Your blood pressure varies throughout each day. When you are exercising and your body requires greater blood flow, the pressure increases. When you are resting, blood pressure decreases; it is lowest when you are asleep. It may change when you become excited, when you have a sudden injury, or after you smoke a cigarette. Many [...]

There are three basic types of cardiomyopathy, which are distinguished by the kind of muscle problem involved:1. Dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes weak and the heart chambers subsequently enlarge (dilate).2. Hypertrophic (hyper means “over,” trophic means “nourishment”) cardiomyopathy,^ which the heart muscle itself/is much thicker than normal    3. Restrictive cardiomyopathy, in [...]

What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a fat-like substance called a sterol. It is hard and waxy and melts at 149 degrees Celsius. The name cholesterol originates from the Greek words chole (bile) and stereos (solid), as it was first discovered in solid form in gallstones. Our body manufactures approximately one gram of cholesterol per day; [...]