Joseph Arden Meacham MD

What is Raynaud’s disease?Raynaud’s disease, also known as Raynaud’s syndrome or Raynaud’s phenomenon, is a rare blood vessel disorder described by a French physician named Maurice Raynaud in 1862. In this condition, the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the...

Tachycardia refers to rapid heartbeat, with more than 100 beats per minute. When this fast rhythm starts from the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) this condition is referred to as ventricular tachycardia. This fast beating heart rate may lead to a condition called ventricular...

Our heart rate is automatically controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that has two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The part of the ANS that is responsible for raising a person’s heart rate through the sympathetic plexus is the sympathetic division. The parasympathetic...

IntroductionTo maintain good health, balanced cholesterol levels are quite important. The liver is an organ that detoxifies drugs and other foreign substances. It also stores glycogen, which the body utilizes for energy. Other important functions of the liver include metabolizing carbohydrates,...

Lupus is an unpredictable, multi-organ disease, and in some it may have milder course characterized by skin rashes or muscular aches, while in others it may start abruptly with predominant symptoms of some serious illness. It is not uncommon for lupus patients to present with the symptoms of kidney...

What is ischemia?Ischemia is the medical term used to describe a lack of blood flow to certain organs or body parts. Since the blood carries oxygen and other necessary nutrients to parts of the body, when blow flow is reduced these body parts do not receive the adequate amount of oxygen and...