Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Kulick received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. He performed his residency in internal medicine at the Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and a fellowship in the section of cardiology at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Death is best treated by prevention. Most sudden death is associated with
heart disease, so the at-risk population remains males older than 40 years of
age who smoke, have high blood pressure, and diabetes (the risk factors for heart attack).
Other risks include syncope
(fainting or loss of consciousness) and known heart disease.
Syncope, or loss of consciousness, is a significant risk factor for sudden
death. While some reasons for passing out are benign, there is always a concern
that the reason was an abnormal heart rhythm that subsequently spontaneously
corrected. The fear is that the next episode will be a sudden cardiac arrest.
Depending on the healthcare provider's suspicion based on the patient's history,
physical examination, laboratory tests, and EKG, the healthcare practitioner may recommend
inpatient or outpatient heart monitoring to try to find a clue as to whether the
passing out was due to a deadly heart rhythm. Unfortunately, the potentially
suspect rhythm may not recur and depending on the situation, prolonged
outpatient monitoring lasting weeks and months may be necessary. Use of
electrophysiologic testing may help identify high risk patients (the electrical
pathways are mapped using techniques similar to heart catheterization).
In people who present to their doctor with chest pain, aside from making the
diagnosis, monitoring both the heart rate and rhythm are emphasized. The purpose
of watching people with chest pain in a hospital setting is to prevent sudden
cardiac arrest.
Using implantable defibrillators in high risk patients, especially those with
markedly decreased ejection fractions can reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac
arrest. These devices are placed under the skin in the chest wall and have wires
that are attached to the heart itself. When they detect ventricular
fibrillation, a shock is automatically delivered to the heart, restoring a heart
beat and averting sudden death.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart's function as a pump is inadequate to meet the body's needs. A poor blood supply resulting from congestive heart failure may cause the body's organ systems to fail, leading to a weakened heart muscle and fluid accumulation in the lungs and body tissue. There are many diseases that can impair pumping efficiency and symptoms of congestive heart failure including fatigue, diminished exercise capacity, shortness of breath, and swelling. Treatments include lifestyle modifications, medications, heart transplant, and therapy.
An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm. With an arrhythmia, the heartbeats may be irregular or too slow (bradycardia), to rapid (tachycardia), or too early. When a single heartbeat occurs earlier than normal, it is called a prmature contraction.
A pulmonary embolism occurs when a piece of a blood clot from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) breaks off and travels to an artery in the lung where it blocks the artery and damages the lung. The most common symptoms of a pulmonary embolism are shortness of breath, chest pain, and a rapid heart rate.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in a vein located deep in the muscles of the legs, thighs, pelvis (lower torso), or arms. The most common symptoms of a deep vein thrombosis are swelling and pain in the leg that has the blood clot. A DVT is difficult to diagnose without specific tests in which the deep vein system can be examined.
Fainting, also referred to as blacking out, syncope, or temporary loss of consciousness has many causes. Often a person will have signs or symptoms prior to the fainting episode. Diagnosis and treatment depends upon the cause of the fainting or syncope episode.
Sarcoidosis, a disease resulting from chronic inflammation, causes small lumps (granulomas) to develop in a great range of body tissues and can appear in almost any body organ. However, sarcoidosis most often starts in the lungs or lymph nodes.
Heart attack happens when a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary
artery supplying blood to the heart muscle. A heart attack can cause chest pain, heart failure, and electrical
instability of the heart.
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are premature heartbeats originating from the ventricles of the heart. PVCs are premature because they occur before the regular heartbeat. There are many causes of premature ventricular contractions to include: heart attack, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, mitral valve prolapse, hypokalemia, hypoxia, medications, excess caffeine, drug abuse, and myocarditis.
Heat stroke (heatstroke or sun stroke) is a form of hyperthermia. Heat stroke is a true medical emergency that can be fatal if not promptly and properly treated. Symptoms of heat stroke include: high body temperature, absence of sweating, with hot red or flushed dry skin, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing, strange behavior, hallucinations, confusion, agitation, disorientation, seizure, and coma. A victim of heat stroke must receive immediate treatment to avoid permanent organ damage.
Marfan syndrome is hereditary condition affecting connective tissue. A person with Marfan syndrome may exhibit the following symptoms and characteristics: dislocation of one or both lenses of the eye; a protruding or indented breastbone; scoliosis; flat feet; aortic dilatation; dural ectasia; stretch marks; hernia; and lung collapse. Though there is no cure for Marfan syndrome, there are treatments that can minimize and sometimes prevent some complications.
Heart rhythm disorders vary from minor palpitations, premature atrial contractions (PACs), premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), sinus tachycardia, and sinus brachycardia, to abnormal heart rhythms such as tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular flutter, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT), Wolf-White-Parkinson syndrome, brachycardia, or heart blocks. Treatment is dependant upon the type of heart rhythm disorder.
Aortic valve stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve of the heart. The causes of aortic stenosis are wear and tear of the valve in the elderly, congenital, or scarring or scarring of the aortic valve from rheumatic fever. Symptoms include angina, fainting, and shortness of breath. Treatment is dependant upon the severity of the condition.
Heart disease (coronary artery disease) is caused by a buildup of cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries. Risk factors for heart disease include smoking, high blood pressure, heredity, diabetes, peripheral artery disease, and obesity. Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath. There are a variety of tests used to diagnose coronary artery disease. Treatment includes life-style changes, medications, procedures, or surgery.
Amyloidosis is a group of diseases resulting from abnormal deposition of certain proteins (amyloids) in various bodily areas. The amyloid proteins may either be deposited in one particular area of the body (localized amyloidosis) or they may be deposited throughout the body (systemic amyloidosis). There are three types of systemic amyloidosis: primary (AL), secondary (AA), and familial (ATTR). Primary amyloidosis is not associated with any other diseases and is considered a disease entity of its own. Secondary amyloidosis occurs as a result of another illness. Familial Mediterranean Fever is a form of familial (inherited) amyloidosis. Amyloidosis treatment involves treating the underlying illness and correcting organ failure.
Hypothermia is having a body core temperature of less than 35 C or 95 F. Most causes of hypothermia are preventable. Risk factors for hypothermia include age, mental status, medical conditions, and medications. Symptoms of hypothermia generally depend upon the severity of the condition. Treatment depends upon the severity of hypothermia. If not treated early, hypothermia can lead to cardiac arrest, coma, or death.
Coma is the inability to waken or react to the surrounding environment. The Glasgow Coma Scale is frequently used to measure the depth of coma. Causes of coma include trauma, bleeding, edema, lack of oxygen, poisoning, or hypoglycemia. Prognosis for a patient in a coma depends on the cause of the coma.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle and can be caused by a variety of infections, conditions, and viruses. Symptoms of myocarditis include chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, and fluid accumulation in the lungs. Treatment mainly involves preventing heart failure with medication and diet, as well as monitoring for heart rhythm abnormalities.
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a condition in which abnormal electrical pathways in the heart cause arrhythmias. Symptoms of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome include tachycardia, dizziness, palpitations, fainting, and shortness of breath. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a common cause of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is caused by mutations in the PRKAG2 gene.
Heart failure is caused by many conditions including coronary artery disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and conditions that overwork the heart. Symptoms of heart failure include congested lungs, fluid and water retention, dizziness, fatigue and weakness, and rapid or irregular heartbeats.
Heart disease, particularly coronary artery disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. Women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and high triglycerides are contributors to heart disease. Some of the common symptoms of a heart attack in women include chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint or woozy, and more. Heart disease can be prevented by lifestyle changes and controlling high blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and diseases such as diabetes.
Drowning is a common cause of death and disability worldwide. In the US, it is the third most common cause of accidental death. Brain damage, pneumonia, ARDS, hypothermia, and spine fractures are complications of drowning. At times, there are discussions of wet vs. dry, or salt vs. fresh water drownings. Children and young adults are at most risk for drowning accidents. Medical emergencies in the water may lead to drowning (such as seizures, hypoglycemia, sudden cardiac death, or heart attack). Treatment of a drowning victim depends up on the severity of the injury. Prevention is the key to prevent drowning.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects many people today. Many people with HCM have no symptoms or only minor symptoms, and live a normal life. Other people develop symptoms, which progress and worsen as heart function worsens.
The heart is a very important organ in the body. It is responsible for continuously pumping oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout your body to sustain life. It is a fist-sized muscle that beats (expands and contracts) 100,000 times per day, pumping a total of five or six quarts of blood each minute, or about 2,000 gallons per day.
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