LivingHealthy: News
Thinking like a physician will allow you to engage a discussion with your doctor
Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease
Primary Prevention
Efforts to lower risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) by risk factor modification before clinical manifestations of CAD appear
Secondary Prevention
Efforts to lower risk of repeat CAD event in patients who have already developed clinical manifestation of CAD (e.g., angina, myocardial infarction, etc.)
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CHF? Or Cor Pulmonale?
Lung disease can affect the heart through structural changes of pulmonary vasculature, hypoxia or peripheral circulartion admixture, increased cardiac output or volume, elevation of ventricular or pulmonary vasculature. This is why it is important to discuss with your doctor about the various differentials if congestive heart failure is being considered.
Unstable Angina
Description |
 Unpleasant chest discomfort, commonly substernal and often described as heaviness or squeezing. This discomfort can be felt anywhere from epigastrium to pharynx, arm(s), neck or back. Occurs unpredictably at rest or in a sharply and abruptly worsening pattern compared to stable angina. Dyspnea may accompany chest discomfort or occur alone. The episodic duration of unstable anginal attacks generally are 20 minutes or less; an attack greater than 30 minutes is suggestive of myocardial infarction.Read more → |
Stable Angina Pectoris
Description |
 Unpleasant chest discomfort, commonly substernal and often described as heaviness or squeezing sensation. This discomfort can be felt anywhere from epigastrium to jaw, arm(s), neck, or back. Dyspnea may accompany chest discomfort or occur alone. It can be provoked by exertion or emotional upset, relieved within minutes by rest.Read more → |
Angioedema
Types |
| Hereditary angioedema type I, II, III Acquired angioedema Drug-induced angioedema Angioedema with urticaria Angioedema without urticarial Idiopathic angioedema |
Narcolepsy or Sleep Apnea?
Narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that causes hypersomnia (i.e., increased sleeping or sleepiness). The disorder usually starts in adolescence or young adulthood. Patients often get sudden sleep attacks that are notable for their almost instantaneous onset of REM sleep (decreased REM latency).
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Strep Throat? Or Infectious Mono?
Complaining of sore throat, rash, fatigue, fever, redness in your throat (pharyngeal erythema) definitely prompts a physician to think about Strep Throat. However, infectious mononucleosis should be in the differential diagnosis with these upper respiratory infection symptoms — especially in a young adult.
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Bronchiectasis
Types |
| Congenital Acquired |
Introduction |
| Bronchiectasis is classified as an obstructive lung disease and is relatively uncommon. Read more → |
Nocturnal Asthma? Or GERD?
Do you experience chest tightness with wheezing along with any symptoms associated with laryngitis but have never been diagnosed with asthma? Any nocturnal newly diagnosed asthma in a middle-aged patient should raise a suspicion for gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD.
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Premature Junctional Contraction
Premature Junctional (AV Nodal) beats originate near the AV node junction. In general, they do not require treatment. They may , however, be signs of drug toxicity, in which case treatment involves decreasing the drug dosage.
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Diagnosing Asthma
Exhaled nitric oxide test
A relatively new tool for measuring asthma, the nitric oxide test is available in only some hospitals and doctors’ offices. High levels of nitric oxide gas in the air you breathe out can be a sign of asthma. Nitric oxide gas is produced by the body normally, but high levels in your breath can mean your airways are inflamed — a sign of asthma.
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Acute Myocardial Infarction
Description |
 Acute myocardial infarction is referred to as the clinical syndrome of ischemic myocardial necrosis. The amount of necrosis is variable depending on the quantity of myocardium affected and duration of ischemia, collateral blood supply, and onset of symptom-to-treatment time. Needless to say, treatment should be administered within the first few hours to help avoid post-infarct complications.Read more → |
Acute Pulmonary Edema
Description
Acute pulmonary edema is considered an abrupt increase in pulmonary capillary pressure and vascular volume of lungs. This results in impaired gas exchange and constitutes a medical emergency. It most commonly occurs on a cardiogenic basis, but can occur as a result of noncardiac disease as well.
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Ventilation: Mechanical
Introduction |
| Mechanical ventilation can be noninvasive, involving various types of face masks or invasive, involving endotracheal intubation. Selection and use of appropriate techniques requires an understanding of respiratory mechanics (see below). Read more → |
Coping with Grief & Loss
Losing someone you love or something you love is very painful. Whether that is through a break-up of a relationship or losing someone through life. After a significant loss, you may experience all kinds of difficult and surprising emotions, such as shock, anger and guilt.
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Psychosocial factors in selection for liver transplantation
The findings of an opinion poll commissioned to examine liver transplant selection preferences among the general public, general practitioners, and gastroenterologists were published in the BMJ last year.1 Vignettes of eight potential candidates were given; four livers were available. The constituencies agreed the bottom of the pecking order – a prisoner, preceded by a man with alcoholic liver disease – but if only two candidates were to be chosen, those selected by the specialists (a teenager with an impulsive paracetamol overdose and a woman who had acquired viral hepatitis through drug abuse 20 years before) differed from the public’s choices (a baby and a pregnant woman with a cancer that offered little hope of prolonged life).
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Supporting A Grieving Person
It can be tough to know what to say or do when someone you care about is grieving. It’s common to feel helpless, awkward, or unsure. You may be afraid of intruding, saying the wrong thing, or making the person feel even worse. Or maybe you feel there’s little you can do to make things better.
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Humidity & Your Health
Humidity is something you hear alot in the weather reports. Why does it matter? What is humidity? Humidity is what makes us feel muggy in a steamy environment during summertime.
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Premature Atrial Contractions
An early, pre-sinus node, depolarization beat originating from an atrial focus outside the sinus node.
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Case: Asthma
History of presenting case: 24 year old male presents to the office for assessment of a chronic cough. He is an university student living in a basement apartment of a rented house. As soon as he moved in, he began to notice a chronic nonproductive cough associated with shortness of breath.
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LivingHealthy: Knowing The Facts
Post-MI Complications
Post myocardial infarction you need to be aware of many complications that may arise including:
1) Recurrent angina
2) Re-infarction
3) Mitral regurgitation
4) Ventricular septal defects
5) Ventricular wall aneuysms
6) Cardiogenic shock
7) Dresslers syndrome/Pericarditis
Cardiac Risk Factors
Risk factors for CAD have a strong epidemiological correlation with likelihood of developing clinical CAD according to Center of Disease Control (CDC). Multiple risk factors combine to significantly increase CAD risk compared to one factor alone.
Theophylline
Types |
| Theophylline is a member of the xanthine family, methylxanthine drug. It bears structural and pharmacological similarity to caffeine. It is natural found in tea, although in trace amounts (< 1mg/L). It is also found in cocoa beans, sometimes as high as 3.7 mg/g have been reported in Criollo cocoa beans. |
Cough
Description
Protective respiratory reflex, induced by stimulation of respiratory tree receptors.
Symptoms
Cough may be productive (sputum produced) or nonproductive (dry).
History
Help your physician help you by keeping track of some clinically relevant history including, but not limited to:
- Timing of your cough
- Current or past exposure to tobacco, second hand smoke, etc
- Occupational exposures to uncommon items
- Is your cough productive or non-productive?
- If productie cough, what is the color of your sputum or is it blood tinged?