sarnsrun/medquad huggingface dataset:
Topic: High Blood Pressure
Question: What are the symptoms of High Blood Pressure ?
Answer: Because diagnosis is based on blood pressure readings, this condition can go undetected for years, as symptoms do not usually appear until the body is damaged from chronic high blood pressure.
                

                
Complications of High Blood Pressure
                
When blood pressure stays high over time, it can damage the body and cause complications. Some common complications and their signs and symptoms include:
                
Aneurysms:When an abnormal bulge forms in the wall of an artery. Aneurysms develop and grow for years without causing signs or symptoms until they rupture, grow large enough to press on nearby body parts, or block blood flow. The signs and symptoms that develop depend on the location of the aneurysm.
                
Chronic Kidney Disease: When blood vessels narrow in the kidneys, possibly causing kidney failure.
                
Cognitive Changes: Research shows that over time, higher blood pressure numbers can lead to cognitive changes. Signs and symptoms include memory loss, difficulty finding words, and losing focus during conversations.
                
Eye Damage: When blood vessels in the eyes burst or bleed. Signs and symptoms include vision changes or blindness.
                
Heart Attack: When the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked and the heart doesnt get oxygen. The most common warning symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain or discomfort, upper body discomfort, and shortness of breath.
                
Heart Failure: When the heart cant pump enough blood to meet the bodys needs. Common signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath or trouble breathing; feeling tired; and swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck.
                
Peripheral Artery Disease: A disease in which plaque builds up in leg arteries and affects blood flow in the legs. When people have symptoms, the most common are pain, cramping, numbness, aching, or heaviness in the legs, feet, and buttocks after walking or climbing stairs.
                
Stroke: When the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a portion of the brain is blocked. The symptoms of a stroke include sudden onset of weakness; paralysis or numbness of the face, arms, or legs; trouble speaking or understanding speech; and trouble seeing.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: High Blood Pressure
Question: How to diagnose High Blood Pressure ?
Answer: For most patients, health care providers diagnose high blood pressure when blood pressure readings areconsistently 140/90 mmHg or above.
                
Confirming High Blood Pressure
                
A blood pressure test is easy and painless and can be done in a health care providers office or clinic. To prepare for the test:
                
Dont drink coffee or smoke cigarettes for 30 minutes prior to the test.
                
Go to the bathroom before the test.
                
Sit for 5 minutes before the test.
                
To track blood pressure readings over a period of time, the health care provider may ask you to come into the office on different days and at different times to take your blood pressure. The health care provider also may ask you to check readings at home or at other locations that have blood pressure equipment and to keep a written log of all your results.
                
Whenever you have an appointment with the health care provider, be sure to bring your log of blood pressure readings. Every time you visit the health care provider, he or she should tell you what your blood pressure numbers are; if he or she does not, you should ask for your readings.
                
Blood Pressure Severity and Type
                
Your health care provider usually takes 23 readings at several medical appointments to diagnose high blood pressure. Using the results of your blood pressure test, your health care provider will diagnose prehypertension or high blood pressure if:
                
Your systolic or diastolic readings are consistently higher than 120/80 mmHg.
                
Your childs blood pressure numbers are outside average numbers for children of the same age, gender, and height.
                
Once your health care provider determines the severity of your blood pressure, he or she can order additional tests to determine if your blood pressure is due to other conditions or medicines or if you have primary high blood pressure. Health care providers can use this information to develop your treatment plan.
                
Some people have white coat hypertension. This happens when blood pressure readings are only high when taken in a health care providers office compared with readings taken in any other location. Health care providers diagnose this type of high blood pressure by reviewing readings in the office and readings taken anywhere else. Researchers believe stress, which can occur during the medical appointment, causes white coat hypertension.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: High Blood Pressure
Question: How to prevent High Blood Pressure ?
Answer: Healthy lifestyle habits, proper use of medicines, and regular medical care can prevent high blood pressure or its complications.
                
Preventing High Blood Pressure Onset
                
Healthy lifestyle habits can help prevent high blood pressure from developing. It is important to check your blood pressure regularly. Children should have their blood pressure checked starting at 3 years of age. If prehypertension is detected, it should be taken seriously to avoid progressing to high blood pressure. 
                
Preventing Worsening High Blood Pressure or Complications
                
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is important to obtain regular medical care and to follow your prescribed treatment plan, which will include healthy lifestyle habit recommendations and possibly medicines. Not only can healthy lifestyle habits prevent high blood pressure from occurring, but they can reverse prehypertension and help control existing high blood pressure or prevent complications and long-term problems associated with this condition, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, or kidney disease.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Anemia
Question: What is (are) Anemia ?
Answer: Espaol
                
Anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh) is a condition in which your blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells.
                
Anemia also can occur if your red blood cells don't contain enough hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin). Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color. This protein helps red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
                
If you have anemia, your body doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood. As a result, you may feel tired or weak. You also may have other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, dizziness, or headaches.
                
Severe or long-lasting anemia can damage your heart, brain, and other organs in your body. Very severe anemia may even cause death.
                
Overview
                
Blood is made up of many parts, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets (PLATE-lets), and plasma (the fluid portion of blood).
                
Red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They carry oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from your body. These cells are made in the bone marrowa sponge-like tissue inside the bones.
                
White blood cells and platelets (PLATE-lets) also are made in the bone marrow. White blood cells help fight infection. Platelets stick together to seal small cuts or breaks on the blood vessel walls and stop bleeding. With some types of anemia, you may have low numbers of all three types of blood cells.
                
Anemia has three main causes: blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, or high rates of red blood cell destruction. These causes might be the result of diseases, conditions, or other factors.
                
Outlook
                
Many types of anemia can be mild, short term, and easily treated. You can even prevent some types with a healthy diet. Other types can be treated with dietary supplements.
                
However, certain types of anemia can be severe, long lasting, and even life threatening if not diagnosed and treated.
                
If you have signs or symptoms of anemia, see your doctor to find out whether you have the condition. Treatment will depend on the cause of the anemia and how severe it is.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Anemia
Question: Who is at risk for Anemia? ?
Answer: Anemia is a common condition. It occurs in all age, racial, and ethnic groups. Both men and women can have anemia. However, women of childbearing age are at higher risk for the condition because of blood loss from menstruation.
                
Anemia can develop during pregnancy due to low levels of iron and folic acid (folate) and changes in the blood. During the first 6 months of pregnancy, the fluid portion of a woman's blood (the plasma) increases faster than the number of red blood cells. This dilutes the blood and can lead to anemia.
                
During the first year of life, some babies are at risk for anemia because of iron deficiency. At-risk infants include those who are born too early and infants who are fed breast milk only or formula that isn't fortified with iron. These infants can develop iron deficiency by 6 months of age.
                
Infants between 1 and 2 years of age also are at risk for anemia. They may not get enough iron in their diets, especially if they drink a lot of cow's milk. Cow's milk is low in the iron needed for growth.
                
Drinking too much cow's milk may keep an infant or toddler from eating enough iron-rich foods or absorbing enough iron from foods.
                
Older adults also are at increased risk for anemia. Researchers continue to study how the condition affects older adults. Many of these people have other medical conditions as well.
                
Major Risk Factors
                
Factors that raise your risk for anemia include:
                
A diet that is low in iron, vitamins, or minerals
                
Blood loss from surgery or an injury
                
Long-term or serious illnesses, such as kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease), liver disease, heart failure, and thyroid disease
                
Long-term infections
                
A family history of inherited anemia, such as sickle cell anemia or thalassemia
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Anemia
Question: What are the symptoms of Anemia ?
Answer: The most common symptom of anemia is fatigue (feeling tired or weak). If you have anemia, you may find it hard to find the energy to do normal activities.
                
Other signs and symptoms of anemia include:
                
Shortness of breath
                
Dizziness
                
Headache
                
Coldness in the hands and feet
                
Pale skin
                
Chest pain
                
These signs and symptoms can occur because your heart has to work harder to pump oxygen-rich blood through your body.
                
Mild to moderate anemia may cause very mild symptoms or none at all.
                
Complications of Anemia
                
Some people who have anemia may have arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs). Arrhythmias are problems with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. Over time, arrhythmias can damage your heart and possibly lead to heart failure.
                
Anemia also can damage other organs in your body because your blood can't get enough oxygen to them.
                
Anemia can weaken people who have cancer or HIV/AIDS. This can make their treatments not work as well.
                
Anemia also can cause many other health problems. People who have kidney disease and anemia are more likely to have heart problems. With some types of anemia, too little fluid intake or too much loss of fluid in the blood and body can occur. Severe loss of fluid can be life threatening.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Anemia
Question: How to prevent Anemia ?
Answer: You might be able to prevent repeat episodes of some types of anemia, especially those caused by lack of iron or vitamins. Dietary changes or supplements can prevent these types of anemia from occurring again.
                
Treating anemia's underlying cause may prevent the condition (or prevent repeat episodes). For example, if medicine is causing your anemia, your doctor may prescribe another type of medicine.
                
To prevent anemia from getting worse, tell your doctor about all of your signs and symptoms. Talk with your doctor about the tests you may need and follow your treatment plan.
                
You can't prevent some types of inherited anemia, such as sickle cell anemia. If you have an inherited anemia, talk with your doctor about treatment and ongoing care.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Cystic Fibrosis
Question: What causes Cystic Fibrosis ?
Answer: A defect in the CFTR gene causes cystic fibrosis (CF). This gene makes a protein that controls the movement of salt and water in and out of your body's cells. In people who have CF, the gene makes a protein that doesn't work well. This causes thick, sticky mucus and very salty sweat.
                
Research suggests that the CFTR protein also affects the body in other ways. This may help explain other symptoms and complications of CF.
                
More than a thousand known defects can affect the CFTR gene. The type of defect you or your child has may affect the severity of CF. Other genes also may play a role in the severity of the disease.
                
How Is Cystic Fibrosis Inherited?
                
Every person inherits two CFTR genesone from each parent. Children who inherit a faulty CFTR gene from each parent will have CF.
                
Children who inherit one faulty CFTR gene and one normal CFTR gene are "CF carriers." CF carriers usually have no symptoms of CF and live normal lives. However, they can pass the faulty CFTR gene to their children.
                
The image below shows how two parents who are both CF carriers can pass the faulty CFTR gene to their children.
                
Example of an Inheritance Pattern for Cystic Fibrosis
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Cystic Fibrosis
Question: Who is at risk for Cystic Fibrosis? ?
Answer: Cystic fibrosis (CF) affects both males and females and people from all racial and ethnic groups. However, the disease is most common among Caucasians of Northern European descent.
                
CF also is common among Latinos and American Indians, especially the Pueblo and Zuni. The disease is less common among African Americans and Asian Americans.
                
More than 10 million Americans are carriers of a faulty CF gene. Many of them don't know that they're CF carriers.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Holes in the Heart
Question: What is (are) Holes in the Heart ?
Answer: Holes in the heart are simple congenital (kon-JEN-ih-tal) heart defects. Congenital heart defects are problems with the heart's structure that are present at birth. These defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart.
                
The heart has two sides, separated by an inner wall called the septum. With each heartbeat, the right side of the heart receives oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs. The left side of the heart receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the body.
                
The septum prevents mixing of blood between the two sides of the heart. However, some babies are born with holes in the upper or lower septum.
                
A hole in the septum between the heart's two upper chambers is called an atrial septal defect (ASD). A hole in the septum between the heart's two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
                
ASDs and VSDs allow blood to pass from the left side of the heart to the right side. Thus, oxygen-rich blood mixes with oxygen-poor blood. As a result, some oxygen-rich blood is pumped to the lungs instead of the body.
                
Over the past few decades, the diagnosis and treatment of ASDs and VSDs have greatly improved. Children who have simple congenital heart defects can survive to adulthood. They can live normal, active lives because their heart defects close on their own or have been repaired.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Holes in the Heart
Question: What causes Holes in the Heart ?
Answer: Mothers of children who are born with atrial septal defects (ASDs), ventricular septal defects (VSDs), or other heart defects may think they did something wrong during their pregnancies. However, most of the time, doctors don't know why congenital heart defects occur.
                
Heredity may play a role in some heart defects. For example, a parent who has a congenital heart defect is slightly more likely than other people to have a child who has the problem. Very rarely, more than one child in a family is born with a heart defect.
                
Children who have genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome, often have congenital heart defects. Half of all babies who have Down syndrome have congenital heart defects.
                
Smoking during pregnancy also has been linked to several congenital heart defects, including septal defects.
                
Scientists continue to search for the causes of congenital heart defects.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Holes in the Heart
Question: What are the symptoms of Holes in the Heart ?
Answer: Atrial Septal Defect
                
Many babies who are born with atrial septal defects (ASDs) have no signs or symptoms. However, as they grow, these children may be small for their age. 
                
When signs and symptoms do occur, a heart murmur is the most common. A heart murmur is an extra or unusual sound heard during a heartbeat.
                
Often, a heart murmur is the only sign of an ASD. However, not all murmurs are signs of congenital heart defects. Many healthy children have heart murmurs. Doctors can listen to heart murmurs and tell whether they're harmless or signs of heart problems.
                
If a large ASD isn't repaired, the extra blood flow to the right side of the heart can damage the heart and lungs and cause heart failure. This generally doesn't occur until adulthood. Signs and symptoms of heart failure include:
                
Fatigue (tiredness)
                
Tiring easily during physical activity
                
Shortness of breath
                
A buildup of blood and fluid in the lungs
                
Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck
                
Ventricular Septal Defect
                
Babies born with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) usually have heart murmurs. Murmurs may be the first and only sign of a VSD. Heart murmurs often are present right after birth in many infants. However, the murmurs may not be heard until the babies are 6 to 8 weeks old.
                
Most newborns who have VSDs don't have heart-related symptoms. However, babies who have medium or large VSDs can develop heart failure. Signs and symptoms of heart failure usually occur during the baby's first 2 months of life.
                
The signs and symptoms of heart failure due to VSD are similar to those listed above for ASD, but they occur in infancy.
                
A major sign of heart failure in infancy is poor feeding and growth. VSD signs and symptoms are rare after infancy. This is because the defects either decrease in size on their own or they're repaired.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Fanconi Anemia
Question: What causes Fanconi Anemia ?
Answer: Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited disease. The term inherited means that the disease is passed from parents to children through genes. At least 13 faulty genes are associated with FA. FA occurs when both parents pass the same faulty FA gene to their child.
                
People who have only one faulty FA gene are FA "carriers." Carriers don't have FA, but they can pass the faulty gene to their children.
                
If both of your parents have a faulty FA gene, you have:
                
A 25 percent chance of having FA
                
A 25 percent chance of not having FA
                
A 50 percent chance of being an FA carrier and passing the gene to any children you have
                
If only one of your parents has a faulty FA gene, you won't have the disorder. However, you have a 50 percent chance of being an FA carrier and passing the gene to any children you have.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Fanconi Anemia
Question: Who is at risk for Fanconi Anemia? ?
Answer: Fanconi anemia (FA) occurs in all racial and ethnic groups and affects men and women equally.
                
In the United States, about 1 out of every 181 people is an FA carrier. This carrier rate leads to about 1 in 130,000 people being born with FA.
                
Two ethnic groups, Ashkenazi Jews and Afrikaners, are more likely than other groups to have FA or be FA carriers.
                
Ashkenazi Jews are people who are descended from the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. Afrikaners are White natives of South Africa who speak a language called Afrikaans. This ethnic group is descended from early Dutch, French, and German settlers.
                
In the United States, 1 out of 90 Ashkenazi Jews is an FA carrier, and 1 out of 30,000 is born with FA.
                
Major Risk Factors
                
FA is an inherited diseasethat is, it's passed from parents to children through genes. At least 13 faulty genes are associated with FA. FA occurs if both parents pass the same faulty FA gene to their child.
                
Children born into families with histories of FA are at risk of inheriting the disorder. Children whose mothers and fathers both have family histories of FA are at even greater risk. A family history of FA means that it's possible that a parent carries a faulty gene associated with the disorder.
                
Children whose parents both carry the same faulty gene are at greatest risk of inheriting FA. Even if these children aren't born with FA, they're still at risk of being FA carriers.
                
Children who have only one parent who carries a faulty FA gene also are at risk of being carriers. However, they're not at risk of having FA.
Source: NHLBI
Topic: Fanconi Anemia
Question: How to prevent Fanconi Anemia ?
Answer: ou can't prevent Fanconi anemia (FA) because it's an inherited disease. If a child gets two copies of the same faulty FA gene, he or she will have the disease.
                
If you're at high risk for FA and are planning to have children, you may want to consider genetic counseling. A counselor can help you understand your risk of having a child who has FA. He or she also can explain the choices that are available to you.
                
If you're already pregnant, genetic testing can show whether your child has FA. For more information on genetic testing, go to "How Is Fanconi Anemia Diagnosed?"
                
In the United States, Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of Eastern European descent) are at higher risk for FA than other ethnic groups. For Ashkenazi Jews, it's recommended that prospective parents get tested for FA-related gene mutations before getting pregnant.
                
Preventing Complications
                
If you or your child has FA, you can prevent some health problems related to the disorder. Pneumonia, hepatitis, and chicken pox can occur more often and more severely in people who have FA compared with those who don't. Ask your doctor about vaccines for these conditions.
                
People who have FA also are at higher risk than other people for some cancers. These cancers include leukemia (a type of blood cancer), myelodysplastic syndrome (abnormal levels of all three types of blood cells), and liver cancer. Screening and early detection can help manage these life-threatening diseases.
Source: NHLBI