Heart failure is a common medical condition and remains an increasing global problem. In many ways, heart failure is synonymous with end-stage heart disease. Of course, prognosis varies depending on the severity of the disorder. However, in advanced heart failure survival is dismal. All diseases of the heart may ultimately lead to heart failure. A simple … Read more
Triglycerides are important organic compounds. Most of the fat we consume in our diet is triglyceride and so is most of the fat we store in our body. Fatty acids contained in triglycerides are an essential source of energy for the cells of our body. Triglyceride concentration can be measured in blood and may provide … Read more
For the last few days, my Kindle has been my closest companion. “What are you reading”? my wife asked. “I’m reading Lore of Nutrition.” “Ooh, I was sure it was a thriller or one of your crime stories.” In fact, she was right. Although Lore of Nutrition is a book about nutrition, it reads like … Read more
“Fatigue is here, in my body, in my legs and eyes. That is what gets you in the end. Faith is only a word, embroidered.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale. Fatigue or tiredness is a common medical complaint that may seriously affect people’s quality of life. However, despite many possible underlying causes, a specific medical disorder is … Read more
Most experts agree that diet is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and many other chronic noncommunicable disorders. Hence, defining and implementing a healthy diet is a matter of great public health interest. However, although there is substantial agreement on many issues, such as the importance of fruits and vegetables, several matters are still … Read more
The recently published results of the long awaited CANTOS trial may forever change our approach to the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease (1). Inescapably, there is now proof that targeting inflammation, in this case by a drug, significantly improves outcome for certain very high-risk patients. But, as so often in clinical research, things … Read more
A recent paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition provides updated results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification Trial (1). One of the questions raised is whether there is still hope for a low-fat dietary approach for the prevention of heart disease. The primary aim of the WHI Dietary Modification Trial was to … Read more
I recently gave a talk at a meeting with colleagues, most of them cardiologists and endocrinologists, where I, among other things, discussed the current status of diet-heart hypothesis and the possible relationship between our fear of dietary fats and the obesity epidemic. After the meeting, a senior colleague of mine, an old friend, and a … Read more
Shortness of breath, also known as dyspnea is a symptom that describes a sense of breathing discomfort or difficulty in breathing. It is often expressed as feeling out of breath or suffering from breathlessness. It is estimated that up to 7-8 percent of patients presenting to emergency rooms complain of dyspnea (1). In half of … Read more
Chest pain is a common symptom associated with a variety of underlying causes. It is estimated that more than six million people visit hospital energy departments in the United States annually because of chest pain. It is the second most frequently reported principal reason for visiting the emergency unit, only abdominal pain is more common (1). … Read more