Health Tips

Last week’s Health Tip discussed the usefulness of the EKG, a highly important test used in the diagnosis and management of heart disease.  Like most clinical tests, however, the EKG is not perfect.  Some of the ways in which the EKG falls short in evaluating heart conditions include: Evaluating intermittent…

The electrocardiogram, also called an EKG or ECG, is a test that records electrical activity within the heart.  With each heartbeat, an electrical signal is conducted through specialized nerves from the upper to lower chambers of the heart.  This causes the heart muscle to contract in a synchronized manner and…

Skin tags, known in medical terms as “acrochordons” or “fibroepithelial polyps”, are very common benign skin growths affecting over half of the general population at some time in their lives.  They most commonly occur in skin folds, especially in the neck region, armpits, and groin.  Other common areas for the…

This summer has seen record breaking heat, particularly in the northeast part of the U.S. Based on news reports, this summer may set a record for heat-related illness and deaths also.  Heat-related illnesses (e.g., heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, or heatstroke) can develop when high temperatures overwhelm the body’s…

What do Michael J. Fox, Mohammed Ali, and more than a million people in the U.S. have in common? All have a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system known as Parkinson’s disease. It is named after the English doctor James Parkinson, who in 1817 called the disease “shaking palsy”,…

Heart murmurs are sounds made by blood moving through the valves that control the flow of blood between the chambers of the heart or to the major blood vessels leaving the heart.  They are usually described as a “whooshing” sound, occurring at a certain point during the “lub-dub” cycle of…

Heart murmurs are sounds made by blood moving through the valves that control the flow of blood between the chambers of the heart or to the major blood vessels leaving the heart.  They are usually described as a “whooshing” sound, occurring at a certain point during the “lub-dub” cycle of…

Tennis elbow is the common name for an overuse injury that results in pain on the outside (lateral aspect) of the elbow. The name comes from its association with playing tennis, although in most people tennis elbow develops for reasons other than a flawed backhand stroke.  Known in the medical…

Some old wives’ tales, such as arthritis resulting from cracking knuckles, have not held up to scientific scrutiny.  Others have stood the test of time, such as the idea that drinking cranberry juice can help fight urinary tract infections.  The concept of fish being good for the health of the…

Recently, several reports of infections caused by “flesh eating bacteria” have appeared in the news.  Such infections have been responsible for amputations as well as death.  In one instance, the infection appears to have developed after a serious cut was exposed to contaminated water.  Just how common is this disease…