Cardiovascular - April 2016 Archives

April is National Donate Life Month. On any given day, more than 120,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for lifesaving donor organs to ...

For 33-year-old Tara Brigham of Jacksonville, Florida, living with a heart condition since birth wasn't something that was going to get in the way of living an active normal life. In fact, she says the heart transplant she received six years ago as a result of her condition has made her life even more fulfilling. A Minnesota native, Tara was diagnosed with enlargement of the heart during a routine checkup when she was 1 year old. While she had not had any symptoms of a heart problem since birth, the enlargement was significant enough that her physician at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus suggested that a biopsy of her heart should be done right away. She was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick. The thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body to vital organs. Tara's heart was monitored closely by her doctors at Mayo Clinic and later a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist at the University of Minnesota. Since Tara was an active, healthy child otherwise, and what was known about her condition in children was limited, she was not put on medication, but doctors advised that she avoid strenuous activities. 

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My dad was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at age 52. He has been on medication for a few months, but doctors ...

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published new aspirin guidelines for prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Those guidelines recommend low-dose aspirin ...

Every once in a while, a study comes along that leaves you wondering what you just read and what it really means. Researchers at ...

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES Men's health: Prevent the top threats The list of the top hazards to men's health is surprisingly short. But there are ...

Even though cardiac rehabilitation is crucial in recovering from a heart attack, many patients don't do it. Mayo Clinic researchers tested whether adding online, smartphone-based ...

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES Allergy-proof your home Thinking about spring cleaning? If you have hay fever or allergic asthma, it's also a good time to ...

CHICAGO – Patients who arrive at the emergency department with low-risk chest pain and talk through treatment options with a physician show improved knowledge of ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Ethan Bortnick, a 15-year-old pianist, will play at the Mayo Civic Center. Bortnick has performed around the world raising money for charities ...

Cardiac rehabilitation patients who also used a digital health tool to track and log exercise and dietary habits lost more weight than patients who used ...