Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited heart disease; it causes thickening of the heart muscle without a clinical cause to explain the extent of thickening observed.
HCM causes symptoms of dyspnea or shortness of breath, chest pain, exercise intolerance, syncope or fainting, and uncommonly, sudden cardiac death (SCD). It affects individuals of all ages but most commonly presents after age 30. Many patients with HCM have a relatively benign course and can have normal life expectancy, and symptoms can be managed with first-line pharmacologic agents like beta blockers or verapamil. However, a quarter of patients will experience in their course either severe disabling symptoms or SCD. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology
We, as physicians, always tell our patients that the goal is to lower their LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise their HDL (good cholesterol).
Why is HDL considered the good cholesterol, and why is it so important?
The cardioprotective effects of HDL are strongly suggested by the consistent inverse relationship between HDL levels and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD).
When HDL is high, the risk of CAD is lessened. For example, when one eats a fatty meal, the food is broken down resulting in LDL depositing in the coronary arteries (the pipes that feed the heart). Over time, plaque builds up and the risk of heart attack increases. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology
Everyone needs to remember when it comes to heart attack, time is muscle. If you are feeling chest pain, don’t hesitate to call 9-1-1.
Our heart teams at Mount Sinai know that improving heart attack patient survival is all about teamwork and timing. The team includes the dispatchers, paramedics, FDNY, hospital teams, emergency room staff, and interventional cardiologists who are working together to reduce wait times in emergency rooms and speed communication to get a patient to the catheterization laboratory as fast as possible to open a blocked heart artery. The goal timing is for less than 90 minutes. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology, Research
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may have statin intolerance.
What are statins?
Statins are a class of cholesterol lowering medication therapies that have been extensively evaluated in controlled clinical trial studies. These medications have been consistently shown to reduce the risk of a first cardiovascular event including heart attack, stroke, and death from heart disease. Also, the drugs can reduce recurrent (two or more) cardiovascular events in people with a prior heart attack, or other acute coronary syndromes that result from a reduction in blood flow to the heart muscle, or stroke. In addition, studies show statins have helped reduce the total amount of deaths worldwide overall from cardiovascular diseases. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology, Inside, Your Health
The Mount Sinai Hospital became the first institution in the United States to use a U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration-approved drug-coated balloon to reopen arteries in a patient’s leg. The new device was approved last October to treat arteries above the knee that have been narrowed or blocked by peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a potentially life-threatening condition that may cause leg pain, skin ulcers, and gangrene, and can result in amputation if left untreated. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cardiology, Health Tips, Your Health
WHAT IS A HEART MURMUR?
Normally blood moves through the heart smoothly in a nearly fractionless fashion called laminar flow. However when the velocity of flow increases, flow becomes turbulent and friction increases making flow audible to the healthcare provider using a stethoscope. This noise is called a murmur. Some murmurs occur when flow velocity occurs in response to physical conditions such as pregnancy or fever and do not represent a heart problem. However many murmurs occur from heart valve abnormalities or congenital heart disease and should be evaluated. The most common abnormal heart conditions causing murmurs are when heart valves fail to open properly (called valve stenosis) or when heart valves leak (called valvular regurgitation). (more…)
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited heart disease; it causes thickening of the heart muscle without a clinical cause to explain the extent of thickening observed.
