Saturday, February 24, 2007
COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAM (CTA or CT Angiogram)
Continuing with our theme of women's heart health in the month of February, I saw this story on the news yesterday.
The Computer Tomography Angiogram is a new, non-invasive test that can provide information about what is going on in your heart arteries - literally within seconds. In that time thousands of pictures of the heart combine and show if there are blockages or any amount of plaque build up in the arteries. An assessment of these pictures results in a cardiac score. Zero is best. Anything above that needs attention. The premise being that if you know what is going on in your heart you can make life style changes to rectify the situation. While zero is best, a score of 400 for example would indicate a significant risk of heart attack.
While the CTA machine itself looks like a MRI machine the results are much faster. Patients slide in, fully clothed, and seconds later slide back out. It is not the long, claustrophobic ordeal that one usually experiences with a regular MRI. Picture clarity is incredible.
More good news. Medicare groups and private insurance companies are starting to pick up the cost of this pro-active test.
Monday, February 19, 2007
EGG DONORSHIP UP
Donorship is a relative term. In an AP article by Martha Irvine today on this subject Martha writes about how this once relatively rare practice is becoming more and more popular. These donor's aren't really donating, they are selling their eggs. The going recommended price is anywhere between $5000-$10,000 per donation.
As more and more older women are choosing to become pregnant, and perhaps are not fertile themselves, this is leading to other concerns. Are egg brokers carefully screening the donors for health and mental history. Read the full story here: http://kevxml2a.verizon.net/_1_2L2ITO1033M5T3H__vzn.isp/apnws/story.htm?kcfg=apart&sin=D8NCKOB01&qcat=health&ran=11272&passqi=&feed=ap&top=1
Donorship is a relative term. In an AP article by Martha Irvine today on this subject Martha writes about how this once relatively rare practice is becoming more and more popular. These donor's aren't really donating, they are selling their eggs. The going recommended price is anywhere between $5000-$10,000 per donation.
As more and more older women are choosing to become pregnant, and perhaps are not fertile themselves, this is leading to other concerns. Are egg brokers carefully screening the donors for health and mental history. Read the full story here: http://kevxml2a.verizon.net/_1_2L2ITO1033M5T3H__vzn.isp/apnws/story.htm?kcfg=apart&sin=D8NCKOB01&qcat=health&ran=11272&passqi=&feed=ap&top=1
RASH ISSUES RELATING TO LIPITOR AND PLAVIX
While not common, some people do have allergic reactions in the form of rashes as a result of using Lipitor or Plavix to address issues related to heart disease. If you have a rash that you cannot explain and have been using these medications, contact your doctor immediately.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
BE HEART SMART
During this month of February we are reminded frequently by the media that this is heart awareness month. Recent reports tell us that there has been a drop in the number of women who have died from heart disease - this is good news. Unfortunately, however, the decline in death rates seem to be coming not from a decline in new cases but from improvements in how women are being treated medically. Heart disease still remains the number one killer of both men and women.
One of the main keys of preventing a disease is making people aware of the causes. I feel that great strides have been made in this area, but I would venture to guess that still many more women are aware of the threat of breast cancer than of heart disease even though there are significantly more deaths annually from the latter.
Improved diagnostic testing that helps to identify blocked arteries and high blood pressure coupled with the use of statin drugs seems to be the main reason for the drop in deaths. Hospitals and doctors also are becoming more aware that the symptoms of heart disease or pending heart attack are different in women than in men. This awareness has lead to a significant drop in the percentage of women dying from a heart attack or heart disease while in a hospital
Obesity and smoking still seem to be the most significant factors standing in the way of genuine and long lasting improvements in the area of heart disease. More people are becoming savvy about the dangers of smoking and second hand smoke. Many communities are proposing a complete ban of smoking in all restaurants, bars and the workplace if they have not already done so. Personally, I applaud this move and feel that it is long overdue.
The other culprit is obesity. More than a third of U.S. women are considered overweight enought to be obese. Obesity leads to hypertension. Both are significant factors in heart disease. An easy way to reduce obesity is just to plan ahead a little bit and reduce or cut out completely the ingestion of fast or prepared foods. Reduce the use of sodium. Substitute Sea Salt instead. Reduce the amount of red meat that you eat. And finally, move. Park a little farther away from the door when shoppin; pick up the pace when you walk; turn off the TV, turn on the radio, and dance. All will exercise your heart muscle and help you to become more Heart Smart.
If you are interested in learning how to prevent, or even cure heart disease you may find this book helpful. Click Here!
During this month of February we are reminded frequently by the media that this is heart awareness month. Recent reports tell us that there has been a drop in the number of women who have died from heart disease - this is good news. Unfortunately, however, the decline in death rates seem to be coming not from a decline in new cases but from improvements in how women are being treated medically. Heart disease still remains the number one killer of both men and women.
One of the main keys of preventing a disease is making people aware of the causes. I feel that great strides have been made in this area, but I would venture to guess that still many more women are aware of the threat of breast cancer than of heart disease even though there are significantly more deaths annually from the latter.
Improved diagnostic testing that helps to identify blocked arteries and high blood pressure coupled with the use of statin drugs seems to be the main reason for the drop in deaths. Hospitals and doctors also are becoming more aware that the symptoms of heart disease or pending heart attack are different in women than in men. This awareness has lead to a significant drop in the percentage of women dying from a heart attack or heart disease while in a hospital
Obesity and smoking still seem to be the most significant factors standing in the way of genuine and long lasting improvements in the area of heart disease. More people are becoming savvy about the dangers of smoking and second hand smoke. Many communities are proposing a complete ban of smoking in all restaurants, bars and the workplace if they have not already done so. Personally, I applaud this move and feel that it is long overdue.
The other culprit is obesity. More than a third of U.S. women are considered overweight enought to be obese. Obesity leads to hypertension. Both are significant factors in heart disease. An easy way to reduce obesity is just to plan ahead a little bit and reduce or cut out completely the ingestion of fast or prepared foods. Reduce the use of sodium. Substitute Sea Salt instead. Reduce the amount of red meat that you eat. And finally, move. Park a little farther away from the door when shoppin; pick up the pace when you walk; turn off the TV, turn on the radio, and dance. All will exercise your heart muscle and help you to become more Heart Smart.
If you are interested in learning how to prevent, or even cure heart disease you may find this book helpful. Click Here!
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