Cluster headaches, occur in cyclical patterns or clusters, are one of the most painful types of headache. A cluster headache commonly awakens you in the middle of the night with intense pain in or around one eye on one side of your head. Bouts of frequent attacks, known as cluster periods, can last from weeks to months, usually followed by remission periods when the headaches stop. During remission, no headaches occur for months and sometimes even years. Fortunately, cluster headache is rare and not life-threatening. Treatments can make cluster headache attacks shorter and less severe. In addition, medications can reduce the number of cluster headaches.

The human heart has four main valves—two on the left and two on the right. The aortic valve is one of the main valves on the left side of the heart. It is the outflow valve for the left ventricle, which means that it is the valve between the heart and the body. The aortic valve opens when the left ventricle squeezes to pump out blood, and closes in between heart beats to keep blood from going backward into the heart.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness.

If levels of both vitamins are extremely high, there is more than a 17-fold greater risk that a child will develop autism, the researchers said. Most of the women in the study said they took multivitamins — which would include folic acid and vitamin B12 — throughout their pregnancy.

Treatment may include: Rest. Ice or heat. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Strengthening exercises. Ultrasound therapy. Corticosteroid injection. Surgery (for severe injuries)

Shoulder impingement syndrome, also called subacromial impingement, painful arc syndrome, supraspinatus syndrome, swimmer's shoulder, and thrower's shoulder, is a clinical syndrome which occurs when the tendons of the rotator cuff muscles become irritated and inflamed as they pass through the subacromial space ...

New flu vaccines are released every year to keep up with rapidly adapting flu viruses. Because flu viruses evolve so quickly, last year's vaccine may not protect you from this year's viruses. After vaccination, your immune system produces antibodies that will protect you from the vaccine viruses.

Prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal but not yet high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Without lifestyle changes, people with prediabetes are very likely to progress to type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes, the long-term damage of diabetes — especially to your heart, blood vessels and kidneys — may already be starting. There's good news, however. Progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes isn't inevitable. Eating healthy foods, incorporating physical activity in your daily routine and maintaining a healthy weight can help bring your blood sugar level back to normal. Prediabetes affects adults and children. The same lifestyle changes that can help prevent progression to diabetes in adults might also help bring children's blood sugar levels back to normal.

Diabetic retinopathy (die-uh-BET-ik ret-ih-NOP-uh-thee) is a diabetes complication that affects eyes. It's caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina). At first, diabetic retinopathy may cause no symptoms or only mild vision problems. Eventually, it can cause blindness. The condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and close to the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes digestive juices, or enzymes, into the duodenum through a tube called the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes join with bile—a liquid produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder—to digest food. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body regulate the glucose it takes from food for energy. Normally, digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas do not become active until they reach the small intestine. But when the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it attack and damage the tissues that produce them. Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Either form is serious and can lead to complications. In severe cases, bleeding, infection, and permanent tissue damage may occur.

Enzymes, or digestive juices, produced by the pancreas are secreted into the small intestine to further break down food after it has left the stomach. The gland also produces the hormone insulin and secretes it into the bloodstream in order to regulate the body's glucose or sugar level.

Coronary circulation is the circulation of blood in the blood vessels of the heart muscle (myocardium). The vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium are known as coronary arteries. The vessels that remove the deoxygenated blood from the heart muscle are known as cardiac veins.

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are extra, abnormal heartbeats that begin in one of your heart's two lower pumping chambers (ventricles). These extra beats disrupt your regular heart rhythm, sometimes causing you to feel a flip-flop or skipped beat in your chest.

What damage does atherosclerosis cause? Plaque may partially or totally block the blood's flow through an artery in the heart, brain, pelvis, legs, arms or kidneys. Some of the diseases that may develop as a result of atherosclerosis include coronary heart disease, angina (chest pain), carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease (PAD) and chronic kidney disease.

It's a symptom of heart disease but typically does not cause permanent damage to the heart. It is, though, a sign that you are a candidate for a heart attack at some point in the future. The chest pain may spread to your arm, shoulder, jaw, or back. It may feel like a pressure or squeezing sensation.

Your doctor says your chest pain (angina) is caused by blockages in your heart arteries and that you need to get those blockages taken care of. What are your options? First, it's important to determine what type of angina you have. Different types of angina may need different treatments. Common types of angina are chronic stable angina — a type of angina that occurs when your heart is working hard — and unstable angina, which is new chest pain or chest pain that is getting worse. Other types of angina include variant angina — a rare type of angina caused by a spasm in the coronary arteries — and microvascular angina, which can be a symptom of disease in the small coronary artery blood vessels. Unstable angina is a serious situation and requires emergency treatment. Treatment for unstable angina involves hospitalization with medications to stabilize your condition. Some people with unstable angina may require a procedure called angioplasty (also known as percutaneous coronary intervention), usually combined with the placement of a small metal tube called a stent. In some cases of unstable angina, heart surgery (coronary bypass surgery) may be needed. Generally, if you have mild stable angina that is controlled by medications, you may not need further treatments. If you're experiencing symptoms of chronic stable angina even after taking medications and making lifestyle changes, or if you're at higher risk of serious heart disease, your doctor may recommend angioplasty or coronary bypass surgery. Making a decision on how to treat your angina can be difficult, but knowing the benefits and risks of stents and medications may help you decide.

The long-standing answer has been that sneezing is a reflex. When irritants — such as germs, dust, pollen, animal dander, or pollutants, just to name just a few — infiltrate the nose lining, the brain sends out a signal to get rid of it. That triggers a deep breath, which gets held in the lungs.

Systemic circulation carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle, through the arteries, to the capillaries in the tissues of the body. From the tissue capillaries, the deoxygenated blood returns through a system of veins to the right atrium of the heart.

Root canals are common procedures and can help save your tooth from extraction. Dentists at Aspen Dental practices have been safely and expertly performing root canal procedures for over two decades.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a nondegenerative, noncongenital insult to the brain from an external mechanical force, possibly leading to permanent or temporary impairment of cognitive, physical, and psychosocial functions, with an associated diminished or altered state of consciousness.