Heart disorders in newborns are quite common in today’s world.  The data presented by American Heart Association show that nine in every thousand babies born in the US have congenital heart defects. However, majority of these congenital heart defects are harmless in nature; only a few among them are dangerous and needs to be corrected through surgeries. Certain congenital heart defects force the blood towards the baby’s lungs through the left- right shunt patterns. A baby with this heart defect receives oxygenated blood in the right of his heart; as a result of this the oxygenated blood gets mixed with deoxygenated blood. The heart defect thus caused is medically referred to as obstructive defects or acyanotic heart lesion. Other congenital heart problems occur due to the right-left movements of the baby’s blood. The medical terms used for these heart problems are: blue baby syndrome or cyanotic defect. A baby with this kind of heart problem suffers from reduced oxygenation of  [...]

The human aorta is 2 to 3cm wide in diameter, usually. Even a single weak spot anywhere in the aorta can bring about an outward bulge which is known as an aneurysm. When there occurs such a bulge in the aorta when it passes through the chest, it is known as thoracic aortic aneurysm. While, if this kind of a bulge in the aorta occurs when it makes its way through the abdomen, then it is called as an abdominal aortic aneurysm or AAA. As compared to the thoracic aneurysms, the abdominal aortic aneurysms are more common among humans, esp. in men. The chance that an aneurysm will rupture depends on the size of the bulge. If an aneurysm wider than 5.5cm, there are more chances of a rupture - and as the size goes on increasing, the risks also increase. Symptoms An abdominal aortic aneurysm is also called the Silent Killer due to no  [...]

Pulmonary fibrosis is one of the most unceasing and incapacitating lung diseases, which is characterized by scarring of the lungs, progressing slowly with time. Development of such scars in the lungs decreases the elasticity that the lung tissues possess and their potential to share out purified oxygen into the bloodstream. Gradually, it is seen that the small air sac tissues, called alveoli, get replaced by scar tissues formed due to fibrosis and this results in symptoms of abnormal breathing. The early symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are quite engraving – dry hacking cough, loss of appetite, elevated weakness and weight loss with no apparent cause, shortness of breath and severe chest ache. With this kind of a disease and the perilous associated symptoms, while coming to envisage pulmonary fibrosis life  [...]

You might be staying in an igloo if you don’t know Serena Williams, the top tennis player from America. And if you are addicted to tennis, you might be wondering about her absence from the ground for quite a longer while. Well, the bad news is that tennis can have to lack her for even longer, maybe a year or more. And this time it is not her injuries that the game gives her; it’s a serious issue, she has blood clots in her lungs. Last week itself, the sports star was diagnosed with pulmonary emboli and needed treatment for even a hematoma. What is a pulmonary embolism ? Well embolism is a condition in which the blood vessels become blocked due to blood clots in between their passages. When this occurs with the arteries of the lungs, it is called pulmonary embolism, and the clots or blockages in the arteries of the lungs are known as pulmonary emboli.  [...]

Rheumatic heart disease is a medical condition wherein rheumatic fever damages the valves of the heart. Rheumatic fever manifests itself in the form of a strep throat, which is also known as pharyngitis. Group A Streptococcus bacteria are responsible for strep throat. It is a common throat infection caused by bacteria. Rheumatic fever is largely inflammatory in nature. It tends to affect the connective tissues of the body, such as the heart, joints, skin and brain. Acute rheumatic fever can afflict any individual. However, it generally affects children between the ages of five and fifteen. The ensuing rheumatic heart disease could last for a lifetime. Developed countries, such as the United States, have low incidence of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. However, it is a leading cause of death that is cardiovascular in nature in the developing  [...]