MedStar Health Blog

For many years, the number of people who were dying of strokes in the United States had been decreasing steadily. But as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in its September 201...

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it’s preventable. While symptoms of heart disease often don’t begin to appear until our 50s and 60s, plaque bui...

This article was written by Brendan Furlong, MD, Chief of Service, Emergency Department, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.   During cold winter weather, MedStar Health's Eme...

Many heart failure patients rely on left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), which are amazing medical implants that pump blood throughout the body. LVADs can mean the difference between life an...

A patient recently told me she was working to improve her fitness and had noticed unusual spikes in her heart rate during exercise. "Here, let me show you.” She brought out her phone and s...

The most common symptoms of a heart attack occur in both men and women: chest pain or pressure and arm pain that radiates to the back, neck or jaw. Emergency department doctors follow a specific...