_ Exercise The Zero Gravity Lesson We Learned from Astronauts By article By Roger Landry, MD, MPH “Houston, we have a problem.”
_ Women's Health and Wellness Diet Drinks May Be Risky for Older Women By article Healthy postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in March 2014 in Washington D.C..
_ Heart Health Millions More Adults Could Start Using Statins By Jane Farrell article Up to 12.8 million Americans may begin taking statins thanks to new guidelines for using the drugs, according to a research team led by scientists from Duke University. The finding is the first to make specific predictions based on the American Heart Association’s new guidelines, which were issued in November. The investigators, whose findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that most of the additional users would be people over 60.
_ PCPs Must Know More About Menopause By article According to Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women's Health, "It is essential that new curricula be developed to train internists in the core competencies needed to manage menopausal symptoms."
_ Caregivers and Exercise By Jane Farrell article According to Sherri Snelling, ThirdAge contributor and founder of The Caregiving Club (www.caregivingclub.com), there are 65 million family caregivers in the United States. It’s no surprise that many of them, alone with that emotionally and physically draining task, become depressed. In turn, that can lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as failure to exercise, bad eating habits and tobacco and alcohol use.
_ When Medicine Does More Harm Than Good By Jane Farrell article About 20 percent of older Americans with chronic conditions are taking medicines that work against each other, according to a new study. In other words, the medication being used to treat one condition can make another condition worse. The problem affects millions of Americans, since three out of four older adults have multiple chronic conditions.
Same-Day Double Knee Replacements Safe for Some With RA By article Same-day bilateral knee replacement surgery is safe for select patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Lessons From Managing Geriatric Patients By article A large team of experts led by a Johns Hopkins geriatrician reports that efforts to improve the care of older adults and others with complex medical needs will fall short unless public policymakers focus not only on preventing hospital readmission rates, but also on better coordination of community-based "care transitions." Lessons learned from managing such transitions for older patients, they say, may offer a framework for overall improvement.
_ Waist Circumference Trumps BMI By article Having a big belly has consequences beyond trouble squeezing into your jeans, published in the March 2014 edition of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The researchers say that a large waist is detrimental to your health, even if you have a healthy body mass index (BMI). The finding come form a new international collaborative study led by a Mayo Clinic researcher found.
_ Ten Ways To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication By Jane Farrell article Editor's note: Hypertension is one of the most common, and most serious, health problems. It has the potential to damage vital organs like the brain, heart and kidneys. Millions of people take medications to control their high blood presure, but lifestyle changes are often just as important and can make it possible to handle hypertension without any medicine. Here, experts from the Mayo Clinic offer some non-medicinal ways to control hypertension.
_ Heart Health Pulling Teeth May Not Reduce Cardiac Infection Risk By article When patients have the potentially dangerous combination of abscessed or infected teeth and the need for heart surgery, the problem teeth often are removed before surgery to reduce the risk of infections including potentially lethal endocarditis. However a study done at the Mayo Clinic and published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery found that roughly 1 in 10 heart surgery patients who had teeth extracted before surgery died or had adverse outcomes such as a stroke or kidney failure.
Women's Health and Wellness Diabetes & Stroke Linked for Women By article New research done at at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and published in the journal Diabetologia shows that diabetes in women is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Yet the data do not show the same association among men. Also, the researchers found the risk of stroke among diabetic women was substantially raised for women aged 55 years and over compared with younger women.
_ Diabetes: ΓÇ£Lend a HandΓÇ¥ Prioritizes Goals By Sondra Forsyth article The "lend a hand " illustration that accompanies this article shows an open palm with the five major forms of diabetes interventions are arranged in descending order of importance from thumb to little finger as follows: smoking cessation, blood pressure control, metformin therapy, lipid reduction, and glucose control.
The Fat ThatΓÇÖs Ruining Your Body from the Inside By Jane Farrell article By Dr. Victor Marchione Obesity is a topic very much on the radar of health professionals across North American. Combating this grave health condition could mean saving millions of dollars in health care costs, never mind improving the lives of those who find themselves carrying around too many extra pounds.
_ How Does Your Medicine Work? By Jane Farrell article Medicines can enter the body in many different ways, including through an inhaler, a skin patch, a pill or a hypodermic needle. As drugs make their way through the body, many steps happen along the way. Understanding how medicines work in your body can help you learn why it is important to use medicines safely and effectively. In this section on taking medicines, we’ll focus on medicines you take by mouth, since those are the most common. Entering and Circulating in the Body
_ Weather Changes Linked to Strokes By article Stroke hospitalization and death rates may rise and fall with changes in environmental temperature and dew point, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014 in San Diego.