Health News

Features

Pop Quiz!

How Much Do You Know About Giving the Gift of Life? There is a dire need for blood donations in the U.S. as an average of 4.5 million Americans need a blood transfusion every year. The medical community relies on donations as 29,000 pints of donated blood are used every day across the nation. These…
Stress Can Wreak Havoc on Physical Health

by TERESA SCHIFFER Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care Stress affects everyone on a daily basis. Some types of stress motivate people to do what needs to be done every day. Then there are times when stress causes us discomfort, unhappiness, and even chronic health conditions. We talked with Julie Decanio, LCSW, who is a…
Forgetful or Fateful?

Determining What’s Normal and When It’s Time to Seek Help by TERESA SCHIFFER Forgetting a name or where you put something is a fairly normal, if annoying, part of life. As you age, these memory slips can occur more often. After all, changes happen throughout the body, including the brain. However, occasional forgetfulness isn’t the…

Brain Attack (Stroke or Mini-stroke): Are You at Risk?

Approximately 700,000 strokes occur in the United States annually. Stroke or brain attack is a disease that involves the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that brings oxygen to the brain gets blocked by a blood clot most commonly. With the oxygen supply to the brain…
Punctal Plugs

Many patients suffer from dry eye, and eye care professionals have many tools at their disposal to help with symptoms. For many patients, over-the-counter lubricating drops such as Blink or Systane can be helpful. It is important to avoid redness relieving drops, as these tend to cause more problems over time. When over-the-counter drops are…
Understanding Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Last year, I wrote about heart failure. At that time, I had said that about half the patients admitted with congestive heart failure have normal systolic function. This is true. The most common way to express heart function is by measuring ejection fraction (EF). This is the proportion of the amount of blood in the…