Northern Arizona Healthcare

Heart Health

	A journey to a heart-healthy lifestyle “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Confucius Confucius must have been referring to something greater than just walking when he said this. His statement has a lot of wisdom when it comes to humans and change. Most find...
	Aspirin allergy does not have to hinder heart care People who undergo cardiac procedures often get a new lease on life. Once again, their heart can pump blood to a body previously starved of oxygen. To remain successful, this new life has some non-negotiables—a nutritious diet, exercise and...
	Cardiac catheterizations are "close at hand" The first cardiac catheterization procedure was performed as an experiment in 1929 in a small German hospital by Werner Forssman. He performed the procedure on himself. He passed a catheter from his numbed, left elbow into the right side of his heart...
	Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy - Keeping Your Heart in Perfect Rhythm According to the American Heart Association, approximately five million Americans have heart failure and each year more than 500,000 new cases are diagnosed. Although there are many reasons for heart failure, all people with heart failure have one...
	Cheers to Your Heart Health - Drink a Glass of Red Wine Recent studies have shown that drinking red wine in moderation can decrease the risk of heart disease as well as providing other health benefits, and it appears the French have taken advantage of these benefits for many years. Despite eating a diet...
	Diabetes and heart disease: Learn the link When someone has diabetes, checking their blood sugar is a priority. But, they also need to pay close attention to what may be happening to their heart and blood vessels as a result of the diabetes. Diabetes can damage blood vessels, including the...
	Heart-Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate It’s no secret that fruits, vegetables and grains provide many health benefits - we've been told that for years. But did you know that eating chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, could benefit your heart? It’s all about the flavonoids in the...
	High blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. In the U.S., more than 700,000 people suffer new and recurrent strokes annually. Of those, approximately 158,000 die and others often are left with a variety of...
	In women, heart disease claims more lives than breast cancer Heart disease is not just a man’s diseaseHeart attacks tend to strike men in their prime, but few women have heart attacks before age 65. Yet overall, heart disease is the number one killer of women in America, claiming six times as many lives as...
	Know your cholesterol numbers Measuring Cholesterol LevelsAccording to the American Heart Association, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the No. 1 killer in the U.S. Although the death rate over the last 20 years has decreased, the prevalence has increased. A major risk factor for...
	Know Your Heart - 101 Cardiovascular disease isn’t an actual disease in itself. Rather, it refers to a wide range of disorders affecting not only the heart (cardio), but the blood vessels (vascular) as well. Since the heart and blood vessels work as one “system,”...
	Let the blood flow - Drug-eluting stents Angioplasty with balloons and stents has saved lives and improved quality of life for millions of people. Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure used to restore blood flow in a narrowed or blocked artery in the heart. The arteries of the heart...
	Minimally Invasive Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation Atrial fibrillation, the most common form of heart rhythm disorder, affects about 2.5 million Americans with approximately 300,000 new cases diagnosed per year. It is predicted that 5.6 million patients will be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation by...
	My Aching Legs: Peripheral Arterial Disease If you have leg pain when you walk that improves when you stop, you may think it’s from being out of shape or a part of aging, but it could be due to a serious condition called peripheral arterial disease.Peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, is a...
	Pacemakers save lives and make living more comfortable There are areas in the heart called pacemakers that send electrical signals to the rest of the heart, setting the speed or pace of the heartbeat. These pacemakers speed the heart up during exercise or hard work and slow it down again during rest. If...
	Preventing Stroke with a Carotid Artery Stent The carotid arteries in your neck supply the brain with blood. The carotid arteries travel up each side of the neck and branch into smaller vessels that supply blood to the brain. Blood flowing through the carotid arteries (carotid pulses) can be...
	Reducing Your Risk of Stroke A stroke is a “brain attack,” cutting off vital blood and oxygen to the brain cells that control everything we do – from speaking, to walking, to breathing. Every year, stroke strikes approximately 750,000 Americans, killing 160,000 and forever...
	Surviving a Cardiac Arrest In the event of cardiac arrest or heart attack, speed and quick treatment are essential. At Flagstaff Medical Center, providing comprehensive and timely cardiac care is a key priority.As a designated Cardiac Arrest Center, FMC offers cutting-edge...
	Talk turkey and family health history this Thanksgiving Relatives enjoy connecting over the holidays and gathering around the table for holiday dinners. This connection follows us, especially when it comes to our health. Like our blue eyes, our parents and grandparents can pass on the likelihood for...
	What is an aortic aneurysm? An aortic aneurysm is a weakened and bulging area in the aorta, the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body. The aorta, about the thickness of a garden hose, runs from your heart through the center of the chest and abdomen. Because the aorta...
	What is Interventional Cardiology? Interventional cardiology deals specifically with the catheter-based treatment of heart diseases. Interventional cardiologists are board-certified cardiologists who perform interventional cardiology procedures, most often in a cardiac catheterization...
	Women are six times more likely to die from heart disease than from breast cancer Heart disease often is thought to be a condition more related to men than women, however; just the opposite is true – more women than men die of heart disease each year. Women are six times more likely to die of heart disease as of breast cancer....