John A Mantle MD

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a condition that disrupts the heart's functions, specifically the heart rate or rhythm. Symptoms can be intermittent, persistent, or permanent in nature, and in some instances they disappear on their own, while other forms require medication to restore normal heart...

What does an irregular heartbeat mean?An irregular heartbeat is also medically termed as arrhythmia or dysrhythmia. An irregular heartbeat happens when the heart’s electrical signals that coordinate with your heartbeat are not properly functioning. When you have an arrhythmia, your heart may:...

Our heart rate is automatically controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that has two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The part of the ANS that is responsible for raising a person’s heart rate through the sympathetic plexus is the sympathetic division. The parasympathetic...

Introduction Tachypnea is a medical term, which means rapid and shallow breathing. This condition is often confused with hyperventilation, which is another type of abnormal breathing that is characterized by rapid but deep breathing. Both conditions are caused by carbon dioxide buildup in the...

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a critical condition that should be taken very seriously. If left untreated for a long period of time, it can lead to fatal consequences. Many people who suffer from this condition underestimate its significance and do not follow their doctors' orders. It is...

Results of a study presented in the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego showed that coping with mental stress is harder on a  woman's heart, when compared to that of men. Researcher Chester Ray, PhD, professor of medicine, and cellular and molecular physiology at Penn State's College of...