by Karen | Mar 15, 2018 | Uncategorised
Smoking and heart disease Smoking is one of the major risk factors of heart disease. The chemicals in tobacco smoke cause damage to the structure of your heart. They also damage the walls of the arteries. This damage causes a risk of atherosclerosis which is a waxy...
by Karen | Aug 25, 2017 | Uncategorised
HEART FAILURE What is heart failure? The heart is a pump which is responsible for pumping blood around the body. The blood delivers oxygen to the cells around the body to produce energy. When someone has heart failure it means that this pump is not working properly....
by Karen | Aug 18, 2017 | Uncategorised
EXERCISE TESTING What is an exercise test? The main purpose of exercise testing is to measure your body’s ability to produce energy or in other words your exercise capacity. The test might include walking on a treadmill, cycling or stepping up and down on a step. It...
by Karen | Aug 11, 2017 | Uncategorised
FATIGUE Why am I so tired all the time? Fatigue or tiredness is a very complex symptom and there can be many reasons why you may feel tired. Fatigue results from an inability to produce energy efficiently. This can be as a result of you doing too much and building up...
by Karen | Jul 7, 2017 | Uncategorised
Breathlessness Breathlessness is an uncomfortable sensation that can be terrifying. If you have a longstanding illness that makes you out of breath doing very little activity below are diagrams of the easiest way to catch your breath without using up too much energy....
by Karen | Jun 2, 2017 | Uncategorised
HOW TO TAKE YOUR PULSE When we take our pulse we use the radial pulse which can be palpated at the wrist When taking your pulse it is important that you use your middle and index finger to palpate same. You have a very strong pulse in your thumb so...
by Karen | Mar 31, 2017 | Uncategorised
Diabetes 10 interesting facts about diabetes • 7-11% of people diagnosed with glucose intolerance go on to develop diabetes • How much time you spend seated is now an independent risk factor of diabetes • A person with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of more than 30 is 7...
by Karen | Feb 10, 2017 | Uncategorised
What are the signs of a heart attack? There are a number of signs of a heart attack. It may be chest discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. It may be uncomfortable pressure squeezing or pain. It may not be chest pain....
by Karen | Jan 28, 2017 | Uncategorised
OBESITY Did you know that Almost half (48%) of Irish men and 57% of Irish women will be obese by 2030 54% of parents of overweight children and 20% of parents of obese children report that they are ‘about the right’ weight for their height (Growing up in Ireland...
by Karen | Jan 20, 2017 | Uncategorised
ANGINA What is angina? Your heart is a muscle that needs oxygen to function. Oxygen is delivered to the heart muscle by the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are usually able to deliver enough oxygen during exercise but if there is narrowing in these arteries...
