Not all body fat is equally bad for your health. It is widely known that body fat distribution is extremely important. There is increasing evidence for the deleterious effects of Visceral Fat on aging. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is an epidemiological tool that demonstrates a correlation between Visceral Fat and development of diabetes mellitus, stroke, coronary artery disease, and mortality. This ratio is easily determined by dividing the measurement of waist circumference by hip circumference. (more…)

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy improves functional capacity and quality of life in patients with persistent class III and IV heart failure despite optimal medical therapy, and there is also evidence that Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy may reverse structural remodeling in selected patients. Although individual trials of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy were underpowered to assess survival, a meta-analysis of outcomes from four randomized trials involving more than 800 patients found that Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy reduces mortality from heart failure. (more…)

In older patients without apparent cardiovascular disease, the number of cardiac myocytes declines, while residual myocytes enlarge. Concurrently, there is an increase in elastic and collagenous tissue in all parts of the interstitial matrix and conduction system with advancing age. (more…)

Atrial Fibrillation affects approximately 2.3 million people in the United States and is the most common rhythm disorder among U.S. patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of an cardiac arrhythmia. The median age of Atrial Fibrillation patients is 75 years; 84% are older than 65 years. Pooled data from studies of chronic Atrial Fibrillation in North America, Britain, and Iceland suggest a prevalence of 0.5% to 1% in the general population. (more…)

Supraventricular Tachyarrhythmia

The principles of drug and non-drug management of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT) are similar to those outlined for stroke Atrial Fibrillation. However, for most supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, the arrhythmogenic substrate is isolated and well defined. AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (localized to the region of AVN) and atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (with use of an accessory pathway) are the two most common types of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. Atrial tachycardia can be reentrant or non-reentrant in mechanism, can be right or left atrial in origin, and can occur more frequently in the elderly population than in younger patients. (more…)

Something you and your doctor should appreciate is that getting older influences the way you react to drugs. Elderly patients are twice as susceptible to drug reactions as younger adults are. The aging kidneys and liver contribute to the problem. The relative quantity of water in the body decreases and thus is not as available to dilute the medication, and the kidneys are less capable of excreting drugs. The liver is also less able to metabolize drugs. (more…)