WHAT IS ILD? Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a group of conditions that cause scarring (fibrosis) of the interstitial part of the lung (interstitium). The interstitium is the area in between the air sacs (alveoli – where the gaseous exchange takes place). The interstitial tissue provides support and flexibility to the air sacs so that
Updated Jan 2023 WHAT IS THE OMICRON VARIANT AND WHY IS IT ONE OF THE VARIANTS OF CONCERN (VOC)? Omicron (scientific name B.1.1.529 or BA.1) is the latest COVID variant, first detected and reported in Botswana and South Africa in November 2021, when a sudden exponential (5-fold) rise in daily cases was seen over a
Heart failure (HF), also called Congestive Heart/Cardiac Failure (CHF/CCF) occurs when the heart is unable to pump adequate blood into the arteries, and the backlog of blood in the heart leads to congestion and backpressure into the lungs and the veins. TYPES Ejection fraction (EF), measured by echocardiography, is the percentage of how much blood the
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) Cardiovascular disease refers to a group of conditions occurring as a result of blockage of blood vessels (more specifically arteries), due to atherosclerosis and clots, impacting the heart and other organs. CVD is also known as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Atherosclerosis (or arteriosclerosis) refers to the buildup or formation of ‘plaques’ in the
WHAT IS HYPERPIGMENTATION Hyperpigmentation is a term that means more pigmentation, that is darker areas or patches of skin as compared to the rest of the skin of a particular individual. Hyperpigmentation is not dark skin color per se, and those with darker skin tones are not said to be hyperpigmented! The term hyperpigmentation (also