Blogging on Matters Close to my Heart at HART

I`m glad to be here at Battling Heart and Stroke. And I`m here for professional as well as for personal reasons.

Professionally, I`ve worked on different writing projects on cardiovascular disorders, ranging from clinical and regulatory documents to web and print articles for patients and consumers. I definitely find this field of medicine pretty interesting.

I`m also quite involved with cardiovascular issues on a personal level. I had a heart condition myself way back as a consequence of Graves` disease and hyperthyroidism. I had to go through the whole battery of tests – from ultrasound to 48-hour continuous ECG. In the end it wasn`t anything serious and the problems resolved with treatments but the experience was enough to make me take heart and stroke issues seriously.

One of my sons was recently diagnosed as having a “heart murmur” that needs to be monitored and checked regularly. Our next check up is today.

I also have close friends and relatives who are battling or have been battling against health problems related to the heart and vascular system, be it atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

In other words, cardiovascular issues are matters close to my heart.

Here is what I am planning for this blog in the coming weeks and months (hopefully years):

• “Know your body” series will give some short overviews on the functioning of your heart and how it interacts with other organs in your body.

• “Know your drugs” and “Know your treatments” series will discuss the medications and treatments most commonly prescribed for heart and stroke patients.

• “Understanding your tests” series will help you understand the commonly used diagnostic tests in cardiovascular medicine.

• A series on “The latest on …” will give you the recent updates on medical treatments and innovations.

• “Heart(y) celebrities” will report on your favorite celebrities who may themselves be battling heart and stroke or are highly active in supporting pro-heart activities and organizations.

• Most important, this blog will concentrate strongly on the latest updates on preventive measures, be it on nutrition, exercise or lifestyle change.

• Occasionally I will be reviewing a lay book or a film that is related to heart and stroke.

• Of course I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for other any news and views that may be relevant to this blog and interesting to the readers.

• And finally, I will be providing resource materials twice a month that would include links to useful sites.

If you have any suggestions about topics that should be covered and discussed in this blog, please speak out. Remember, we are all in this together. Hope to see you here on May 16th.