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More than 90 percent of FMD patients are women, and the vast majority are diagnosed in their 40s and 50s. But Cleveland Clinic researchers recently discovered that some patients are age 65 or older before the first symptoms of FMD appear. In this age group, the disease tends to be less serious and less likely to cause symptoms than when its diagnosed at a younger age.

A rare, but serious, problem can occur when a DVT blood clot breaks off and is carried into a heart that has a hole between its upper chambers (patent foramen ovale, or PFO). If the clot passes from the right side of the heart into the left and is pumped into the arteries supplying the brain, it can cause a stroke.

If there are specific concerns that you would like to have addressed, please write them down before you leave home and raise them early in the appointment. Please don't wait until the end of the visit to speak up. Knowing what's on your mind helps us plan our time with you, and you will be more likely to leave the office satisfied, if your questions have been answered.

If you are in charge of Thanksgiving dinner, cut down on the number of carbs you plan to serve. Do you really need mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls and stuffing, too? Swap one or two of these for healthier alternatives. Even the ubiquitous green-bean casserole would be a better choice, since it contains fiber from beans and a little fat from butter and mushroom soup, which will help you feel full.

How involved a patient wants to be in music therapy depends on their diagnosis and whether they sing or play an instrument. Many simply want to listen to music. For these patients, the music therapist will select works likely to be therapeutic. When McFee sees the potential to help improve a patients medical condition, she encourages them to participate in music-making using an instrument on her cart that doesnt require special training or talent to play.

If you have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, or have been diagnosed with heart or vascular disease, what are you doing to lessen the likelihood you will suffer a heart attack or stroke? Are you eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising? Keeping your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels under control? Have you tossed your cigarettes to the curb.

Frailty is not necessarily associated with older age alone. More often than not, its a consequence of poor lifestyle choices that lead to deconditioning. Thats why there are 60-year-olds whose descent into frailty is preceded by years of high blood pressure, diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors that cause them to become increasingly sedentary and at risk for heart attack and stroke.

Most people know the classic symptoms of heart attack: pain in the left or center of the chest often described as heaviness, tightness or pressure, which can radiate to the jaw or left arm and may be accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating and nausea.

CPR is a simple intervention that anyone can master with little training, yet the magnitude of its effect is incomparable, says Venu Menon, MD, Director of the Coronary Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic. Many people who suffer sudden cardiac death are in the prime of life and otherwise healthy. Its an unexpected, random event that any one of us could witness at any time. It could happen to someone we love or to a stranger, he says.

Advanced heart failure is one reason some patients are referred to palliative care. These patients often experience distressing symptoms that increase in number and severity as the condition progresses.

After a girl ages out of a pediatricians care, her next doctor is likely to be a gynecologist. Unless she has a chronic health condition or suffers a health scare, this may be the only doctor she sees for many years. But young women would be wise to establish a relationship with a general practitioner, who will examine them for cardiovascular risk factors and address these issues early.

A heart attack occurs when a blood clot shuts off blood flow through an artery on the surface of the heart muscle. When this happens, the area of heart muscle nourished by this artery is starved of oxygen. Unless blood flow is restored in a timely manner, muscle tissue will die.