The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines statins as drugs that are used to lower cholesterol levels. Your body needs cholesterol to work properly – synthesize membranes, hormones, absorb vitamins and help digestion. But, too much cholesterol in your blood can form plaques on the walls of arteries. This gradual plaque growth, overtime, can affect blood
The Medical Center of Plano (TMCP) has featured a cardiovascular patient success story in the Winter 2016 issue of their Health Matters newsletter. The article describes how Mordecai N. Klein, M.D., FACC, and his great team of nurses and cath lab techs at TMCP were able to turn an almost fatal situation into one of survival.
The cardiac issue occurred when Richard Royster was at home
Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) is defined as leg pain occurring at rest or impending limb loss that is caused by severe peripheral artery disease (narrowing/blockage of the leg artery) and compromised blood flow. The National Institute of Health notes that patients with CLI have an elevated risk of future myocardial infarction, stroke and vascular death, 3-fold
Hypertension, colloquially known as high blood pressure, is very common and occurs in 1/3rd of the adult population in the United States. High blood pressure is a known risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, renal failure and heart failure. Therefore, I wanted to provide a brief description on how it is determined, what the numbers mean and illustrate the various stages as classified by
With the incidence of heart disease death rates declining more rapidly for men than women, I’m sometimes asked if the symptoms related to heart attacks might be different between genders as well. While there are commonalities in the heart attack symptoms that both men and women can experience, men tend to experience
Curiosity may have killed the cat but it may just save your life. People like yourself in the surrounding Plano, TX area are often curious about their health. You may feel well, but have a family history of cardiac disease. You may have neglected your health and now want to turn yourself around and do what you can to stay well. Embarking on a new
A cardiologist is a doctor who specializes in preventing, diagnosing and treating disorders of the heart.
The training required to become a cardiologist is quite rigorous. Students are required to complete four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, three years of residency, three years of a fellowship and two additional years if one wants to become
Have you heard about the new Coronary CT Angiography? This is the most exciting advancement in cardiac imaging to date. Coronary CT (Compute Tomography) Angiography is an exciting non-invasive technology which can help patients and their doctors to diagnose cardiovascular problems early and comfortably. Earlier detection leads to earlier treatment. Earlier treatment usually means “easier” and
From time to time, changes in accepted medical practice occur. Here is an example of such a change. As a cardiologist in Plano TX, many of my patients have valvular heart disease. Frequently the problem is a mild one, either mild narrowing or mild leakage of a valve. While such minor conditions rarely affected peoples’ day to day