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Keep It Moving

Exercise Is a Must for Good Heart Health by GRACE BOGGESS HIRDES Do you have a health goal for 2020? Maybe you want to lose a few pounds or to eat fewer fatty foods. Have you considered making a health goal to improve your heart’s health? Only one in five Americans gets enough exercise on…
True Transformation

Doctor and Patient Explain Why Bariatric Surgery Is So Much More Than Weight Loss by Matthew Norman The new year often brings thoughts of weight loss. It seems that there are endless numbers of weight loss methods. Everything from the tried and true methods to schemes that seem too good to be true, and probably…
Creature Comforts

Winter Haven Hospital Volunteer Crochets Octopuses to Soothe NICU Babies by PAUL CATALA Gabriele Robinson has found a unique way to help premature babies. The Winter Haven Hospital volunteer crochets miniature octopus dolls for newborns in the Women’s Hospital Neonatal Infant Care Unit. Robinson, who has been creating the creatures of comfort since October, says…

Smoking Hurts More Than Your Lungs

I cannot really believe that the holidays are upon us already. This year has been like no other with its usual mix of pain and pleasure. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the role of lifestyle in the management of vascular disease that can lend a sense of control in its otherwise…
What Is Age-Related Macular Degeneration, or AMD?

by NADER MOINFAR, M.D., M.P.H. Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In general, AMD is a disease that progresses in stages. Patients with advanced AMD experience vision loss from either excess ﬂuid and blood (wet AMD) or the death of cells (GA). It is estimated that 1.5 million…
Understanding Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

An aneurysm is a “weakening” or “dilatation” in a part of an artery. An estimated 15,000 people die of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) every year in the US. About 200,000 new cases of AAA are diagnosed every year. Most of these are diagnosed by tests that are done for unrelated reasons. The aorta is…