Thursday, September 6, 2007
Copyright 2005 Daily News Central
The type of stroke that results when a blood clot travels to the brain -- called an ischemic stroke -- is more likely to occur on days when the air contains a larger concentration of particulate matter, according to a study published online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) examined air quality on a total of 37,000 days in nine cities. Risk of hospitalization for ischemic stroke was 1 percent higher on days with relatively high levels of air pollution, compared with low-air pollution days, reports lead author Gregory Wellenius, ScD, postdoctoral fellow in cardiology at BIDMC.
Third Cause of Death in US
"Although these effects sound relatively small," says Wellenius, "given the large number of people exposed to air pollution and the large number of people at risk for stroke ... the actual number of strokes could be significant."
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the US, affecting more than 700,000 individuals each year.
A "consistent increased risk" for cardiac health problems associated with exposure to ambient air particles was established in earlier research by Wellenius and coauthors Murray Mittleman, MD, DrPH, of BIDMC's Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit and Joel Schwartz, PhD, of HSPH.
"Air pollution has been shown to trigger heart attacks and to aggravate the conditions of patients with congestive heart failure," says Mittleman, who is also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
"These new findings, demonstrating that incidence of clot-based strokes also increase, [are] in keeping with our earlier data showing a relationship between air pollution and heart and lung disorders," he notes.
The researchers also looked at the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding in the brain, during the same "high pollution" days, notes Wellenius, but found no association between the two.
Reducing Exposure May Lower Risk
The air pollution in question -- particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter -- includes particles from car and truck exhaust, power plants and refineries. The measurements were provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency from nine US cities: Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, New Haven, Conn., Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
The authors analyzed hospital admissions among a group of Medicare patients with an average age of 79. Seventy-five percent of the patients were white, and 61 percent were female. Their findings showed that during the course of their study, there were 155,503 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke.
The final analysis demonstrated a 1.03 percent rise in ischemic stroke on the days with the highest pollution measures.
"We don't know exactly what mechanisms are involved that trigger these cardiac events," says Wellenius. "However, we do know that particulates in the air promote inflammation, which is a significant risk factor for cardiac events; that exposure to particulates can lead to changes in heart rate and blood pressure; and that pollution can cause changes in coaguable states (related to blood clotting abilities)."
The authors say that future research will focus on finding out which pollutants are most toxic, as well as which patients are at greatest risk for health problems stemming from air pollution.
"Taken together with previous work, these latest results support the idea that reducing exposure to particulate matter may reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks," they conclude.
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Rita Jenkins is a health journalist for Daily News Central, an online publication that delivers breaking news and reliable health information to consumers, healthcare providers and industry professionals: http://www.dailynewscentral.com
Ten Good Tips to Lose Weight
Below you find a few tips that can help you in your quest to lose weight. They will not magically make you reach your goals but can help you on your way if you are determined and work hard to lose weight
1. Make small goals. It is easy to dream about a slender body and make that your goal. This goal does however often end in disappointment. It is better to make many small goals on the way. This way it is easier to reach your goals and you feel that you are making progress which makes it easier to stick to a diet.
2. Avoid junk food: Avoid eating fast food and other junk food. It's fattening and doesn't help you lose weight. If you absolutely must eat fast food, give yourself one meal a week when you are allowed to eat fast/junk food.
3. Avoid fried food: Don't eat fried food but rather grill or boil your food. Avoid using extra fat. .
4. Eat Breakfast: Eating breakfast helps getting the metabolism started. You are also less likely to snack if you eat a good breakfast. .
5. Eat fish and chicken: fish and chicken is low on fat and can make an excellent weight loss diet. Avoid fat fishes. A good cheap weight loss fish is Tilapia. .
6. Start drinking water: Soda and juice contains a lot of calories. Drink water and safe a lot calories. .
7. Start taking walks: Walking one or two times a day isn't to hard but can help you lose weight faster. All other forms of physical activities are also good. .
8. Eat often: eating many well planned low calorie meals a day helps you keep from snacking and make you feel less hungry. .
9. Don't expect dream results: There are many diets that promises fast results but permanent weight loss takes hard work and dedication. .
10. Eat fewer carbs: Eat less pasta and bread. Reducing your carb intake is often one of the best methods of loosing weight.
A bonus tip can be to get a dog. A dog need to be walked and will help to get you more active. Never get a dog if you don't have the time or will to care for it.
Tilapia is very good weight loss food. Visit our site to find more Tilapia recipe
Article provided by William Berg
Urinary Incontinence In The Older Adult
Urinary incontinence is not an inevitable or normal part of aging. Women are more likely to experience urinary incontinence. The problems that can occur are: Skin breakdown, embarrassment, frustration, depression, and loss of self-esteem. These secondary problems of urinary incontinence can lead to social isolation, and loss of independence.
Urinary incontinence can be successfully treated.
Be honest with your private physician. Don't hide your problem from embarrassment and continue using peripads after menopause. Take note of how long you have been experiencing the problem and let your doctor know this fact. There can be many different causes of urinary incontinence. The most common type is "stress incontinence." Stress incontinence occurs when small amounts of urine leak from an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This is more common in women who have had multiple pregnancies. This might happen while coughing, laughing, sneezing and exercising. Let your doctor know if your urinary incontinence occurs during these times. It could be "stress incontinence." You might write down the times it occurs. Keeping a journal of your symptoms and times they occur is a great resource to refer to while talking to your doctor.
You can strengthen the muscles that control urine flow by doing pelvic floor muscle exercises called Kegal exercises. Kegal exercises can be done by women and men. One way is to tighten the pubococcygeal muscle (ask your doctor how to locate this muscle). Count slowly to three, then relax. Repeat the exericse 10 times for a set, 5 times per day and gradually increase to sets of 15 to 20 done 5 times per day. Your abdominal muscles should not move if you are doing the exercise correctly.
Biofeedback therapy may also help. If these conservative therapies do not work, your doctor may prescribe an alpha-adrenergic agonist such as pseudoephedrine or a tricyclic antidepressant like imipramine might be prescribed.
Whatever the cause of your urinary incontinence problems, if you will keep a journal of your symptoms and times the problems occur, it will be much more helpful to your doctor in diagnosing your problem and prescribing an appropriate treatment.
Remember....urinary incontinence can be successfully treated and it is nothing to be embarrassed about. You just need to be honest with your doctor with your descriptions of the problem so he/she can prescribe an appropriate treatment for you. Urinary incontinence is not a normal and/or inevitable part of aging. Don't isolate yourself and let yourself become frustrated and depressed over it. Seek help openly with your private physician, and continue to enjoy time with your shih tzu and continue those long, soulful walks without the worry of urinary incontinence.
Connie Limon publishes a FREE weekly newsletter. A professional newsletter with a focus upon health and wellness for you and your pets. Weekly coupons on shih tzu puppies and other products are offered to subscribers. Weekly updates of available puppies with hotlink to the available puppies page on the website. Sign up at: http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com
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