Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, can feel like you are breathing through a tiny, thin straw. Every day, simple tasks can become hard work. Many people with COPD feel short of breath, cough a lot, and feel very tired. For a long time, doctors have given medicines to help with these problems….
Imagine your body’s blood vessels are like a network of highways. Blood cells are the cars, carrying oxygen and food to every part of your body. For your arms and legs to be healthy and strong, this traffic needs to flow smoothly. But for people with Peripheral Artery Disease, or PAD, these highways are blocked….
Your heart has an important job. It beats to pump blood throughout your body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to all your organs. Normally, it does this in a steady, regular rhythm. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. But for millions of people, this rhythm can get out of sync. The heart might beat too fast, too slow, or in…
Our hearts are the hardest-working muscles in our bodies. They beat all day and all night, pumping blood to every single part of us. But sometimes, this amazing muscle can get sick and become weak. This condition is called Congestive Heart Failure, or CHF for short. Congestive Heart Failure does not mean the heart has…
Imagine the pipes in an old house. Over many years, gunk, rust, and minerals can build up on the inside. This makes the opening for water to flow through get smaller and smaller. Eventually, the water has a hard time getting through. Now, imagine the same thing happening inside your blood vessels. Your arteries are…
High blood pressure, which doctors call hypertension, is a very common health problem. Think of your blood vessels as tiny hoses that your blood flows through. When the pressure in those hoses is too high all the time, it is called hypertension. This condition is sometimes called a “silent killer” because you often can’t feel…
Kyphosis is a big word for a problem many people have. If you have kyphosis, your spine curves forward too much. This can make you look like you are hunching over. For some people, this curve comes from vertebrae that have broken. Vertebrae are the small bones that stack together to make your spine. This…
Getting older is a part of life. With age comes wisdom and experience. But it can also bring some physical changes that are not so welcome. One of the most common and frustrating changes is the slow loss of muscle strength. You might find it harder to open a jar, get up from a chair,…
When we think about being strong, we often think about our muscles. But what about the bones underneath? Our bones are what hold us up. They are like the frame of a house. But for millions of people, this frame becomes weak and fragile. This condition is called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” If you…
Do you know someone whose joints hurt all the time? Maybe it is your grandma, your dad, or even a friend. They might have trouble opening a jar, walking up stairs, or getting out of a chair. They could have a condition called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common kind of arthritis. It happens when…
