A foot that “falls asleep” after sitting awkwardly is usually easy to explain. Repeated numbness, burning or pins-and-needles without an obvious reason is different. The symptom can come from damaged peripheral nerves, a pinched nerve, a vitamin deficiency, a metabolic condition, a medication effect or several other problems. Diabetes is an important cause because diabetic peripheral neuropathy often begins in the toes and feet. But having diabetes does not prove that diabetes is the cause....

Your LDL cholesterol looks acceptable, but another test called apolipoprotein B, or ApoB, comes back higher than expected. Does that mean the LDL result was wrong? Not necessarily. The two tests measure different parts of the same lipoprotein system. LDL-C estimates how much cholesterol is being carried inside low-density lipoprotein particles. ApoB gives information about how many atherogenic, or artery-plaque-forming, particles are circulating. For many people, the results move together. In...

Your blood pressure is 148/88 mm Hg at the clinic. At home, the readings are usually around 118/72. Which number should you believe? A pattern of blood pressure that is high in a medical setting but lower outside the office can be caused by white coat hypertension or a white coat effect. The name may sound harmless, but the important question is not whether you feel nervous around doctors. It is whether your usual blood pressure is actually normal when it is measured accurately away from the...