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What is the difference between cardiovascular disease and heart disease?

These two terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Cardiovascular disease is an umbrella term that encompasses several heart conditions, including heart disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and peripheral artery disease.

In a surgical suite at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a robotic arm snakes an ultra-thin, ultra-flexible tube through a patient’s airway. Once the tube reaches the lungs, the surgeon operating the device remotely uses a tiny camera to search the area for an abnormal growth, or nodule, that might be cancerous. Once located, a needle pierces the nodule for biopsy.

For neurologists working with patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the road to actual treatment options has been long and paved with setbacks.

But that is changing for some patients. The Food and Drug Administration recently granted full approval to Leqembi® (lecanemab), the first disease-modifying treatment fully approved for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The development of this new drug offers hope to patients and may have lasting impacts on how physicians approach treatment.

At least 2.7 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, the most common kind of irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia. A-fib is caused when the heart’s upper chambers beat erratically or quiver and don’t sync with the heart’s lower chambers. Learn more about how a-fib occurs.