_ The ΓÇ£Golden HourΓÇ¥ for Surviving a Stroke By Jane Farrell article An 8-year trial at the University of California-Los Angeles found that with the help of paramedics in the field, intravenous medications can frequently be administered to stroke victims within the "golden hour" during which they have the best chance to survive and avoid debilitating, long-term neurological damage. However, the same study found that giving stroke patients intravenous magnesium within an hour of the onset of symptoms does not improve stroke outcomes. Dr.
_ A New Way to Zap Hot Flashes By Jane Farrell article A newly developed program can help women fight obesity and reduce health risks in just five visits, according to a new study. The finding was published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). The pilot program, called WAIPointes (WAI stands for "who am I"), is also reimbursed by insurance. The authors of the article said WAIPointes, which lasts six months, helped women stay engaged with their goals of reducing menopausal symptoms and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.
_ In-home Caregiving Extends Patient's Life By Jane Farrell article An in-home program that provided elderly people with counseling and resources increased the time they lived successfully at home, even with dementia and other memory disorders. Most of the participants in the study said they preferred to stay at home. The pilot program, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, focused on elderly Baltimore residents over a period of 18 months.
Heart Health Heart Patients Now Less Likely to Die of Heart Disease By article Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN were pleasantly surprised to find that more people who have known coronary heart disease die from other causes — such as cancer, and lung and neurological diseases — than heart disease, compared with 20 years ago. The study was published online on February 10th 2014 in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.
_ Men's Health Testosterone Therapy Not Always Good for Older Men By Jane Farrell article Experts are calling for a full evaluation of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for older men with declining levels of testosterone. The statement by the Endocrine Society was prompted by recent studies, one from the Veterans Health Care System and the other from the National Institutes of Health, that have raised concerns about the risks of testosterone therapy for older men with a history of heart disease.
_ Heart Health New Guidelines for Preventing Stroke in Women By Jane Farrell article For the first time, researchers have developed guidelines for preventing women from having strokes. "If you are a woman, you share many of the same risk factors for stroke with men, but your risk is also influenced by hormones, reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth and other sex-related factors," said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., author of the statement published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. The guidelines outline stroke risks for women women and provide recommendations on how o treat them, including:
Women's Health and Wellness Go Red for Women 2014 By article In 2003, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute created National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about the fact that heart disease was claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year. The event is held annually on the first Friday in February. Today, February 7th 2014, why not wear red to participate in the effort to make sure we realize that, especially as we age and reach postmenopause, heart to heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women?
_ Sleep Health Sleep: Myths vs. Facts By Jane Farrell article How much do you know about one of life’s most important activities? Here, the experts from the National Center on Sleep Disorder Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health, separate the facts from the myths and misunderstandings: Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation
_ Nerve Block Eases Hot Flashes By article Injecting a little anesthetic near a nerve bundle in the neck cut troublesome hot flashes significantly, according to a study done at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago and published in the journal Menopause. the a new randomized, controlled trial published online today in Menopause,
_ Pain Management Beating Pain with Mindfulness Training By article A new intervention called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, or MORE, trains people to respond differently to pain, stress and opioid-related cues University of Utah researcher Eric Garland developed the treatment, which has been shown to not only lower pain but also decrease prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients. The study was published published online February 3rd 2014 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
_ After Antibiotics Stop Working, What's Next? By Jane Farrell article By Paul DiCorleto, Ph. D. Each year in the United States, 23,000 people die from drug-resistant bacterial infections. Antibiotics, designed to fight infections, have been one of the greatest medical advances of the past 100 years. But many health experts warn that we are entering a postantibiotic era, where drug-resistant “superbugs” threaten our health and economy. Our behavior — how we use antibiotics and antibacterial products — may be part of the problem. How superbugs survive
_ What You Need to Know About COPD By Jane Farrell article Along with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, affects a patient’s very ability to breathe. COPD, which is also called emphysema or chronic bronchitis, is a progressive lung disease in which the airways of the lungs become damaged, making it hard to breathe. COPD is also known as emphysema or chronic bronchitis. According to the National Institutes of Health, COPD is a major cause of death and illness worldwide. In the U.S., it kills more than 120,000 Americans every year, or one every four minutes.
_ Tablets in the Exam Room: Benefit or Annoyance? By article By Brok Vandersteen The last time I visited my doctor, I asked him how much my prescription would cost. “Well, it depends on how much your insurance covers,” he answered. I asked him if he knew how much that was. He pulled out his tablet and did the calculation, finding the pharmacy cost of my medication and comparing it to my insurance coverage. It was amazing: I knew right away what I would have to pay — and whether I could afford it.
_ Aspirin Overprescribed for AFib By article Aspirin is still overprescribed for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation despite the potential for dangerous side effects, according to a study done by the European Society of Cardiology andpublished January 28th 2014 in in the American Journal of Medicine. Another worrying finding was that oral anticoagulants were underprescribed in elderly patients, with aspirin alone more commonly prescribed.
_ Alternative Treatments for Quitting Smoking By Jane Farrell article Fifty years ago this month, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an unprecedented report that linked smoking to deadly illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease. As research efforts have expanded over the years, investigators have linked still other illnesses to tobacco.
Home Health Care: Navigating Racial and Cultural Differences By blog Roz, now 95 years old, spent all her life in Westchester County in the company of Jewish people like herself. She was not strictly religious, but she grew up in a time and place when, as she said, "like associated with like." She still recalls one evening, some 70 years ago, when she went on her first and only date with a non-Jewish boy. "I felt like the whole town was watching and judging," she said.