New Therapy Helps Those With Heart Failure

Heart failure is a scary diagnosis for most people, but it's not a death knell. There's a new technology that can help people with heart failure live longer, more comfortable lives.

Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick, Md., has a new system called Aquapheresis therapy that helps patients get rid of the fluid buildup caused by heart failure. It makes patients more comfortable and eases one of the most dangerous side effects of heart failure.

Heart failure was once known as congestive heart failure. While it is still called that in many circles, cardiologists prefer to use the phrase heart failure.

Study suggests link between hearing loss and dementia

When elderly patients with dementia have difficulty communicating, it’s important to rule out whether hearing loss is an exacerbating factor, says a specialist at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

Communication can become very difficult for patients with dementia. In order to set the patient up for success, difficulty with communication should prompt a hearing evaluation,” Dr. Tiffany Chow, a senior clinician-scientist, said Tuesday.

She was commenting on new research that suggests a link between dementia and hearing impairment. The study, which appears in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, shows that the risk of dementia appears to rise as hearing declines.

The Real Reason Oprah, You and I Keep Getting Fat

Oprah is mad as hell and she isn't going to take it anymore.  Once again she lost a bunch of weight, looked good and felt great.  And once again she put on a bunch of weight, looked fat and felt awful.  She's certainly not alone.  Studies show that in our lifetime 7 out of 10 women and 9 out of 10 men will become overweight.  We've all been on the latest diet, taken off some poundage and promptly put it back on again.  But if Oprah, with all her high-tech trainers can't keep the weight off, what hope is there for us?

I was watching Larry King last night as Oprah's personal "dream" team of experts talked about the courage Oprah has shown in being open about her weight gain and frustration that "weight" is still an issue for her.  We heard from her personal trainer, Bob Greene.  We heard from her personal physician, Dr. Mehmet Oz.  We heard from her personal spiritual advisor Michael Bernard Beckwith.  All three are absolutely tops in their field.  If this team can't help Oprah keep her weight under control, two conclusions seem logical.

Ottawa signs deals to supply pandemic flu vaccine

The federal government has announced a new 10-year pandemic flu vaccine contract with GlaxoSmithKline, valued at more than $425 million, as well as a deal with a backup supplier, Sanofi Pasteur.

The contracts are intended to ensure a secure supply of vaccine for Canadians in the event of a future influenza pandemic and to reduce the possibility of delays in delivery and distribution.

Vaccine production is fickle,” said Dr. John Spika, director general of the centre for immunization and respiratory infectious diseases at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

You never know when something could happen, so just from a supply standpoint it’s always nice to know that you have another supply to turn to if problems should arise.

Guidelines for Usage Of Teracyclic Compounds

Dosage is individualized. Take exactly as prescribed.

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Do not stop taking or change the dose unless directed by your doctor.

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Maprotiline - May be given as a single daily dose or in divided doses.

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Mirtazapine - Take in a single dose, preferably at bedtime. May be taken without regard to food.

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Remeron SolTabs- Open tablet blister pack with dry hands and place the tablet on the tongue. The tablet will disintegrate rapidly and can be swallowed with saliva. No water is needed. Do not chew the tablet, split the tablet, or store the tablet for later use.

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If a dose is missed, take it as soon as possible. If several hours have passed or it is nearing time for the next dose, do not double the dose to catch up, unless advised to do so by your doctor. If more than one dose is missed or it is necessary to establish a new dosage schedule, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

Learn Your Cholesterol Levels & How to Manage Them

What You Should Know about Cholesterol

Too much cholesterol in your blood, organs and arteries increases your health risks.

Your body automatically makes cholesterol -- a waxy, fatlike substance in the blood. Some people naturally produce more cholesterol than other people. Your liver and other cells in your body make about 75 percent of blood cholesterol.

About 25 percent of our cholesterol comes from the foods we eat. High-fat and high-cholesterol foods add more cholesterol to our blood than we need.

Cholesterol can build up in your arteries. The buildup is called plaque. Plaque can break loose or cause inflammation in blood vessels. A heart artery blocked by plaque can result in a heart attack. Hardened arteries with plaque can also lead to blood clots, high blood pressure, strokes and dementia. Most gallstones are also made of cholesterol.

Concepts of Disease and Health

Readers of this blog should be interested in a recent entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) on the "concepts of disease and health." It is written by Dominic Murphy, author of a very important book, Psychiatry in the Scientific Image (2006). The latter offers a "qualified defense of the medical model, which says psychiatry is a branch of medicine dedicated to uncovering the neurological basis of disease entities." In other words, for Murphy, psychiatry is best understood as "clinical cognitive neuroscience."

As things stand today, Murphy explains, psychiatry relies on four criteria to validate a diagnosis: natural history (of a syndrome: its characteristic clinical course and outcome); family history (including genetics); differential response to treatment; and laboratory findings. The problem with these criteria, notes Murphy, as emblematically enshrined in the DSM, is a failure to give pride of place to "causal information," apart from the lack of explicit reference to requisite normative considerations (e.g., a model of rationality). We are left, in other words, with the picture of valid syndrome on the order of a "collection of symptoms that cluster together" but without the kind of information essential to a medical (or biological) model of psychiatric disease/disorder. Put differently, "The concepts of clinical phenomenology are notoriously vague, imprecise, unquantified. By limiting the data gathered in diagnosis to the salient and easily identifiable signs and symptoms of clinical phenomenology, the DSM-IV-TR [fourth ed., revised text] scheme ignores a wide range of other data about mental functioning that can be gathered by psychometric techniques and by methods used in cognitive science and neuroscience."

Sex can kill you, U.S. study shows

CHICAGO—Sudden bursts of moderate to intense physical activity—such as jogging or having sex—significantly increase the risk of having a heart attack, especially in people who do not get regular exercise, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.

Doctors have long known that physical activity can cause serious heart problems, but the new study helps to quantify that risk, Dr. Issa Dahabreh of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The team analyzed data from 14 studies looking at the link between exercise, sex and the risk of heart attacks or sudden cardiac death—a lethal heart rhythm that causes the heart to stop circulating blood.

Tests Show More Swine Flu Immunity in Older Folks

ATLANTA -- New test results show what scientists have suspected -- people in their 60's and older have signs of greater immunity to the new swine flu virus.

Scientists think it's because older people have been exposed to other viruses in the past that are more similar to swine flu than more recent seasonal flus.

But the results come from complicated lab work and calculations, and it's not yet clear how safe older people actually are from the new infection, federal officials said.

"We can't say," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So older people are advised to take the same precautions as their children and grandchildren.

Sightless, but Not Walking Blindly?

After two strokes, he was completely blind, dependent on his cane and his wife's arm to safely walk down the street. But researchers had a hunch: They suspected that, unconsciously, the man might be sensing the world around him through his eyes better than anyone realized.

So the neuroscientists devised a simple experiment: They asked the man to walk down a long hallway unaided by his cane or anyone else -- without telling him they had turned the corridor into a makeshift maze by randomly placing boxes, chairs and other objects in his path.

To their astonishment, the man deftly maneuvered past every obstacle. Then he turned around and did it again, prompting the stunned researchers to burst into applause.

Plumber Swindon: No More Dripping

Not all trades people are cowboys. You may have gotten that impression after one unpleasant encounter, but there are ways to check if your plumber Swindon is the real deal.

Just go to websites to see if companies and their employees are insured, registered and trained to do what you need doing in the home or office.

Many sites show testimonials from customers who enjoyed satisfaction from the firm. There are some with reputations spanning two decades, a sign which can reassure: this means a reputation is on the line, and staff will endeavour to preserve it.

Whatever you do, leave any tough, wet jobs to the hands that know what they are about.

Out of the factory, into the heat

For Nathan Kelly, it’s been trial by fire.

The 34-year-old recent nursing grad from Brock University in St. Catharines arrived in Haiti on April 20 to work in a field hospital outside Port-au-Prince. It’s his first practical experience as a registered nurse.

The disaster down here is immense,” says Kelly, speaking on a satellite phone near the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) field hospital in Pétionville. “The Haitians were in need before this; now they are in greater need. It is heartbreaking to see this kind of thing.

CMAT moved its temporary hospital to the former golf course on March 15, after working in Léogâne for several weeks immediately after the massive quake.

5 Practical Ways To Check A Used Car

The amount of people buying used cars has grown to unprecedented heights the past few years. In fact, surveys show that the number of people who buy used cars is almost tripled when compared to the number of people who buy new cars.

Buying a used car is no longer something unusual and downgrading to do; in fact, it is becoming quite a popular trend.

However, it does not necessarily mean that buyers will just take the process of selecting used cars for granted. Hence, it is important to take note of the ways to check the car prior to the closure of the deal.

Therefore, for people who wish to know the different ways on checking the condition of the used car, here are some pointers:

Trazodone - Uses and Side Effects

Type of Drug:

Antidepressant; mood-elevating agent.

How the Trazodone Works:

It is not known how trazodone works to relieve depression. It is believed trazodone modifies the chemical balance in the brain, which changes behavior. It does not stimulate the brain.

Uses of The Trazodone:

To relieve mental depression.

Unlabeled Uses: Occasionally doctors may prescribe trazodone for cocaine withdrawal, to manage aggressive behavior when used with other medications, and to treat patients with panic disorder or agoraphobia (fear of open or public places) with panic attacks.

Precautions:

Do not use in the following situations: Allergy to trazodone or any of its ingredients.