Heart Attack

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Aortic aneurysm: A reason to check blood pressure in both arms

Getting your blood pressure checked is simply a routine procedure to be sure your heart is effortlessly pumping blood like it’s supposed to. But if your doctor is only checking one arm, you could be at higher risk for heart attack, stroke or sudden death and not even know…

Joyce Hollman

6 silent heart attack symptoms lucky survivors missed

Last month, my friend Jeff felt a strange heaviness in his upper arms. It wasn’t from exercise and it wasn’t painful, just strange. He called his doctor, who suggested a trip to the ER. Jeff was having a heart attack. What would you have done if you were Jeff?

Joyce Hollman

The two consistent warnings women get before heart attack

Many people still think that a heart attack strikes suddenly, or with very little warning. A Harvard Health survey tells us that, for women, the warning signs can come as much as a month in advance. And they’re anything but the classic signs most people look for…

Jenny Smiechowski

Is winter really heart attack season?

As the cold weather approaches, you know you have to protect yourself from ailments like cold and flu. But what about more serious events, like heart attack? Surprsingly, as the temperatures go down our risk for heart attack goes up. Here’s why (an odd effect on blood vessels, for one) and what to do…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The deficit that makes exercise dangerous for your heart

Exercise is good for the heart. We hear it so often, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who disagrees. But it might not be so cut and dry… There’s another healthy activity that, if you’re not getting enough of, turns exercise into a setup for heart attack.

Carolyn Gretton

Exercise or die? What if you’ve already had a heart attack

No one likes to exercise. But every day 2,200 Americans die from a heart attack. But you know what? There are about 335,000 recurrent heart attacks each year, too. That means a lot of people survive. But is exercise a good idea after the fact, can it keep you from another, and what kind’s best?