bowang0911/MedQuAD huggingface dataset:
You can take steps to prevent heart failure. The sooner you start, the better your chances of preventing or delaying the condition.
                
For People Who Have Healthy Hearts
                
If you have a healthy heart, you can take action to prevent heart disease and heart failure. To reduce your risk of heart disease:
                
Avoid using illegal drugs.
                
Be physically active. The more active you are, the more you will benefit.
                
Follow a heart-healthy eating plan.
                
If yousmoke, make an effort to quit. Talk with your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit smoking. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke.
                
Maintain a healthy weight. Work with your health care team to create a reasonable weight-loss plan.
                
For People Who Are at High Risk for Heart Failure
                
Even if youre at high risk for heart failure, you can take steps to reduce your risk. People at high risk include those who have coronary heart disease,high blood pressure, ordiabetes.
                
Follow all of the steps listed above. Talk with your doctor about what types and amounts of physical activity are safe for you.
                
Treat and control any conditions that can cause heart failure. Take medicines as your doctor prescribes.
                
Avoid drinking alcohol.
                
See your doctor for ongoing care.
                
For People Who Have Heart Damage but No Signs of Heart Failure
                
If you have heart damage but no signs of heart failure, you can still reduce your risk of developing the condition. In addition to the steps above, take your medicines as prescribed to reduce your hearts workload.
The cause of broken heart syndrome isnt fully known. However, extreme emotional or physical stress is believed to play a role in causing the temporary disorder.
                
Although symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, what is happening to the heart is quite different. Most heart attacks are caused by near or complete blockage of a coronary artery. In broken heart syndrome, the coronary arteries are not blocked, although blood flow may be reduced.
                
Potential Triggers
                
In most cases, broken heart syndrome occurs after an intense and upsetting emotional or physical event. Some potential triggers of broken heart syndrome are:
                
Emotional stressorsextreme grief, fear, or anger, for example as a result of the unexpected death of a loved one, financial or legal trouble, intense fear, domestic abuse, confrontational argument, car accident, public speaking, or even a surprise party.
                
Physical stressorsan asthma attack, serious illness or surgery, or exhausting physical effort.
                
Potential Causes
                
Researchers think that sudden stress releases hormones that overwhelm or stun the heart. (The term stunned is often used to indicate that the injury to the heart muscle is only temporary.) This can trigger changes in heart muscle cells or coronary blood vessels, or both. The heart becomes so weak that its left ventricle (which is the chamber that pumps blood from your heart to your body) bulges and cannot pump well, while the other parts of the heart work normally or with even more forceful contractions. As a result the heart is unable to pump properly. (For more information about the hearts pumping action and blood flow, go to the Health Topics How the Heart Works article.)
                
Researchers are trying to identify the precise way in which the stress hormones affect the heart. Broken heart syndrome may result from a hormone surge, coronary artery spasm, or microvascular dysfunction.
                
Hormone Surge
                
Intense stress causes large amounts of the fight or flight hormones, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, to be released into your bloodstream. The hormones are meant to help you cope with the stress. Researchers think that the sudden surge of hormones overwhelms and stuns the heart muscle, producing symptoms similar to those of a heart attack.
                
Coronary Artery Spasm
                
Some research suggests that the extreme stress causes a temporary, sudden narrowing of one of the coronary arteries as a result of a spasm. The spasm slows or stops blood flow through the artery and starves part of the heart of oxygen-rich blood.
                
Microvascular Dysfunction
                
Another theory that is gaining traction is that the very small coronary arteries (called microvascular arteries) do not function well due to low hormone levels occurring before or after menopause. The microvascular arteries fail to provide enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
Broken heart syndrome affects women more often than men. Often, people who experience broken heart syndrome have previously been healthy. Research shows that the traditional risk factors for heart disease may not apply to broken heart syndrome.
                
People who might be at increased risk for broken heart syndrome include:
                
Women who have gone through menopause, particularly women in their sixties and seventies
                
People who often have no previous history of heart disease
                
Asian and White populations
                
Although these are the characteristics for most cases of broken heart syndrome, the condition can occur in anyone.
                
Research is ongoing to learn more about broken heart syndrome and its causes.
All chest pain should be checked by a doctor. Because symptoms of broken heart syndrome are similar to those of a heart attack, it is important to seek help right away. Your doctor may not be able to diagnose broken heart syndrome until you have some tests.
                
Common Signs and Symptoms
                
The most common symptoms of broken heart syndrome are sudden, sharp chest pain and shortness of breath. Typically these symptoms begin just minutes to hours after experiencing a severe, and usually unexpected, stress.
                
Because the syndrome involves severe heart muscle weakness, some people also may experience signs and symptoms such as fainting, arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs) (fast or irregular heartbeats), cardiogenic (KAR-de-o-JEN-ik) shock (when the heart cant pump enough blood to meet the bodys needs), low blood pressure, and heart failure.
                
Differences From a Heart Attack
                
Some of the signs and symptoms of broken heart syndrome differ from those of a heart attack. For example, in people who have broken heart syndrome:
                
Symptoms (chest pain and shortness of breath) occur suddenly after having extreme emotional or physical stress.
                
EKG(electrocardiogram) results dont look the same as the results for a person having a heart attack. (An EKG is a test that records the hearts electrical activity.)
                
Blood tests show no signs or mild signs of heart damage.
                
Tests show enlarged and unusual movement of the lower left heart chamber (the left ventricle).\
                
Tests show no signs of blockages in the coronary arteries.
                
Recovery time is quick, usually within days or weeks (compared with the recovery time of a month or more for a heart attack).
                
Complications
                
Broken heart syndrome can be life threatening in some cases. It can lead to serious heart problems such as:
                
Heart failure, a condition in which the heart cant pump enough blood to meet the bodys needs
                
Heart rhythm problems that cause the heart to beat much faster or slower than normal
                
Heart valve problems
                
The good news is that most people who have broken heart syndrome make a full recovery within weeks. With medical care, even the most critically ill tend to make a quick and complete recovery.
Even though broken heart syndrome may feel like a heart attack, its a very different problem that needs a different type of treatment.
                
The good news is that broken heart syndrome is usually treatable, and most people make a full recovery. Most people who experience broken heart syndrome stay in the hospital for a few days to a week.
                
Initial treatment is aimed at improving blood flow to the heart, and may be similar to that for a heart attack until the diagnosis is clear. Further treatment can include medicines and lifestyle changes.
                
Medicines
                
Doctors may prescribe medicines to relieve fluid buildup, treat blood pressure problems, prevent blood clots, and manage stress hormones. Medicines are often discontinued once heart function has returned to normal.
                
Your doctor may prescribe the following medicines:
                
ACE inhibitors (or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors), to lower blood pressure and reduce strain on your heart
                
Beta blockers, to slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure to decrease your hearts workload
                
Diuretics (water or fluid pills), to help reduce fluid buildup in your lungs and swelling in your feet and ankles
                
Anti-anxiety medicines, to help manage stress hormones
                
Take all of your medicines as prescribed. If you have side effects or other problems related to your medicines, tell your doctor. He or she may be able to provide other options.
                
Treatment of Complications
                
Broken heart syndrome can be life threatening in some cases. Because the syndrome involves severe heart muscle weakness, patients can experience shock, heart failure, low blood pressure, and potentially life-threatening heart rhythm abnormalities.
                
The good news is that this condition improves very quickly, so with proper diagnosis and management, even the most critically ill tend to make a quick and complete recovery.
                
Lifestyle Changes
                
To stay healthy, its important to find ways to reduce stress and cope with particularly upsetting situations. Learning how to manage stress, relax, and cope with problems can improve your emotional and physical health.
                
Having supportive people in your life with whom you can share your feelings or concerns can help relieve stress. Physical activity, medicine, and relaxation therapy also can help relieve stress. You may want to consider taking part in a stress management program.
                
Treatments Not Helpful for Broken Heart Syndrome
                
Several procedures used to treat a heart attack are not helpful in treating broken heart syndrome. These procedurespercutaneous coronary intervention (sometimes referred to as angioplasty), stent placement, and surgerytreat blocked arteries, which is not the cause of broken heart syndrome.
Researchers are still learning about broken heart syndrome, and no treatments have been shown to prevent it. For people who have experienced the condition, the risk of recurrence is low.
                
An emotionally upsetting or serious physical event can trigger broken heart syndrome. Learning how to manage stress, relax, and cope with problems can improve your emotional and physical health.
                
Having supportive people in your life with whom you can share your feelings or concerns can help relieve stress. Physical activity, medicine, and relaxation therapy also can help relieve stress. You may want to consider taking part in a stress management program.
                
Also, some of the ways people cope with stresssuch as drinking, smoking, or overeatingarent healthy. Learning to manage stress includes adopting healthy habits that will keep your stress levels low and make it easier to deal with stress when it does happen. A healthy lifestyle includes following a healthy diet, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and quitting smoking.
Narcolepsy (NAR-ko-lep-se) is a disorder that causes periods of extreme daytime sleepiness. The disorder also may cause muscle weakness.
                
Most people who have narcolepsy have trouble sleeping at night. Some people who have the disorder fall asleep suddenly, even if they're in the middle of talking, eating, or another activity.
                
Narcolepsy also can cause:
                
Cataplexy (KAT-ah-plek-se). This condition causes a sudden loss of muscle tone while you're awake. Muscle weakness can affect certain parts of your body or your whole body. For example, if cataplexy affects your hand, you may drop what you're holding. Strong emotions often trigger this weakness. It may last seconds or minutes.
                
Hallucinations (ha-lu-sih-NA-shuns). These vivid dreams occur while falling asleep or waking up.
                
Sleep paralysis (pah-RAL-ih-sis). This condition prevents you from moving or speaking while waking up and sometimes while falling asleep. Sleep paralysis usually goes away within a few minutes.
                
Overview
                
The two main phases of sleep are nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). Most people are in the NREM phase when they first fall asleep. After about 90 minutes of sleep, most people go from NREM to REM sleep.
                
Dreaming occurs during the REM phase of sleep. During REM, your muscles normally become limp. This prevents you from acting out your dreams. (For more information about sleep cycles, go to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.")
                
People who have narcolepsy often fall into REM sleep quickly and wake up directly from it. As a result, they may have vivid dreams while falling asleep and waking up.
                
Hypocretin (hi-po-KREET-in), a chemical in the brain, helps promote wakefulness. Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of this chemical. What causes these low levels isn't well understood.
                
Researchers think that certain factors may work together to cause a lack of hypocretin. These factors may include heredity, infections, brain injuries, and autoimmune disorders. (Autoimmune disorders occur if the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the body's cells and tissues.)
                
Outlook
                
Narcolepsy symptoms usually begin during the teen or young adult years. People who have narcolepsy may find it hard to function at school, work, home, and in social situations because of extreme tiredness.
                
Narcolepsy has no cure, but medicines, lifestyle changes, and other therapies can improve symptoms. Research is ongoing on the causes of narcolepsy and new ways to treat it.
Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin. This is a chemical in the brain that helps promote wakefulness. What causes low hypocretin levels isn't well understood.
                
Researchers think that certain factors may work together to cause a lack of hypocretin. These factors may include:
                
Heredity. Some people may inherit a gene that affects hypocretin. Up to 10 percent of people who have narcolepsy report having a relative who has the same symptoms.
                
Infections.
                
Brain injuries caused by conditions such as brain tumors, strokes, or trauma (for example, car accidents or military-related wounds).
                
Autoimmune disorders. With these disorders, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the body's cells and tissues. An example of an autoimmune disorder is rheumatoid arthritis.
                
Low levels of histamine, a substance in the blood that promotes wakefulness.
                
Some research suggests that environmental toxins may play a role in triggering narcolepsy. Toxins may include heavy metals, pesticides and weed killers, and secondhand smoke.
                
Heredity alone doesn't cause narcolepsy. You also must have at least one other factor, such as one of those listed above, to develop narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy has no cure. However, medicines, lifestyle changes, and other therapies can relieve many of its symptoms. Treatment for narcolepsy is based on the type of symptoms you have and how severe they are.
                
Not all medicines and lifestyle changes work for everyone. It may take weeks to months for you and your doctor to find the best treatment.
                
Medicines
                
You may need one or more medicines to treat narcolepsy symptoms. These may include:
                
Stimulants to ease daytime sleepiness and raise your alertness.
                
A medicine that helps make up for the low levels of hypocretin in your brain. (Hypocretin is a chemical that helps promote wakefulness.) This medicine helps you stay awake during the day and sleep at night. It doesn't always completely relieve daytime sleepiness, so your doctor may tell you to take it with a stimulant.
                
Medicines that help you sleep at night.
                
Medicines used to treat depression. These medicines also help prevent cataplexy, hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.
                
Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can interfere with your sleep. Ask your doctor about these medicines and how to avoid them, if possible. For example, your doctor may advise you to avoid antihistamines. These medicines suppress the action of histamine, a substance in the blood that promotes wakefulness.
                
If you take regular naps when you feel sleepy, you may need less medicine to stay awake.
                
Lifestyle Changes
                
Lifestyle changes also may help relieve some narcolepsy symptoms. You can take steps to make it easier to fall asleep at night and stay asleep.
                
Follow a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
                
Do something relaxing before bedtime, such as taking a warm bath.
                
Keep your bedroom or sleep area quiet, comfortable, dark, and free from distractions, such as a TV or computer.
                
Allow yourself about 20 minutes to fall asleep or fall back asleep after waking up. After that, get up and do something relaxing (like reading) until you get sleepy.
                
Certain activities, foods, and drinks before bedtime can keep you awake. Try to follow these guidelines:
                
Exercise regularly, but not within 3 hours of bedtime.
                
Avoid tobacco, alcohol, chocolate, and drinks that contain caffeine for several hours before bedtime.
                
Avoid large meals and beverages just before bedtime.
                
Avoid bright lights before bedtime.
                
For more tips on sleeping better, go to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Your Guide to Healthy Sleep."
                
Other Therapies
                
Light therapy may help you keep a regular sleep and wake schedule. For this type of therapy, you sit in front of a light box, which has special lights, for 10 to 30 minutes. This therapy can help you feel less sleepy in the morning.
Bronchiectasis (brong-ke-EK-ta-sis) is a condition in which damage to the airways causes them to widen and become flabby and scarred. The airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
                
Bronchiectasis usually is the result of an infection or other condition that injures the walls of your airways or prevents the airways from clearing mucus. Mucus is a slimy substance that the airways produce to help remove inhaled dust, bacteria, and other small particles.
                
In bronchiectasis, your airways slowly lose their ability to clear out mucus. When mucus can't be cleared, it builds up and creates an environment in which bacteria can grow. This leads to repeated, serious lung infections.
                
Each infection causes more damage to your airways. Over time, the airways lose their ability to move air in and out. This can prevent enough oxygen from reaching your vital organs.
                
Bronchiectasis can lead to serious health problems, such as respiratory failure, atelectasis (at-eh-LEK-tah-sis), and heart failure.
                
Bronchiectasis
                

                
Overview
                
Bronchiectasis can affect just one section of one of your lungs or many sections of both lungs.
                
The initial lung damage that leads to bronchiectasis often begins in childhood. However, symptoms may not occur until months or even years after you start having repeated lung infections.
                
In the United States, common childhood infectionssuch as whooping cough and measlesused to cause many cases of bronchiectasis. However, these causes are now less common because of vaccines and antibiotics.
                
Now bronchiectasis usually is due to a medical condition that injures the airway walls or prevents the airways from clearing mucus. Examples of such conditions include cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary (SIL-e-ar-e) dyskinesia (dis-kih-NE-ze-ah), or PCD.
                
Bronchiectasis that affects only one part of the lung may be caused by a blockage rather than a medical condition.
                
Bronchiectasis can be congenital (kon-JEN-ih-tal) or acquired. Congenital bronchiectasis affects infants and children. It's the result of a problem with how the lungs form in a fetus.
                
Acquired bronchiectasis occurs as a result of another condition or factor. This type of bronchiectasis can affect adults and older children. Acquired bronchiectasis is more common than the congenital type.
                
Outlook
                
Currently, bronchiectasis has no cure. However, with proper care, most people who have it can enjoy a good quality of life.
                
Early diagnosis and treatment of bronchiectasis are important. The sooner your doctor starts treating bronchiectasis and any underlying conditions, the better your chances of preventing further lung damage.
Damage to the walls of the airways usually is the cause of bronchiectasis. A lung infection may cause this damage. Examples of lung infections that can lead to bronchiectasis include:
                
Severe pneumonia (nu-MO-ne-ah)
                
Whooping cough or measles (uncommon in the United States due to vaccination)
                
Tuberculosis
                
Fungal infections
                
Conditions that damage the airways and raise the risk of lung infections also can lead to bronchiectasis. Examples of such conditions include:
                
Cystic fibrosis. This disease leads to almost half of the cases of bronchiectasis in the United States.
                
Immunodeficiency disorders, such as common variable immunodeficiency and, less often, HIV and AIDS.
                
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (AS-per-ji-LO-sis). This is an allergic reaction to a fungus called aspergillus. The reaction causes swelling in the airways.
                
Disorders that affect cilia (SIL-e-ah) function, such as primary ciliary dyskinesia. Cilia are small, hair-like structures that line your airways. They help clear mucus (a slimy substance) out of your airways.
                
Chronic (ongoing) pulmonary aspiration (as-pih-RA-shun). This is a condition in which you inhale food, liquids, saliva, or vomited stomach contents into your lungs. Aspiration can inflame the airways, which can lead to bronchiectasis.
                
Connective tissue diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjgrens syndrome, and Crohns disease.
                
Other conditions, such as an airway blockage, also can lead to bronchiectasis. Many things can cause a blockage, such as a growth or a noncancerous tumor. An inhaled object, such as a piece of a toy or a peanut that you inhaled as a child, also can cause an airway blockage.
                
A problem with how the lungs form in a fetus may cause congenital bronchiectasis. This condition affects infants and children.