Health News
Features
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Making choices that lower your risk
How African-Americans Can Avoid High Blood Pressure Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a heavy weight that the African-American community has been destined to cope with. While no one is immune from high blood pressure, it is a proven fact that the African-American population has a 40 percent higher rate over any other ethnic group…
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Talking to your teen can make a difference
New Data Reveals Teen Pregnancy Rates Have Fallen in Polk County For the past decade, the teen pregnancy rate in Polk County has been among the top in Florida, but the latest figures show the rate has dropped. “Community partnerships and civil dialogue has worked to lower teen pregnancy,” says Dr. Daniel Haight, director of…
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Kicking the smoking habit for good
A resolution easier said than done, but not impossible With the holidays behind us, we stand at the threshold of another New Year. In an effort to improve our lives over the next 12 months, we’ll make resolutions that if achieved would make a difference for the better. If yours is to get healthy, fantastic!…
Columns
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Vision and Learning
Children require clear, comfortable vision to be successful in school and extracurricular activities. We use our eyes to read, write, throw a ball, use computers, and watch TV. As children advance in school, the demand for clear vision increases because they spend more time reading and learning. Thus, any vision problems should be addressed at…
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Are You Considering Cataract Surgery?
A cataract is where the normally clear lens inside the eye becomes cloudy. This is a normal process that occurs with age. Certain medications such as steroids, smoking, and high levels of sun exposure can cause cataracts to develop at an earlier age. Early symptoms of cataracts often include blurred vision with glare and halos…
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Cardiac Testing in a COVID-19 World
In this column, I’ll talk about the varied tests done in cardiology in general and how we do them in a COVID-19 world. After all, people don’t stop having heart trouble because of a pandemic. First, I will discuss the various facets of the heart, how the tests are done and how we check them…
