Many tools can assist people with everyday activities, such as bathing, dressing, eating, and cooking. These tools are found in drugstores, at medical supply stores, and online.
Significant developments in the medical field in 2015 included the results of lifestyle studies, the approval of drugs for sexual function and for cholesterol lowering, and the FDA decision to ban trans fats in food.
Downloadable health applications (apps) may be helpful to boost heart health. They act as sources of information or as electronic journals that chart and graph a person’s progress.
It appears that people who eat more starchy vegetables-peas, potatoes, and corn, for example-tend to pack on more pounds over time than people who choose other vegetables.
Sex rarely triggers heart attacks, and sex after a heart attack is safe for most people. But some drugs to treat heart disease can cause erection problems, and others may have dangerous interactions with drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Ignoring the warning signs of a ministroke can lead to a major stroke at a later time. People should be evaluated right away for symptoms such as speech and vision problems or weakness in an arm or leg.
For many people, lowering dietary cholesterol alone has little effect on their blood cholesterol level. Limiting saturated fat may help, but only if the missing calories are replaced with unsaturated fats instead of refined carbohydrates.
People who achieve a systolic blood pressure (the first number in a reading) of 120 mm Hg may have fewer cardiovascular problems than those who reach a goal of 140 mm Hg. But they may need to take an average of three medications to reach the lower goal.
Classic heart attack symptoms most often arise from a blockage in a coronary artery. But a condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy can produce the same sudden heart symptoms even when the coronary arteries are clear.