February 10th, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Health Tips, Research
Tags: AARP, AHA, American Heart Association, Baby Boomers, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Health, Cardiovascular Risk, CHD, Coronary Heart Disease, Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Heart Letter, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Healthy Aging, Heart Attack, Heart Disease Prevention, Heart Failure, Heart Health, High Blood Pressure, PJ Skerrett, Preventing Heart Disease, Preventive Health, Preventive Medicine, Stroke
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As a youngster, I loved being part of the baby boom — it meant there were dozens of kids on my block who were ready to play hide-and-seek or join mysterious clubs. Now that I’m of an AARP age, there’s one club I don’t want to join: The one whose members have bypass scars, pacemakers, or other trappings of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association’s (AHA) gloomy new forecast on cardiovascular disease tells me it won’t be easy to avoid.
The AHA foresees sizeable increases in all forms of cardiovascular disease (see table) between now and 2030, the year all of the boomers are age 65 and older. Those increases will translate into an additional 27 million people with high blood pressure, eight million with coronary heart disease, four million with stroke, and three million with heart failure. That will push the number of adult Americans with some form of heart disease to 110 million.
(Percentages refer to the percentage of Americans aged 18 years and older.)
If the AHA’s projections are accurate, the cost of treating cardiovascular disease would balloon from $272 billion today to $818 billion in 2030. Add in the cost of lost productivity, and it jumps to more than $1 trillion. Yikes!
Although obesity and inactivity are part of the problem, much of the increase comes from the graying of the baby boom. We can’t stop boomers from aging, but we can fight cardiovascular disease, a condition the AHA calls “largely preventable.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
February 10th, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Health Tips, Research
Tags: Consumer-Driven Lab Testing, Direct Laboratory Services, Do-It-Yourself Lab Tests, Do-It-Yourself Medicine, Dr. Glenn Laffel, Healthcare Consumerism, HealthOne, Interpreting Lab Results, Lab On A Chip, Laboratory Studies, Online Lab Tests, Pathology, Personalabs, Pizaazz, Preventive Health, Preventive Screening, PrivateMD Labs
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Traditionally, people get blood tests when their doctor recommends it, an event that usually occurs at the conclusion of an office visit. But nowadays, patients are deciding to get lab tests on their own.
Their reasons vary. Some want to keep track of cholesterol or hemoglobin A1C levels. Others want to assure their blood will test negative prior to a job search, to test for the presence of a disease like hepatitis C or AIDS, or obtain a chemistry panel that provides a broad picture of their overall health.
The biggest reason for consumer-directed lab testing however, is an economic one. Growing numbers of uninsured people, and those with high-deductible insurance plans find it cheaper to do-it-themselves, since it avoids the cost of an office visit.
The savings can add up. A lipid profile (including cholesterol levels) obtained from an online lab testing company costs about $40. A hemoglobin A1C test usually runs a bit less. A visit to the doctor’s office typically costs $150 or more.
Although hundreds of tests can be obtained in this manner, the most commonly sought-after tests are lipid profiles, C-reactive protein (a new measure of cardiac risk), liver and kidney function tests, vitamin D levels, and hormone levels including estrogens and testosterone. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
February 8th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Health Tips, Research
Tags: Dr. Christopher Chang, Ear Nose and Throat, Fauquier ENT, New York Times, Otolaryngology, Sore Throat, Supraglottic Hyperfunction, Vocal Cords, Voice Problems, Whispering
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Is whispering bad for your vocal cords? For most people, the answer is yes according to research publicized in a recent New York Times article.
In the mentioned study, out of a group of 100 patients, 69 percent exhibited increased supraglottic hyperfunction with whispered voice (i.e. it was bad for the voice.) Eighteen percent had no change and 13 percent had less severe hyperfunction.
As such, though whispering is not bad for everybody, it is for most people and as such, the safest thing to do if the vocal cords are damaged whether by infection or trauma is to rest your voice. If you have to talk, do not whisper, but rather talk in a soft voice.
The best way to think about injured vocal cords is to talk in an analogy. Laryngitis is like a badly sprained ankle. In this scenario, talking is like walking and screaming is like running. So just like you would rest the sprained ankle and not walk on it in order for it to recover as quickly as possible, you should refrain from talking in order for the laryngitis to recover as quickly as possible. Where does whispering fall in this analogy? Probably equivalent to running on a sprained ankle.
Read more about voice problems here.
REFERENCE: “Laryngeal hyperfunction during whispering: reality or myth?” J Voice. 2006 Mar;20(1):121-7.
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
February 7th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, News
Tags: Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ, Dr. Toni Brayer, Everything Health, Family Medicine, Fetal Health, Healthy Pregnancy, High Risk Pregnancy, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pregnancy and Intercourse, Pregnancy and Sex, Pregnant Women, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Safe Sex, Sexual Health
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The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has published a new primer designed to help physicians when they counsel pregnant women. They note that sex during pregnancy is normal and is generally considered safe. The authors point out that there are very few proven contraindications and risks regarding intercourse in normal pregnancy.
Pregnant women and their partners are often afraid to have sex. Men may think they are “invading” the home of the fetus and could actually harm the baby. In fact, the fetus is quite safe, ensconced in the uterus (womb) and the cervix (opening of the uterus) is closed in normal pregnancy. The penis has no contact with the fetus or the uterus during normal intercourse, no matter what the position.
When is intercourse considered risky? Only for women who are at high risk for preterm labor and for those with placenta previa because there is increased risk for hemorrhage. Even women who have had preterm labor may safely have sex unless they have cervical incompetence or a lower genital tract infection.
Women who are under the care of an obstetrician should know if they have any of these risks. The vast majority of women should be reassured that sex during pregnancy is safe for mom and baby.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
February 6th, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Health Tips, Humor
Tags: Benedict Carey, Breathing Exercises, Dizziness, Dr. Dinah Miller, Emotional Health, Emotional Problems, Emotional Support, Emotional Well-Being, FAN, Football Attention Neurosis, Heart Pounding, Home Remedies for Sports Fans, Hyperventilation, Mental Health, My Three Shrinks, New York Times, Panic, Post-Game Depression, Post-Game Euphoria, Pre-Game Anxiety, Psychiatry and Psychology, Psychotherapy and Sports Fans, Racing Pulse, Shrink Rap, Sports and Stress, Sports and Your Health, Sports Excitement and Physiological Reactions, Sports-Related Health Conditions, Super Bowl 2011, Super Bowl and Health, Super Bowl Suffering, Super Bowl XLV
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So it’s Super Bowl Sunday and the fans are psychiatric patients waiting to happen — the beer and the beer and the beer, and maybe the fights will break out, and they’ll all end up in therapy. Oh, the angst and the panic, and the pre-game anxiety, and the post-game euphoria or depression.
New York Times reporter Benedict Carey talks about treatment options in his article, “A Home Treatment Kit for Super Bowl Suffering.” Mr. Carey suggests:
Breathing exercises are highly recommended and become increasingly important as the football contest nears the fourth quarter, when events on the field are likely to prompt strong physiological reactions, like a pounding heart, hyperventilation, even dizziness. These internal cues, as they’re called, can escalate the feeling of panic, a self-reinforcing cycle resulting in groans and cries that can be frightening to small children, pets and sometimes neighbors.
In the final minutes of the game, be forewarned: Many patients will move beyond the reach of therapy. Their faces may change, their breathing appear to stop. Researchers have not determined whether this state is closer to Buddhist meditation or to the experience of freefall from an airplane. All that is known is that, once in it, patients will fall back on primal coping methods, behaviors learned in childhood within the cultural context of their family.
Like emitting screams. Or leaping in an animated way, as if the floor were on fire. Or falling on their back and moving their arms and legs like an overturned beetle, in celebratory fashion.
This post is dedicated to my husband and son.
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
