Doctor Column

Atrial Fibrillation (‘A Fib’) What is Holiday Heart?

Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib or AF, often causes the heart to beat faster with an abnormal rhythm. It is the most common chronic, irregular heart rhythm in the U. S. It strikes more than two and half million people in America and the incidence of AFib rises with age. It’s most prevalent in people over the age of 65 affecting about nine per cent of this population; and there isn’t a predictable pattern to the irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia).

How Does the Healthy Heart Work?

Have you ever run to catch a bus, worked on a strenuous job, played sports or run up a flight of steps? Whether you’re exercising, stressed-out or working hard, the heart needs to adjust to the added physical or emotional stress. It does so, in part, by beating much faster than normal to get more blood circulating around the body. The lungs also adjust by breathing faster than normal to get more oxygen to the heart.

Floaters and Flashes of Light in Your Eye: “When Should You Worry?”

We recognize people and the world around us when light passes into the eye, travels across the vitreous material of the eye on its way to the retina. The vitreous is a clear, jelly-like substance that occupies about 80% of the space within the eye and is normally attached to the retina. The retina has light sensitive nerve cells in the back of the eye that relays signals to the brain so we can see.