Shabi Guptha - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

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What is Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] For general awareness of CHO, one is required to know about the anatomy of the heart for practical purposes. 'The heart is a four-chambered organ. The upper two (small) chambers are called auricles and the lower two (larger) are called ventricles.

Rehabilitation After Heart Attack
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] This aspect is of vital importance. Gone are the days when the patient was given prolonged rest, say at least six weeks, for a heart attack. Whenever a heart attack Occurs, the patient or his relations should not feel frightened.

Sex and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] A usual question is asked by the patient about the performance of sex. One may lead a fairly normal life in this regard, of course with precautions. However, it depends upon the severity of the lesion of CAD.

Detection of Occult - Asymptomatic Cases of CAD (Coronary Artery Disease)
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] The CAD - (Coronary Artery Disease) starts in early childhood and remains asymptomatic till the third or fourth decade of life. It means, prior to this, irrespective of exertion, no symptom of the disease occurs, and unless the symptom occurs, the patient, does not seek medical advice.

Things to Know About Brain Tumors
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] It must be kept in mind that though headache is a presenting symptom of certain brain tumours, it is a fairly late feature of the disease. It may not be present in many of the early cases of brain tumour.

What Steps Should be Taken for Detection of Hidden Cases of Congenital Heart Disease CHD?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Since there are still a large number of occult/hidden/ asymptomatic cases of CHD, especially of the late cyanotic or acyanotic (in which cyanosis does not occur) group, urgent steps are required to be taken for their early detection. Such cases can be detected in various camps, especially in schools/ colonies, etc. However, in many of the late diagnosed cases, as described earlier, treatment/surgery may not be possible.

Prophylaxis of Rheumatic Fever (RF) - Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD)
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Since the disease occurs primarily as a result of sore throat, through a specific group of organism i.e. group A streptococcus, therefore, prophylaxis of RF /RHD means prevention of sore throat. But the prevention of sore throat is not so simple as it may appear to be.

Diagnosis of Rheumatic Fever (RF)
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] The diagnosis of RF at times becomes difficult, especially when the various clinical manifestations occur either independently, or in varied combinations. In such a situation, other points need to be considered, like presence of fever, pain in joints (arthralgia) i.e. when typical painful swollen joints were not present in the patient earlierar any of the manifestations of RF /RHD.

What is Rheumatic Fever (RF)?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] It is a disease of children/ adults, and is characterized by fever and painful swelling of the joints, mostly of the limbs, especially of the ankles and knees. The notable feature of the painful swelling of the joints is that it is fleeting in nature i.e. the swelling of the joints travels from one joint to another.

What Investigations Are Necessary in Case of a CAD - (Coronary Artery Disease)
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] The first and foremost is that an ECG of the patient concerned must be recorded. Characteristic ECG changes may occur as a result of damage to the heart muscle. However, ECG may not show any change for the first few hours, or even for a day in a case of heart attack.

Are There Any Risk Factors Responsible for CAD - (Coronary Artery Disease)?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Yes, there are several factors which increase the process of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, and in a patient more than 1-2 factors may be operating at the same time. Awareness of all such factors is important so that the CAD could be prevented right from the beginning.

What is a Heart Attack?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] In case angina pectoris is ignored, and the disease is allowed to progress, the blockage in coronary arteries/or in its branches may go on increasing. The end-result of such a severe blockage in coronary arteries/branches would be that the blood supply of a part of heart muscle (supplied by the respective branch of coronary artery) may suddenly stop completely leading to severe damage / injury / necrosis / death of the affected portion of the heart muscle.

What is Angina Pectoris?
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Whenever the blood supply of the muscular wall of the heart starts suffering, clinical manifestations of CAD - (Coronary Artery Disease) occur. Although there may be a mild blockage in a coronary artery, and thus a depletion in the supply of blood to the walls of the heart, yet this supply may be enough when the patient is at rest.

Things to Know About Coronary Artery Disease - CAD
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] CAD is indeed a silent human killer. Although the disease process starts in coronary arteries early in childhood, it continues progressing very gradually through years/decades, and becomes significant enough only later in life, say at the age of 40, or earlier. The reason is that no symptom of the disease occurs till more than 50-60% of the surface area of the coronary arteries is involved.

Disease in Male Breasts
[Health-and-Fitness:Mens-Issues] At birth, breasts (mammary glands) are similar in size in both sexes. The breasts remain rudimentary in males throughout life, while in females changes Occur during puberty and pregnancy as a result of the influence of various female hormones in the body.

Things to Know About Female Breasts
[Health-and-Fitness:Womens-Issues] Breasts in a woman may be small. There is a misconception that unusually small breasts may not be normal, and it is seen that females, especially young unmarried girls, take hormonal treatment (oestrogens) unnecessarily which has severe adverse side-effects.

Regular Check-Up for Prevention of Cancer
[Cancer] Women should have a breast examination by a doctor every three years after the age of 20, and every year after the age of 40, and self-examination every month. Also, a woman after the age of 40 should undergo mammography every 1-2 years.

Unexpected Bleeding and Cancer
[Cancer] For unexpected bleeding from any part of the body, in a child/adult, like oozing of blood from the gums, haemorrhagic spots/areas on the skin, or excessive bleeding from the nose, say, after a blow, or profuse bleeding following tooth extraction or minor injury, the possibility of early acute leukaemia must be considered for precise diagnosis. It is important to point out that leukaemias should be given due consideration and all efforts must be made to treat and control the condition.

Female Genitals and Cancer
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] Bleeding through vagina, in addition to her normal menstruation, or following intercourse (contact bleeding) in a 40-50 years old woman may be a signal of the cancer of the cervix. Other causes of contact bleeding are erosion of cervix, mucous polyp, etc.

Nine Major Warning Signals of Cancer
[Cancer] For persistent cough, blood in sputum of recent origin in a middle-aged person, suspect cancer of the lungs (bronchogenic carcinoma). Another equally important cause is lung tubercu losis which should be suspected irrespective of age.