The Mysterious Syndrome X

Metabolic Syndrome and What You Need to Know About It If the title of this week’s blog post sounds like a cheesy ‘50s horror movie along the lines of Plan 9 from Outer Space, or even the appropriately-named  X the Unknown,that’s a good thing.  Because like any effective horror movie, Syndrome X, now known by most as metabolic syndrome, should scare you and a lot of my patients.  Because metabolic syndrome is a...

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IV Vitamin C Therapy in Cancer Patients

One of the IV vitamin therapy treatments we offer at the IV Therapy Center of Beverly Hills is intravenous high-dose Vitamin C therapy.  There are manydiseases and conditions for which we have found this treatment to be at least somewhat helpful, and this is backed up by numerous reports in the medical literature.  Our patients have found that IV Vitamin C therapy:  ·         Reduces ...

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Why you should enjoy an Avocado more often.

For many years humans have recognized the benefits of the divine avocado fruit. You may know this but you don't know what it is that is in the fruit that provides these great effects. Medically there are four things that can be said and explained about the avocado; Lutein Avocados provide your body with lutein, necessary to protect your eyes from age-related eye degeneration. Lutein Molecule... seriously. Oleic Acid Oleic acid improves...

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Oh, Brother! How Siblings with history of Heart Attack Increases YOUR RISK.

Having Older Siblings Who Died of a Heart Attack Raises Your  Heart Attack Risk. Genetic similarity between you and your sibling (which could include genetic predisposition to heart disease)If you are a middle child or the baby of the family, you probably know that there are all kinds of studies that aim to correlate your birth order with your physical and emotional health. Well here's another one, published in the Journal of the American...

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Improved Heart CT enables for detection of level of danger of different plaques

Histology of the same vessel shows necrotic/lipid core. The advent of high-resolution cardiac CT scanning has revolutionized diagnostic and interventional cardiology.  64-Slice CT machines have now given way to 256- and even 320-slice CT scanners. In patients with coronary artery disease, a key question is which plaques are most dangerous. That is, which are most likely to rupture and cause a clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), the...

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A Spouse with a “Big Heart” can mean “Big Problems”

"She's got the biggest heart." Or "a heart as big as all outdoors."  These very common expressions would lead you to believe that having a big heart is a good thing. Unfortunately, in medicine, a big heart, known as cardiomegaly, may mean big trouble. However, as with many things I see in my practice, knowing your own personal risk is an important first step toward protecting your heart from further problems in the future. You may be born...

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Difference between "GOOD" and "BAD" Cholesterol; Why Cholesterol only tells us part of the story.

Whether you come to me or another Los Angeles cardiologist, you will usually have a series of blood tests to diagnose existing cardiac problems or predict cardiovascular disease risk. We have been told for the past 50+ years that cholesterol is the enemy and that we should avoid it in food wherever possible. But our bodies produce cholesterol from various glycerol esters of fatty acids (triglycerides); sometimes the amount produced is excessive....

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Calcium Supplements: How the vital mineral has become a major health concern.

High Calcium intake linked to Heart Disease Over the past couple of decades, calcium supplements have been overwhelmingly popular in America. Why? Because, as we all know, it builds strong bones! There is a lot of validity to the promotion of calcium supplements. Our bodies do need calcium daily for a multitude of reasons. Calcium is not only an integral component of bones and teeth, supporting their structure and helping to retain hardness, but...

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Reducing Heart Disease Risk - Are Avocados the answer?

How avocados may effect your risk of Cardiovascular Disease. As a cardiologist and internist in Los Angeles, I find my patients here are a little more health conscious than they might be in Chicago, where I went to medical school. Try to take away people's Polish sausage and pierogi in the Windy City and you'll practically have a riot on your hands. At least in Los Angeles, cardiology patients...

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Specific Migraines in Women linked to Increased Probability of Heart Attacks

I apologize deeply for my weeklong break between sharing news with you. Very busy week at the UCLA David Geffen Medical Center doing Electrocardiography research! Can't wait to share the news with you! You guys are great! Women with Specific Type of Migraine More Prone to Heart Attacks    If you suffer from migraines, you probably never thought to mention that fact to your cardiologist or internist. But now in the wake of a new study,...

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Berry Impressive!

Strawberries and Blueberries Slice Heart Attack Rates If you liked strawberries and blueberries before, you'll really like them now! According to a new study published in the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation, women aged 25-42 who ate at least 3 servings of strawberries and blueberries per week had 32% fewer heart attacks than women who ate the berries less than once a month. What's interesting is that even the women in...

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Salt, the couture way to Heart Disease.

Fleur de sel. Black Hawaiian. Pink Himalayan. Types of flowers? Breeds of cute exotic cats? No, these are all actually varieties of salt! And they're amazing; they not only look beautiful, but they taste tantalizingly delicious - a world apart from plain old table salt. From salted caramel candies to sea salt-encrusted sea bass, the new fad of couture condiments has captured our hearts, so to speak. Years of advice to cut down on salt and consider...

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