The Advantages of Being Disagreeable By blog I am presently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s thought-provoking new book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. There are a number of interesting points in this book, but one section in particular struck me as true. As a young girl growing up in this culture, I was taught to be agreeable. Even though this went against my natural tendencies, I tried my best. Mr.
_ Curbing Antibiotic Rx for UTIs in Hospitals By article A simple change in how the hospital laboratory reports urine culture results may help improve antibiotic prescribing practices and patient safety, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted in 2013 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and published online in March 2014 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
_ 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.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder By Jane Farrell article Borderline personality disorder, a serious mental illness, affects six to ten million Americans, according to statistics from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. That’s more than twice the number of people affected by bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. And up to 90 percent of those diagnosed are women; while that may be because women seek treatment more often than men, it’s still a substantial number. Despite its prevalence, borderline personality disorder less widely known than other conditions such as depression.
_ Comprehensive Care Needed for Breast-Cancer Survivors By Jane Farrell article Older breast-cancer survivors need comprehensive care to help them fight heart disease, osteoporosis and high blood pressure, according to new research. Women in this category are likely to face these illnesses after their diagnosis of breast cancers. Because of that, they should watch their weight and get regular exercise. The kind of cancer treatment the women received may be a factor, as well as their weight and age.
_ Over 80s Over-Treated for Stroke Prevention By article People in their 80s are often prescribed drugs to ward off a stroke when the risk of a stroke is not that high and the drugs have other side effects, according to research doneby Dr. Kit Byatt of the Department of Geriatric Medicine at The County Hospital in Hereford, UK and published online in the journal Evidence Based Medicine. Byatt maintains that people in this age group are being "over-treated" and that doctors need to rethink their priorities and beliefs about stroke prevention.
_ Sprouted Garlic Has Heart-Healthy Antioxidants By article Sprouted garlic with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves is typically considered to be past its prime and usually ends up in the garbage can. However, a study published in February 2014 in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that this type of garlic has even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than its fresher counterparts.
_ The 12 Habits of Highly Healthy People: #1, Physical Activity By article By Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. The Mayo Clinic has created a program modeled on the same on that Mayo Clinic employees follow. It’s called "12 Habits of Highly Healthy People." The 12 habits are: 1) Physical activity 2) Forgiveness 3) Portion size
The Secret of Life is One Thing: How to Be Successful at Love and Work By blog After spending his life helping people, the “father” of modern psychology and psychoanalysis made a simple observation: “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” Most of us recognize that when things are going well at home and at work our lives are joyful. If our love life or our work life is stressful, we suffer.
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.
_ Caring for Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions By article The millions of Americans living with more than one chronic disease are at high risk of poor health outcomes, and account for a disproportionate share of health care costs. A special March supplement to Medical Carepresents updates from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC) Research Network, formed to address knowledge gaps and research challenges in meeting the complex health care needs of this growing population.
_ Heart Health Study: Blood Pressure Should Be Taken in Both Arms By Jane Farrell article To get the best possible blood pressure reading, health care practitioners should start taking readings using both arms, because a difference between the two readings indicates a significantly higher risk of heart disease, new research shows. Most blood pressure measurements are taken using only one arm. Although the link between heart disease and differences in “interarm” readings had been suspected, this is the first study that provides statistics supporting that theory.
_ Blood-Pressure Meds and Serious Falls By Jane Farrell article Blood-pressure medications have an unintended and potentially deadly side effect: they increase the risk of serious fall injuries by up to 40 percent. Yale School of Medicine researchers looked at 4,961 patients older than 70 who had hypertension. Among the participants, 14 percent didn’t take any medication, 55 percent took moderate doses and 31 percent took high doses.
_ Pets The ASPCA Offers 9 Cold Weather Tips for Pets By Jane Farrell article Here, adapted with permission from an article by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are guidelines for protect your pets when it’s cold outside:
_ Mental & Emotional Health Health-Care Coverage: A Tragic Exception By Jane Farrell article By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News Dealing with the aftermath of a suicide or attempted suicide is stressful enough. But some health plans make a harrowing experience worse by refusing to cover medical costs for injuries that are related to suicide—even though experts say that in many cases such exclusions aren't permitted under federal law. Yet patients or their loved ones often don't realize that.
_ 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.
_ Protecting Yourself From BPA By Jane Farrell article Editor’s Note: Over the last few years, there have been frightening headlines about the dangers of the chemical BPA, many of them focusing on health risks, including possible liver damage. Water bottles and other containers bearing the label “BPA-free” are common in stores and supermarkets– an indication of how widely known the issue is.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Thyroid Activity & Depression in Seniors By article Older people with thyroid gland activity that is in the normal range but more active than average may be at increased risk for depression, according to research done at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.