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Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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Energy Drinks and Heart Disease
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Though nothing is definitive as of yet, some research is showing that there may be a link between energy drink consumption and patients with high blood pressure or heart disease getting ill. The sudden increase in heart rate is what concerns physicians more. Likewise patients who are high risk candidates to begin with may deem it a wise choice to get regular yearly screenings as energy drinks may the possibility of adverse affects.
Fox News said, "In a study, Dr. James S. Kalus and colleagues found that healthy adults who drank two cans of a popular energy drink experienced an increase in blood pressure and heart rate.The increases in blood pressure and heart rate were insignificant for healthy adults, but could prove a problem for people with a heart-related condition, the researchers warn. Energy drinks, marketed to enhance brain function and stamina, usually contain caffeine, taurine, sugars, vitamins, and other nutritional supplements, the investigators point out. The potential effects of energy drinks on blood pressure and the heart have not been well studied."
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Monday, April 06, 2009
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Virtual Colonoscopy Still Vying for Medicare Coverage
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Virtual colonoscopy advocates are still trying to convince Medicare to cover
the procedure. With over 50,000 deaths annually and over 5,000 new cases
every year of Colorectal Cancer, some physicians are pushing preventive
imaging.
Houston Chronicle article about virtual colonoscopies said, "One surefire
way to reduce deaths is by screening to identify CRC when it is curable.
Colorectal cancer often arises from mushroomlike growths inside the colon
known as polyps, and removal of polyps can prevent a cancer from developing
into a more lethal form. Although several tests exist today, less than half
of eligible adults have undergone any of these, and the screening rates are
even lower in minorities, where the disease exacts an even greater toll."
The article interviewed the University of Texas doctor who invented the
virtual colonoscopy in 1993. The decision by Medicare to opt out paying for
procedures has caused the notion of preventative imaging to make headlines,
so it may actually bring good coverage for the industry even if Medicare
isn't paying for it. After all awareness and education is key to
prevention.
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Friday, April 03, 2009
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Women and Smoking
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The BBC has reported that an average of 17 people die each week in Northern Ireland. The study also said that annually nearly 1000 people are diagnose with lung cancer in Northern Island, predominantly caused by poor smoking habits. These numbers seem astronomically high especially if a large proportion is affecting the youth population.
The BBC article said, "Young women are still smoking too much, warned the report compiled by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry and Queen's University Belfast. The survey looked at the experiences of more than 2,200 lung cancer patients over the course of a decade from 1996 to 2006. It found there were fewer cases among men under 65 but not for women in this age group."
Though the numbers may not be as drastically high as those noted in Ireland, lung cancer still remains a serious issue in the US as well. More and more people are beginning to take initiative and get regular yearly lung scans, especially those of which who are high risk candidates like smokers.
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
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Oral Hygiene may be Linked to Heart Disease
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If you thought brushing your teeth kept the dentist away, it may actually be keeping the cardiologist away as well. A study has found a link between certain oral bacteria and increased instances of heart disease. Apparently, brushing your teeth properly and good dental hygiene can help your prevention of heart attack significantly.
The UK Telegraph said, "Bacteria in the mouth was significantly associated with heart attacks even when other factors known to contribute to poor heart health such as have high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, body weight and smoking, were adjusted for. The subjects found to have Tannerella forsythensis were 53 per cent more likely to be in the group who had suffered a heart attack and those with Prevotella intermedia were 35 per cent more likely to be in that group than in the control group."
Research in this field had been done previously, however this is the first study with substantial viable evidence.
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009
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Colon Cancer Awareness
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The slogan best used during colon cancer awareness month is "preventable, beatable, and treatable." So why is that so many people still succumb to the disease that is so easily 'preventable, beatable and treatable.' Well frankly, many people still do not get year check-ups and colonoscopies. For those of you still concerned about the embarrassment and discomfort with traditional methods, try virtual colonoscopies, they are non-invasive and require far less from your pre-procedure wise.
KKTV reported on the awareness month, "So living such a healthy lifestyle, it came as a shock when some unusual bleeding... led to the diagnosis of colon cancer."It was really surprising to me because I didn't have any other symptoms," said Hart. "I was feeling fine."Susan is not alone. The number of men and women diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year is growing. Dr. Jason Huff with Penrose Cancer Center says we all need to be aware."
The doctor interviewed also recommended that even if you are healthy to shift your lifestyle to exercise more, eat less red meat, eat more fruits and veggies and get screened yearly.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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Heart Disease Pill Promising
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The 'polypill' has been an idea circulating around the industry for years now. The idea is a generic inexpensive pill that combines aspirin, blood pressure medicine and cholesterol pill in a single daily tablet to prevent heart attack and heart disease. The idea had been shunned by many, and completely rejected by some physicians. Some experts assumed rolling numerous pills into one would cause five times more side effects and do more harm than good.
Yahoo News released the report about the possibility of this new wonder drug, "The approach needs far more testing - as well as approval from the Food and Drug Administration, something that could take years - but it could make heart disease prevention much more common and more effective, doctors say. Collectively, the results show the polypill could cut the risk of heart disease by 62 percent and the risk of stroke by 48 percent, based on what previous studies show from lowering risk factors by these amounts, the study concludes."
Although this is great progress, a larger more all encompassing study must be done, similarly the FDA must put its stamp of approval before anything is distributed to potential patients. Coupling such medicines with regular yearly heart scans, may hopefully prove to be a viable way of preventing heart disease.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
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Firefighters have High Risk for Heart Disease
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It is readily acknowledged that men and women in the police and fire departments fall victim to heart disease and lung cancer at a young age. These high stressed jobs are making workers more aware of the risks associated with their jobs. From stress to lack of sleep to poor health environments, many succumb to such ailments. If this is the case shouldn't we be promoting the use of heart scans and virtual lung scans and colonoscopies for fire and police departments nationwide. I think we should, after all education is key to successfully treating any disease.
ABC 7 News reported saying, "Surprisingly firefighters die of heart disease, that's their number one killer. It's not smoke inhalation. It's not a ladder falling on them. It's a heart attack on the scene or later on," said Collins."
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
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Put Aside Screening Stigmas
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If colon cancer is the second leading cancer-killer why do we still maintain such negative stigmas about screening methods? Traditional colonoscopies may be quite embarrassing, but virtual colonoscopies eliminate the discomfort and allow patients to get screened more easily and painlessly.
KHON News 2 reported, "Dr. Tsai says colon cancer remains a huge problem because not enough people are screened by getting a colonoscopy. Catching the disease early is vital. "If we catch them at the early stage, your chance of survival more than five years is more than 95 percent," said Dr. Tsai."
Another perk to virtual screenings is the convenience factor, not only does the patient not require anaesthesia, but pain, prolonged days of fasting and invasive treatment is not necessary either. So for people worried about traditional methods, perhaps invest in virtual scans.
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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Environmental Cardiology
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With ever increasing numbers of deaths resulting from heart disease and heart attacks, environmental cardiology has become a popular field of study. After roughly 16 years of research these cardiologists may have found a link between heart disease and air pollution. The study encompassed roughly 250 cities worldwide, where increased air pollution was said to have incited heart attacks.
Research from the relatively new field of environmental cardiology includes a 16-year-long Harvard University study of six U.S. cities that found fine particulate pollution, even at levels below the federal health standard, can shorten lifespans by two years. A majority of these earlier deaths were due to heart disease.
Those who were more susceptible to such ailments were among the older demographics or those who had previously had heart problems. Likewise people with diabetes and obesity (all of which are high-risk people) may also be more likely to be victim to these issues.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
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Study: Heart Failure Affecting more African-Americans
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The New York Times reported on March 18th about a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine about increased numbers of young African-American's falling victim to heart failure. The study and article said that young black adults succumbed to heart failure twenty times more than whites.
The New York Times article said, "Most of the heart failure patients were in their 30s and 40s. Three black men and two black women with heart failure died during the study period. The researchers estimated that heart failure strikes one in 100 blacks under age 50 in the United States."
Many of the people studied were also susceptible to developing diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Heart failure typically affects people in the older demographics, which is why this studied has received much notoriety.
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