_ Women's Health and Wellness What's Your Bladder Telling You About Your Health? By Jane Farrell article How your bladder functions every day can tell you a lot about your overall health. How often you urinate during the day and during the night, the color of your urine and whether you can ΓÇ£hold itΓÇ¥ all provide clues to health conditions that donΓÇÖt involve your urinary system. ΓÇ£Eighty percent of the causes of bladder problems are related to conditions outside of the bladder,ΓÇ¥ says urologist Raymond Rackley, MD. These can include problems with the nervous or cardiovascular systems, Rackley says. So what should you look out for?
_ Too Hot For Your Health By Jane Farrell article Almost every summer, there is a deadly heat wave in some part of the country. Too much heat isnΓÇÖt safe for anyone, and itΓÇÖs even riskier if youΓÇÖre older or have health problems. ThatΓÇÖs why itΓÇÖs important to get relief quickly, and even better, to prevent overexposure in the first place. Being hot for too long can cause several illnesses grouped under the designation hyperthermia:
_ Medical Care Update on Telehealth By Sondra Forsyth article By Miles E. Drake, Jr., MD ΓÇ£TelehealthΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£telemedicineΓÇ¥ have been used more or less interchangeably over the past 50 years to describe the provision of health care services and exchange of health information by electronic means. The initial concept of telephonic and later computer-based medical interaction and education was defined by the Institute of Medicine as ΓÇ£the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participantsΓÇ¥.
_ Heart Health Potassium May Save Lives for Heart Patients on Diuretics By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that patients taking prescription potassium supplements together with loop diuretics for heart failure have better survival rates than patients taking diuretics without the potassium. The degree of benefit increases with higher diuretic doses. The team, including senior author Sean Hennessy, PharmD, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology in PennΓÇÖs Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), report their findings in a study published online July 16th 2014 in PLoS ONE.
_ Heart Health Cheaper & Better Drug for Heart Attack Procedure By Sondra Forsyth article A study done in the UK and published in The Lancet on July 4th 2014 compares outcomes for two drugs used to prevent blood clot formation during emergency heart attack treatment. The study suggests that use of one of the drugs, heparin, could result in improved outcomes such as a reduced rate of repeat heart attacks, compared to the other drug tested, bivalirudin, which is in widespread use in high-income countries and is around 400 times more expensive than heparin.
_ Heart Health Women and Heart Disease: A New RIsk By Jane Farrell article Hormonal changes during menopause could increase a womanΓÇÖs risk of heart disease, researchers have found. The study, by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, was done by using an advanced method to analyze ΓÇ£cholesterol carriersΓÇ¥ in the blood. The researchers found that during the transition to menopause, the quality of those carriers degrades. Investigators said the study showed that the quality of cholesterol carriers could be as important as cholesterol numbers.
Heart Coherence: 3 Simple Steps for Reducing Stress and Living Well By blog IΓÇÖve always prided myself on having a healthy heart. When IΓÇÖd have my yearly health checkups, the doctor always commented that I had the low blood pressure of an athlete. I do keep in good shape, but I havenΓÇÖt considered myself an athlete since high school when I played basketball and wrestled.
_ Heart Health For Women, Improving Accuracy of Heart Disease Diagnosis By Sondra Forsyth article Diagnosing coronary heart disease in women has become more accurate through gender-specific research that clarifies the role of both obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease as contributors to ischemic heart disease in females, according to a statement published in June 2014 in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Health Buzzwords on Food Products: False Promises? By Sondra Forsyth article Health-related buzzwords such as "antioxidant," "gluten-free" and "whole grain," lull consumers into thinking packaged food products labeled with those words are healthier than they actually are, according to a research done at the University of Houston. A release from the university reports that the team suggests that false sense of health as well as a failure to understand the information presented in nutrition facts panels on packaged food may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in the United States.
_ Is It Too Hot For Your Health? By Jane Farrell article Almost every summer, thereΓÇÖs a deadly heat wave in some parts of the country. Excessive heat isnΓÇÖt safe for anyone, especially for older people or those with health problems. But exactly what dangers are you facing and how can you protect yourself? HereΓÇÖs some advice from the National Institute on Aging: Your body is always working to keep a balance between how much heat it makes and how much it loses. Too much heat causes sweating.
_ Keeping Your Liver Healthy. By Jane Farrell article Many of us are rightly concerned about heart health, cancer, hypertension and diabetes. In the midst of all this, our liver health may not be at the top of the list. But the liver, one of our vital organs, is paramount to our health, and itΓÇÖs essential to protect it. It renders toxins harmless and makes sure they are expelled from the body, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unfortunately, drugs and even dietary supplements can make the liver go haywire, the FDA says.
Oral Health The Best Foods to Eat for Optimal Oral Health By Jane Farrell article By Dr. K.J. McLaughlin Did you know that your diet can directly influence the level of your oral health? The health of your teeth and gums is extremely important as this area of your health can also have an impact upon the health of your heart, arteries, and immune system. Of course poor oral health also affects has your appearance. Your lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol consumption, and your diet, can greatly influence your teeth and gums.
_ Pets Healthy And Safe Exercise For Your Dog - And You By Jane Farrell article Now that spring’s here, it’s a perfect time to get out and exercise – and having a canine companion will make it ever more enjoyable. But just as you follow safety measures for yourself, you need to know what will keep your dog from danger. Here, from the ASPCA, are some tips: Get your pet a check-up
Heart Health Viagra for Heart Failure? Works Better for the Guys By article Clear-cut gender differences stand out in measuring impact of Viagra as therapy for heart failure, according to a study done at Johns Hopkins and posted online May 16th 2014 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Specifically, in female mice modeling human heart failure, the benefits of sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra, ranged from robust to practically nonexistent depending on the animals' levels of the hormone estrogen. Yet in male mice, sildenafil generally appears to work well because it targets a different biological process independent of estrogen.
_ Mental & Emotional Health May Is Mental Health Month: WhereΓÇÖs Your Sanity? By article By Dr. Claudia LuizΓÇ¿ΓÇ¿ Everybody is overwhelmed and nobody is afraid to talk about it. Historically speaking, we are more sophisticated than ever emotionally; we are highly aware of what we feel, and we can talk about it. If we don’t feel better, it’s only because our methods for dealing with what we feel are still so antiquated. It’s just the same-old, same-old: try to be better, get inspired to change. But it doesn’t’ work. ΓÇ¿ ΓÇ¿
_ Stem Cells Make ΓÇ£Heart Disease-on-a-ChipΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article Harvard scientists have merged stem cell and “organ-on-a-chip” technologies to grow, for the first time, functioning human heart tissue carrying an inherited cardiovascular disease. The research appears to be a big step forward for personalized medicine because it is working proof that a chunk of tissue containing a patient's specific genetic disorder can be replicated in the laboratory.
Osteoporosis Calcium Supplements DonΓÇÖt Up Heart Risk for Women By article Previous studies have suggested that calcium supplements, which many women take to prevent osteoporosis, may increase risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the data has been inconsistent. A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) did not find that calcium supplement intake increases risk of cardiovascular disease in women. The article was published online in May 2014 in Osteoporosis International.