August 19th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Athletes, Beats per Minute, BPM, Cardio, Cardiology, ECG, Exercise, Genetics, Heart Rate, Heart Rhythm, Max Heart Rate, Maximum, Minimum, Normal, Resting Heart Rate
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The “normal” number of heartbeats per minute is very much a frequently asked question. People, especially medical people, like well-defined lows and highs. Parameters which can be assigned an ‘L’ or ‘H’ makes life easier.
2009 National Championship Masters (45-49) Road Race
As a modern-day competitive cyclist, I am immersed in a sea of information. In our quest for weekend glory, minutia like speed, wattage outputs, RPMs, torque, elevation gain and of course, heart rates (highs, lows, and averages) get recorded, downloaded, and then studied intensively.
As a heart rhythm specialist, it is a frequent occurrence to see patients referred for low or high heart rates. More often than not, heart doctors are called upon to adjudicate patients who fall outside the “normal” values.
The old school teaching holds that the normal resting heart rate is greater than 55 and less than 100 beats per minute (bpm). Maximal heart rates are estimated by the Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
August 18th, 2011 by Jeffrey Benabio, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Allergy, Chemical, Dermatology, itch, Oxidizing Agent, Pool, Potassium Peroxymonosulfate, PPMS, Rash, Shocking Agents, Skin, Swimming Pool, Topical Steroids
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Allergic to Swimming? We’re in the dog days of August and summer continues to hold on. What better way is there to relax than in your nice, cool pool? Unless you’re allergic to it, of course.
I had a patient this summer who developed an itchy rash all over. He thought it might be due to his pool, but insisted that he kept it immaculately clean. Ironically, that might have been the trouble.
Some people are allergic to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Dermatology Blog*
August 17th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: addiction, Babies, Behavioral Problems, Birth, c, Chronic Pain, Drug Abuse, Fetus, Heart Defect, Morphine, Newborn, OB/BYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Opiates, Opioids, Overdose, Pain Meds, Pain Pills, Painkillers, Pharmacists, Physicians, Placenta, Pregnancy, Pregnant Women, Prenatal Care
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A nurse recently asked a very important question that bears repeating: What effect does long-term use of pain pills have on pregnant women? She was concerned because of the increase in number of pregnant women who are taking pain pills on a long term basis based on previous surgeries, accidents or a history of chronic pain.
The most common “pain pills” prescribed are opiates which effectively eliminate or reduce pain but have a great tendency to be abused. Opioids are natural and synthetic type drugs that have the characteristics of morphine. It can only be obtained with a prescription and unfortunately physicians contribute to the problem of dependency and abuse through their lack of scrutiny regarding patient requests. My present home state of Florida has the unsavory distinction of being known as the country’s largest pill mill and it was reported that 80 percent of opiates were not dispensed by pharmacists but by physicians who dispense them from their offices. Consequently, the Florida legislators now prohibit physicians from dispensing opiates in their offices with rare exceptions.
Why are opiates or pain killers dangerous for pregnant women? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
August 17th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
Tags: Amniotic Fluid, Baby, Birth, Breast Milk, Diet, Flavor, food, Health, Julie Mennella, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Nutrition, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Palate, Pregnancy, Prenatal, Research, Taste
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Attention, pregnant women! The foods you eat now might influence your babies’ palates after they are born. New research published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that the fetus actually drinks amniotic fluid in the womb. The amniotic fluid is flavored by the foods the mother has recently eaten and flavors can be transmitted to the amniotic fluid and mother’s milk.
It makes sense that as the baby is developing, memories are being created by a sense of taste. Could what a mother eats influence food preferences and odor preferences for life? Researchers fed babies cereal flavored with carrot juice vs. water. They showed that babies who experienced daily carrots in amniotic fluid or mother’s milk ate more carrot-flavored cereal and made less negative faces when eating it.
Julie Mennella studies taste in infants at the Monell Chemical Senses Center (Philadelphia) and she says Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
August 16th, 2011 by MellanieTrueHills in Health Tips, Research
Tags: AFib, Amiodarone, Anticoagulation, Atrial Fibrillation, Cardiac Drugs, Dabigatran, Dronedarone, Heart Failure, Irregular Heartbeat, Kidney Failure, Liver Damage, Liver Transplant, Medication, Multaq, PALLAS Clinical Trial, Pradaxa, Risks, Treatment, Women
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As a patient, you probably see lots of hype-filled reports about various drugs. After a drug is approved, there’s an inevitable blitz of negative publicity which often scares people away from important new solutions that could help them.
There has been so much news lately about Multaq (dronedarone), the drug designed to provide the benefits of amiodarone but with fewer risks. This drug is important to people with afib, especially those with heart disease whose choices are limited, so it’s time to put into context for patients what has transpired in the two years since FDA approval.
These two companion articles provide an in-depth analysis into issues that have been reported about Multaq, including whether it can cause: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Atrial Fibrillation Blog*
