Taking Lyme disease to heart

Enjoy the great outdoors, but be on the lookout for disease-carrying pests.

Most summer insect bites can be forgotten as soon as the itching fades away. Not so with a bite from a tick harboring the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The infection—which has potentially serious heart consequences—is transmitted via deer ticks most commonly found in wooded areas in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and parts of the Midwest.