Conditions

Causes of stroke in young adults

by Todd Neale

The recent stroke suffered by Delaware’s attorney general Beau Biden, who is 41, has highlighted the fact that people of all ages are vulnerable, despite seemingly good health.

A statement from Timothy Gardner, MD, medical director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Surgery at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del., where Biden was initially treated, said he had suffered a “mild stroke,” although it remains unknown whether …

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Hiatal hernia in women can present with heartburn

by David Edelman, MD

Heartburn and acid reflux disease are common problems affecting women of all ages. The problem develops when acid in the stomach backs up into the esophagus. There is a muscle known as the diaphragm that separates the chest from the abdominal cavity. When you eat or drink, the food goes from the mouth down the esophagus, through the diaphragm and into the stomach. …

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President Obama should have had colonoscopy without sedation

by Michael Kirsch, MD

Does anyone out there know why President Obama underwent a virtual  ‘colonscopy’ (VC) instead of a conventional colonoscopy earlier this year?

In my gastroenterology practice, we do not offer colon cancer screening to 48-year-old individuals, unless special risk factors are present. Of course, maintaining the president’s health is in the national interest, so I understand why professional screening guidelines might not apply to him. For …

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The specialty of underwater medicine, and an interview with a dive physician

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore

Physicians tend to prefer intellectual hobbies — chess, reading, writing. Dr. Alfred Bove is no exception. His hobby often requires application of his expertise in physiology. You know him as the president of the American College of Cardiology. But you may not know that his heart belongs to the sea.

Bove’s interest in scuba diving …

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Leg and buttock pain can be signs of peripheral arterial disease, especially in patients with diabetes

by Michael Jaff, MD

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), a condition commonly correlated with diabetes, also known as a “silent killer,” affects at least one in every three diabetics over the age of 50 and approximately eight million Americans in total over the age of 40. Although PAD is prolific among diabetic and senior populations, current data show that public and physician knowledge of the disease is startlingly low, with only 25 …

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Seeing floaters or flashing lights can be caused by posterior vitreous or retinal detachment

Originally posted in Insidermedicine

The eye is very similar to a camera. Both are optical systems that have lenses in the front to focus light rays onto a film. The retina is the eye’s film. It is a tissue that consists of 10 layers and is about 500 microns thick—or, half a millimeter. The main function of the retina is to trap light rays, convert them into electrical impulses, and send …

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