Frank H Gafford MD, FACC

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...

Intensive treatment of gum diseases may help blood vessels and gums, reports a study published in, The New England Journal of Medicine. The study was conducted on 120 people who had severe gum disease, or peridontitis. In this condition, the gum line recedes and teeth loosens as the support is...

A study published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure, has shown that continuous use of anabolic steroids may weaken the heart. To add to the woes, researchers are not clear whether this change is a reversible one. In this study, weight lifters who took steroids regularly had impaired heart...

Cardiac ablation is a procedure used for atrial fibrillation (a-fib) treatment, which is an irregular beating of the heart. Doctors may recommend the procedure when other methods of treatment such as drugs and heartbeat reset aren’t successful.If atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heart rate,...

Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes abnormal vibrations in the heart chambers. It leads to changes in the heartbeat ratesand the pulse. As a result, it may cause clotting of blood in the heart chambers. Such quivering sensations are mostly experienced in the atria and ventricle chambers...

The first few weeks after a heart surgery are usually eventful and difficult. As time passes, life becomes easier with lesser discomfort, if postoperative precautions are followed stringently. The most important thing that a patient should realize is that he himself is responsible for quick healing....