The flow of blood to the heart is controlled by four valves one of which is the aortic valve. This valve allows blood that is pumped from the left ventricle of the heart to travel to the main artery called the aorta. This artery leads to all areas of the body. When the aorta valve sustains damage or functions improperly it results in aortic valve insufficiency. This is a common occurrence among elderly individual’s and is the cause of a large number of valvular defects of the heart. Aortic stenosis results when the aortic valve narrows to a point that prevents an adequate amount of blood being pumped out each time the heart beats which causes the heart to have to work overtime as a result. On the other hand if improper closing is the problem it causes aortic regurgitation meaning that the blood that is pumped out seeps back into the heart with each beat. In either case an increase of the workload of the ventricle occurs and often results in the muscular wall becoming  [...]

Before you can begin to get into the causes and symptoms of atrial fibrillation it is first necessary to understand what this condition is and what kind of effects it may have on your body. Atrial fibrillation occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart known as the atria have an irregular or abnormal beat and are out of sync with the two lower chambers of the heart which are known as the ventricles. This irregularity is often a very fast heart beat that often decreases the flow of blood to the rest of the body and produces issues such as shortness of breath, weakness and heart palpitations. Atrial fibrillation may also cause fatigue and result in the occurrence of a stroke and is most often is caused when your heart experiences changes such as those that are a result of high blood pressure or heart disease. In some cases atrial fibrillation may be long lasting however there may also be times when it comes and goes periodically. Even though this condition in  [...]

Aortic valve stenosis also referred to simply as aortic stenosis is a condition that is caused by the narrowing of the aortic valve of the heart. This in turn keeps the valve from opening all the way which causes the flow of blood from the heart to the aorta and the rest of the body to be decreased or blocked. This condition causes the heart to have to work harder to pump blood to the body and therefore weakens the heart and decreases the amount of blood it is able to pump causing such symptoms as dizziness and fatigue. When this happens surgery is often needed to replace the defective valve and if not treated can result in serious health issues. This condition often varies in severity from mild to extreme and usually only occur when the narrowing of the valve is extreme. Some symptoms of this may include, pain or tightness of the chest, fainting or feeling as if you will faint or becoming short of breath after strenuous activity, fatigue and heart murmur or palpitations. When  [...]

Many individuals ask questions about what the specific causes of blood clots are. This is especially true as people advance in age and health problems become an everyday issue. The thing with the clotting of blood is that it can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstances which it occurs. Let me explain. When you cut yourself and blood is pouring out of this cut after a few minutes protein and platelets combine to form a clot thus slowing down and stopping the flow of blood and preventing you from losing too much. This is a good thing. When these platelets combine with protein inside our bodies to form clots this is very bad and in some cases even life threatening. In cases such as these medical intervention is needed in order to prevent these blood clots from becoming a life threatening issue. A blood clot that is located inside of the blood vessels is commonly called a thrombus however blood clots are given many different names depending on the  [...]

One of the most common conditions that may cause a sudden sharp stabbing chest pain in children as well as adults is called pericordial catch syndrome or PCS and is also known as texidors twinge. This pain most often happens on the left side of the chest which is the side where the heart is and gets worse when you take a deep breath. Although it is common for many individuals to automatically think of heart attack when they feel this pain it is most definitely not the case nor is it even related to the heart or heart disease even though it happens in the general area of the heart. Pain that is caused by PCS is generally confined to one area and does not spread to other locations within the body such as occurs during the experience of a heart attack. Taking a deep breath often makes this pain worse however this pain in generally relieved in a short period of time if the person remains still for a minute or two. Most of the these episodes last less than three minutes  [...]