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Dr. Kimberly Bolling Blog View all posts

3 Reasons Your Doctor Is Performing an EKG

An electrocardiogram (EKG) is a simple test that lets your doctor “see” inside your heart by evaluating the electricity it produces. Don’t worry if your doctor orders an EKG. It’s painless, results are fast, and the information can be life-saving.
Sep 22nd, 2023

Can Warm Weather Make Arthritis Feel Better?
If you’re of a certain age (and you probably are, if you have arthritis), you may remember the children’s literary character, Uncle Wiggily, who complained that cold and rainy days made his “rheumatism” flare up. But is the reverse true, too?
Aug 2nd, 2023

What to Do if You Have a Gout Attack at Night
When searing pain in your toe or foot wakes you up at night, you may have a type of arthritis known as gout. How do you go back to sleep after a gout attack? Or stay asleep if the attack is prolonged? Check out these tips.
Jul 1st, 2023

What You Can Learn From Your EKG Results
Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. So when you feel odd sensations in your chest, or if you get dizzy or have chest pain, your doctor may recommend an EKG. What does this test tell you?
Jun 1st, 2023

5 Smart Ways to Minimize Your Gout Symptoms
A gout attack can literally knock you off your feet. Your big toe may be so painful that you can’t walk. But with some preplanning and new habits, you can minimize your gout symptoms and get back to your life.
May 4th, 2023

How to Avoid Serious Sleep Apnea Complications
When you learn that you have sleep apnea, you may be terrified to also learn that complications of this untreated condition can be as serious and life-threatening as a heart attack or stroke. But you don’t have to face complications.
Apr 2nd, 2023

Osteoarthritis: Risk Factors You Can Control
You’re more likely to develop osteoarthritis (OA) the longer you live, especially if you’re female, Hispanic, Black, or Native American. While you might not be able to control your race, sex, or longevity, you can control other OA risk factors.
Mar 2nd, 2023

Flu Season Is Back: 7 Reasons to Get Your Flu Shot ASAP
Influenza is a viral infection that can knock you out for days or weeks, even if you’re healthy. Flu season runs from fall to spring. Get a flu shot now to keep yourself — and everyone you know — safe from symptoms and dangerous complications.
Nov 1st, 2022

5 Gout-Friendly Habits to Embrace Immediately
When you have gout, you’d do almost anything to avoid another excruciating and debilitating flare. Luckily, you don’t have to take drastic measures to prevent or reduce the severity of gout attacks. Just five new healthy habits can keep gout at bay.
Oct 4th, 2022

How to Plan Flavorful Diabetes-Friendly Meals
When you switch to a low-sugar diet for your diabetes, you may think your days of delicious meals are over. Nothing’s further from the truth! By eating for diabetes prevention, you expand your culinary possibilities — and contract your waistline.
Sep 1st, 2022

What an EKG Can Tell You About Your Heart Health
Whether heart disease runs in your family, you’ve had troubling symptoms lately, or you’re embarking on a new exercise regimen, an electrocardiogram (EKG) gives your doctor information about your heart’s health. What, exactly, can an EKG tell you?
Aug 8th, 2022

How to Reduce Fatigue When You're Living with Lupus
One of the most common and disabling symptoms of lupus is fatigue, which can completely derail your life. When you lack sufficient energy, you may not be able to work or complete daily tasks. However, you can take steps to reduce and manage fatigue.
Jul 6th, 2022

The Worst Foods to Eat If You Have Arthritis
The good news is, if you have arthritis, you can eat lots of delicious foods to help your joints feel better. The bad news is, you must stop eating foods that worsen your disease. The best news is that eliminating those foods makes you feel better.
Jun 1st, 2022

Is BMI the Best Measure of Your Health?
The body mass index (BMI) calculates weight-to-height ratio to determine whether you’re at a healthy weight. A higher BMI is associated with increased risk for serious diseases. But with all the talk of being “fat but fit,” is BMI still valid?
May 1st, 2022

Everything You Never Knew About Prediabetes
If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, you might not consider yourself lucky, but you are. Prediabetes is a condition that indicates you’re at risk for diabetes: It’s a warning, not a life sentence. Take action now to save your health.
Apr 12th, 2022

Tired in the Morning? It Could Be Sleep Apnea
No matter how much sleep you get, it never feels like enough. When you wake up, you’re even more tired than you were when you hit the hay. If you don’t feel energized in the morning, you could have a dangerous disorder called sleep apnea.
Mar 6th, 2022

Do I Still Need a Flu Shot?
You’re fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. You wear masks in public and wash your hands frequently. You socially distance and, so far so good: Either you haven’t been sick, or you got over it quickly. Do you still need a flu shot? Yes.
Feb 13th, 2022

How to Prevent Gout Flare-Ups
Gout is a painful form of arthritis that may flare up at any time. You can take steps, though, to make your steps more comfortable and gout-free. Simple lifestyle changes prevent gout flares or minimize their impact and pain.
Jan 3rd, 2022

Tips to Help You Avoid Arthritis
If you’ve watched older people struggle to get up from a chair or walk across the room, you know what you don’t want: Arthritis. Even though most arthritis is a wear-and-tear disease that comes with age, you can prevent or reduce its impact.
Dec 7th, 2021

Why Medical Weight Loss Is More Successful Than Other Programs
How surprised are you to learn that most calorie-restriction diets go against your body’s natural metabolism, so they’re doomed to fail? If you’ve tried one, it’s likely no surprise at all. In fact, you may be heavier than ever. There’s another way.
Nov 1st, 2021

Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: Which Is Best for You?
You’re ready to get a vaccine against COVID-19 to keep you and your loved ones safe. But now there are so many different kinds of vaccines! What’s the best one? What’s the safest one? How do you begin to choose?
Oct 3rd, 2021

Debunking COVID-19 Vaccine Myths
Vaccines against COVID-19 are safe, effective, and necessary to keep us all safe and to stop the pandemic from getting worse. But frightening or disturbing myths may make you think twice about getting a vaccine. Here’s why they shouldn’t.
Sep 5th, 2021

The Importance of Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
You keep hearing that you should get the vaccine that protects against COVID-19, but you're just not sure. Everything feels so rushed to you, and so uncertain. Is a vaccine really that important? Yes, it is. Here’s why.
Aug 12th, 2021

Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous?
Snoring may sound silly, but if you snore you’re not breathing well as you sleep. In fact, if you snore, you might actually stop breathing up to hundreds of times a night. Rather than silly, that’s serious. And dangerous.
Jul 21st, 2021

Joint Pain? It Could Be Lupus
If you have joint pain, you may dismiss it as age-related arthritis. Or a side effect of a too-vigorous exercise routine. But joint pain could be an early sign of an autoimmune disease called lupus. Here’s what to do.
Jun 8th, 2021

How Stress Can Impact Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you keep tabs on your blood sugar and your diet and exercise too. But you should also keep tabs on your stress levels. Taking time for a “chill pill” is an important part of diabetes control. Here’s why.
May 6th, 2021

Should You See a Doctor for Your Headaches?
Whether you’ve always had headaches or they've just started, you might wonder if they’re a minor inconvenience or the sign of an underlying, more serious condition. A medical evaluation helps you find the answers and treatment you need.
Apr 12th, 2021

What Happens to Your Hormones After You Lose Weight?
You’ve heard all about the health benefits of losing weight. But did you know that achieving a healthy weight and staying fit also keeps your hormones balanced? If you’d like to improve the way you look, feel, and age, weight loss could be the key.
Mar 9th, 2021

The Differences Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
Your doctor delivers the news: You have diabetes. And then they say, “It’s Type 1.” Or maybe “Type 2.” What’s the difference between Type 1 and 2 diabetes? Do the differences change your treatment plan?
Feb 9th, 2021

Who Gets Gout?
If you got your information solely from movies, plays, and books, you’d think the only people in the world who get gout are wealthy, obese, white men. Not true. Anyone can develop gout, especially as they age. Are you at risk for painful gout?
Jan 3rd, 2021

Which Type of Sleep Apnea Do You Have?
You snore. You snort. You wake yourself up. It’s no wonder you never feel rested. You do an internet search and realize that you might have sleep apnea. But there’s more than one type. So how do you know which type applies to you?
Dec 6th, 2020

Help! I'm Struggling to Lose Weight
You try every calorie-reducing diet that comes along, and you run the treadmill for hours. So how come your bulges don’t budge? Why can’t you lose weight so you can be healthy and fit? Sounds like you need some help.
Nov 9th, 2020

Risk Factors for Heart Disease
For all of the muscles you can build up in your body, the one that absolutely needs to be strong is your heart. But when heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States, how do you know if your heart is at risk?
Oct 12th, 2020

What Causes Earaches?
Maybe you remember getting lots of earaches as a child, but it may take you by surprise when you or a family member gets one as an adolescent or adult. What causes earaches, anyway? And how can you prevent them?
Sep 22nd, 2020

4 Lifestyle Tips for Managing Arthritis
When arthritis makes your joints stiff and painful, your first thought may be to reach for medication. But just making a few changes in your lifestyle could bring you relief, too — and without the side effects.
Aug 21st, 2020

How Sunshine and Heat Impact Lupus Symptoms
Sunny days make you feel fine … unless you have lupus. Both sunshine and the heat it brings can cause a disease flare. That doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors. Take precautions, and you’ll have a happy, healthy summer.
Jul 28th, 2020

Get on the Right Track With Weight Loss Management
Losing weight is the easy part. “What?” you say, erupting in protest. “Losing weight isn’t easy at all!” You’re right, of course. It’s not easy (with traditional diets). But keeping the weight from coming back is even harder. Here’s how to do both.
Jun 22nd, 2020

Why You Should Never Ignore Excessive Snoring
Your partner jostles you awake. Again. “You’re snoring. Again!” they complain. “Put in some earplugs and ignore it,” you tell them. Actually, they shouldn’t ignore your snoring. And neither should you.
May 26th, 2020

How Can I Prevent Gout?
Gout was once regarded as almost a “joke” condition, reserved for obese, wealthy old men who over-indulged in decadent foods and alcohol. But gout is no laughing matter: Almost 4% of US adults have this painful malady, and the number is rising.
Apr 22nd, 2020

When You Should Seek Urgent Care
You just came down with the flu. Or you have a headache that’s so bad you had to call in sick to work. If you have an immediate health need that’s not life-threatening or an emergency, you should get to urgent care ASAP.
Feb 1st, 2020

Myths and Facts About Lupus
When you have lupus, you may hear or read things about the disease that are upsetting and just plain untrue. Understanding the nature of your disease helps you separate myth from fact so you can have the active, fulfilling life you deserve.
Dec 4th, 2019

Why It's So Important to Stay Active if You Have Arthritis
Having stiff, painful joints may seem like a perfect excuse to enjoy some couch-potato time. But if you want your joints to feel better, you’ve got to get off that couch. Staying active is one of the most important things you can do for arthritis.
Nov 1st, 2019

Here's How Your Weight Affects Your Sleep Apnea
If you have obstructive sleep apnea and you’re overweight, your doctor may have told you to lose those extra pounds to improve your nighttime breathing. But did you know that sleep apnea may make it harder to lose weight?
Oct 1st, 2019

Living With Lupus
Whether you’ve just discovered you have lupus or you’ve been living with it for awhile, merely thinking about the autoimmune disease is likely enough to make you feel stressed. But staying calm and caring for your body helps you manage your symptoms.
Sep 6th, 2019

What Can I Do About Chronic Arthritis Pain?
When you have chronic arthritis pain, you may wonder how you’re supposed to get through your day. Your stiff, inflamed joints are difficult to move and, when you do move them, they hurt. Here’s how to manage pain so you can do the things you love.
Aug 21st, 2019

The Link Between Diabetes and Obesity
The No. 1 cause of diabetes is obesity, not genetics. So if you’re thinking you’re doomed to live with diabetes because it’s in your family history, that’s not necessarily so. Losing weight puts you in control of your blood sugar again.
Jul 12th, 2019

Helpful Tips For Preventing a Painful Gout Flare-up
The first time you felt it, you knew you never wanted to feel it again. That stabbing, aching throb in your joint, like someone is jabbing you with needles. If you have gout and want to avoid another painful attack, here’s what to do!
Jun 20th, 2019

How to Protect Yourself From Asthma Attacks This Spring
Spring is here, and the air is filled with the sweet smell of flowers … and their pollen. If you have asthma, springtime can be extra challenging. But with a little preparation, you can enjoy the spring sights and scents all season long.
Apr 5th, 2019

What Is Lupus and Am I At Risk?
You keep breaking out in odd-looking rashes, your joints hurt, or you’re just tired all the time. These are but a few of the symptoms of a serious autoimmune disease called lupus. Are you at risk?
Feb 8th, 2019

When is an EKG Recommended?
Your heart has been skipping beats lately, or you have chest pain or feel dizzy. To be sure that your heart and circulatory system are healthy, your doctor orders an EKG. Does that mean you should you be worried? Take a moment to learn more.
Nov 20th, 2018

Women and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. An estimated 44 million women in the U.S. are affected by cardiovascular diseases. 80% of heart disease may be prevented by lifestyle changes and education. Read More...
Feb 15th, 2019