What is endocarditis? Endocarditis is the medical term for inflammation of the inner heart wall (endocardium) and heart valves. The middle muscular layer of the heart known as the myocardium may also be affected (myocarditis). When the endocardium and myocardium are both inflamed, the condition is known as endomyocarditis. >> Read More ...
The heart is surrounded by a sac known as the pericardium, which is made up of two layers – the fibrous and serous pericardium. The inner lying serous pericardium is in turn composed of two linings – the parietal and visceral layers of the serous pericardium. The visceral layer of the serous pericardium is >> Read More ...
Blood flow to the brain (cerebral blood flow) is essential to maintain consciousness and many vital functions. Unlike certain other parts of the body, a few seconds without blood flow will not be detrimental to functioning but in the brain, a lack of blood flow for even just 10 seconds will lead to unconsciousness. The >> Read More ...
What is an enlarged aorta? An aortic aneurysm is the abnormal enlargement of a portion of the aorta. It arises when a segment of the vessel wall is weakened due to any number of factors and this causes a bulging. This can be a balloon-like bulge known as a saccular aneurysm or a widening of an entire segment of the aorta >> Read More ...
What is Pulmonary Embolism? A blood clot in the lung is known as a pulmonary embolism. There is often confusion among patients as to the exact location of the clot – despite being commonly referred to as a blood clot in the lung, the clot is not within the air spaces of the lungs. Instead it is lodged in the >> Read More ...
TrotG57 Asked : In the past 2 weeks I have been experiencing swelling that seems to be rising up towards my body. First my feet and ankles started swelling and I did not worry too much about it because I have had this before in the past. Normally it goes down after a night’s sleep but this time it stayed and got >> Read More ...
Heart valve disease, also known as valvular heart disease, is a condition where the valves of the heart do not function properly thereby affecting the normal circulation through the heart ad great vessels. The normal function of the tricuspid, mitral, aortic and pulmonary valves are discussed further under Heart Valves >> Read More ...
What is Acute Limb Ischemia? A blood clot in a vessel (thrombus or embolus) of the limbs (upper ~ arm, forearm and hand, lower ~ thigh, leg, feet) starves the area of oxygen (hypoxia) and leads to tissue damage (ischemia).This is known as acute limb ischemia. It should always be taken seriously as a blood clot at this site >> Read More ...
A thrombus is a blood clot that forms inside a blood vessel. It may be temporary and can be dissolved but there is the risk of it growing further and occluding a vessel. The process of thrombus development and growth is known as thrombosis and over time it can impair blood flow which in turn affects oxygen supply to a part >> Read More ...
The presence of chest pain, especially if it is severe, often raises the concern about cardiac conditions like a heart attack (myocardial infarction). However this is not the only cause of severe chest pain and a number of factors have to be taken into consideration in order to discern cardiac chest pain from non-cardiac >> Read More ...
