are entirely benign. Here is what the finding describes and what usually happens next.
A new trial found that a vitamin K2 supplement modestly slowed calcium build-up in the heart's arteries. The result is promising, but experts say it is too early to recommend supplements, and there are important safety caveats.
Blood pressure that stays high despite three or more medications has a name, and in most cases an explanation. What clinicians check first, why spironolactone is usually the fourth medicine added, and how narrow the role of renal denervation really is.
Most towns do not have a catheter laboratory. When someone has a heart attack there, a clot-dissolving drug goes in first and the journey comes second. Here is why that order is the right one.
A simple, non-invasive CT scan that detects calcified plaque in the arteries years before symptoms appear. If you or someone you know has been referred for a calcium score, this guide explains exactly what it measures, what your result means, and what to do next.
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By Professor Peter Barlis, Interventional Cardiologist and Founding Editor, Heart Matters. Published by Wiley.
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