The aorta is the largest artery in the body; it's also the strongest. But size and strength are not enough to protect this crucial blood vessel; in fact, the aorta is one of the body's most vulnerable arteries.

Although many things can go wrong with the aorta, the most common is an aneurysm; it's an unfamiliar term, but it's a well-chosen name based on the ancient Greek word that means "to widen."

Any part of the aorta can develop a widening, or aneurysm, but most occur in the lower part of the artery as it travels through the abdomen, carrying ...

At some time in his life, nearly every man gets exercised about sex. And as many men get older, they wonder if sex is a good form of exercise or if it's too strenuous for the heart. These questions may sound like locker room banter, but they are actually quite important — and they now have solid scientific answers.

Treadmill vs. mattress To evaluate the cardiovascular effects of sexual activity, researchers monitored volunteers while they walked on a treadmill in the lab and during private sexual activity at home. In addition to 13 women, the volunteers included 19 men with ...

Ask men about their top health worries, and most will put cholesterol and prostate cancer high on the list. That's understandable, since unfavorable cholesterol levels contribute to heart attack and stroke, the first and fourth leading causes of death in America, and prostate cancer takes about 32,000 lives a year. Still, while most men understand the link between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, few suspect a link between cholesterol and cancer. Research is beginning to change that.

Early worries Back when scientists were nailing down the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease, they were also raising concerns that although low ...

Q. Compared to the problems your readers ask about, my issue may seem silly. But I hope you'll give me some advice, since it really is very annoying. I'm troubled by excessive sweating.

A. Although it's not a major illness, excessive sweating is far from trivial. In fact, it can be very embarrassing, and it can interfere with healthy interpersonal relationships. Call it by its medical name, hyperhidrosis, and your problem may get the respect it deserves.

Sweating itself is both normal and necessary. It's one of the body's two main ways of shedding the heat that is a byproduct ...