Posts Tagged ‘Laurie Armsby’

This Thanksgiving I added something new to the list of things I am grateful for. Three weeks ago, I traveled to a stunningly beautiful part of the United States, where I found hundreds of children living with debilitating heart disease. At some point in the past, the children had contracted either strep throat or impetigo, a common streptococcal skin infection. Weeks to years later, they were found to have heart murmurs. Many were fatigued and … Read More

I see women in the role of caregiver on a daily basis. As a pediatric cardiologist I have spent more than a decade talking with parents, usually mothers, about the condition of their child’s heart. As the childhood obesity epidemic has gained more widespread attention, mothers are increasingly bringing their children to see me at the Doernbecher Dyslipidemia Clinic. We discuss: Altering the family shopping list and meal preparation to provide their children a heart-healthy … Read More

Chances are that at least one member of your family has been told at some point that he or she has a murmur. What exactly does this mean? Is it dangerous? Can it be passed along through families? Why wasn’t it heard earlier? Is it safe to do strenuous exercise? Do you need to take an antibiotic at the dentist? Before we get to these questions, let’s start with a little background. At birth the … Read More