Part 1
When she was approached by a doctor, Nancy Lavin was lying on a hospital bed and thought about the grocery list, which was going to do in the supermarket.
- You have a myocardial infarction - the doctor said.
His words sounded like a thunderclap.
- I was just a shock - recalls Nancy. At that time she was 48 years old.
Like many women, Nancy Lavin did not even suspect that the women is a myocardial infarction. When the first symptoms (nausea and pain in the back), she thought it was food poisoning or the flu, so they seemed harmless.
Today, Nancy Lavin headed by a social movement "Women's heart", bringing together 8 million American women suffering from coronary heart disease (CHD).
"My ignorance and carelessness of doctors almost cost me my life, - says Lavigne. - I do not check the level of cholesterol in the blood for 10 years. When a heart attack, cholesterol level was very high. "
Inexorable evidence suggests that coronary insufficiency - a form of ischemic heart disease - is the main cause of death among American women and kills half a million lives a year.
This problem has attracted more attention. Not by chance one of the most recent annual scientific sessions of the American Society of cellular cardiology was devoted to problems of heart disease in women, and the American National Institute of heart disease, blood and lungs developed the program "The Truth of the heart" to raise awareness about heart disease among women and the promotion of measures that would help women to control their health.
Silent killer
"Women are surprised - said Noel Beira, medical director of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Center (Los Angeles). - They ask: "How could this happen to me?". But realizing what had happened, the women are strong advocates and talk about what they learned to other women. "
Misconceptions are fairly common among the population. The main problem is that women simply do not realize that the danger exists. Cardiovascular diseases are considered to be solely the prerogative of men.
Most women are afraid that they will die from breast cancer, whereas in fact, cardiovascular disease kills one in two women, while breast cancer - only one of 25.
As shown by results of a survey conducted by the American Heart Association, only 8% of women know that cardiovascular diseases constitute the greatest threat to women's health and only 18% of them found out about this danger from their doctors. And among women aged 25 to 35 years of this risk-informed, only 4%.
"On the dissemination of information about breast cancer spent bulk of funds", - says Jennifer Mires, Director of Cellular Cardiology at University Hospital in New York, a renowned expert on heart disease in women.
It's not just that large corporations like Avon fund research for breast cancer, notes Mires. The problem also in the fact that many female celebrities mentioned in their statements about breast cancer. but no one talks about their illnesses associated with the heart. Meanwhile, many male celebrities, for example, guests famous TV presenter David Letterman and Larry King, talking about these diseases. Whatever it was funding research of coronary heart disease in women is not enough.
"People are oriented to the views of celebrities", - said Dr. Mires.
Menopause
The risk of cardiovascular disease in women increases during menopause. Experts believe that this is associated with reduced estrogen levels, which help the work of the heart. For postmenopausal women likely to die from coronary heart disease is 10 times higher than the risk of dying from breast cancer. Women in menopause may mistakenly take the initial symptoms of heart disease, such as fatigue and insomnia, for the symptoms of menopause.
Another problem is the lack of early diagnosis. The average diagnosis of coronary heart disease for women is put at 10 - 15 years later than men. Mainly because most women do not pay enough attention to their health.
"In the family of a woman is often a family doctor for children and a husband and therefore did not pay much attention to himself - says Dr. Mires. - Therefore, we should teach women to take care of their own health. "
Part 2
Jackie Praiano dying within 10 days. No one could understand from what. Electrocardiogram did not show. Before my illness, she was a comely woman of 49 years.
In the end, it became clear that this is a heart attack. When the diagnosis was finally delivered, 10 percent of the heart muscle has been damaged.
"I thought I was going to die, - says Jackie. - How could this happen to me? Nobody ever told me that I should worry about his heart. "
The first physician to whom she addressed, diagnosed a viral infection, and appointed bed rest. Once started in great pain in my heart, and the ambulance took her to the hospital, another doctor diagnosed it as herpes zoster.
This incident occurred 10 years ago.
Jackie is not the only woman, has received such a terrible lesson. Mortality from coronary heart disease among women is increasing in geometric proportions, and often it is because the women themselves, their families and doctors may not recognize the symptoms of the disease.
Every year, 500 thousand women die of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. And women die at 50 thousand more than men.
Women continue dying
Studies show that American scientists, women were taken to hospital with a heart attack, dying at 20% more often than men. In addition, the probability that the time will be held thrombolytic therapy, coronary angiography, angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery in women below.
"Doctors learn to diagnose heart disease in men - said Nancy Lavin, the head of a public movement" Women's Heart Foundation, established In 1990-ies. - They are not trained to diagnose heart attacks in women. Lavin also in the past suffered a myocardial infarction.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a heart attack in women are described in comparison with the symptoms of the disease in men. Men often the first symptom is severe pain. In women, symptoms may be atypical, rather atypical for men but not for women. In women, heart attack can give of himself to know the following features:
* A strong discomfort in the lower part of the chest, stomach, jaw, arm or shoulder.
* Nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath.
* Shortness of breath without chest pain.
* Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue without chest pain.
* Trembling, cold sweat, pallor, without chest pain.
63% of women who died from sudden coronary failure - their arteries were clogged with deposits of lipids and cholesterol - had no warning symptoms. Therefore, early detection of disease, monitoring of risk factors (smoking, nutrition), as well as regular analysis of blood cholesterol are the most effective ways to reduce mortality from myocardial infarction and stroke in women.
But often it was not being pursued.
Lavin is wrong exceptional attention to the mammogram and strokes - an approach she calls "bikini medicine.
"Most women are too often visited by gynecologists and consult with them as with general practitioners, - she said. - So when they get to the specialists, but it happens after 45 years, symptoms of heart disease they are more pronounced than in men.
After a heart attack
"Because the diagnosis of coronary heart disease for women is put later than men, respectively, the prognosis for women is considerably worse," - says Jennifer Mires, Director of Cellular Cardiology at University Hospital in New York, a renowned expert on heart disease in women.
According to statistics from the U.S. Agency for Research on quality of care, within one year after myocardial infarction die, at least 40% of women and only 24% of men.
It turns out that women receive less intensive treatment. A recent study by the American Heart Association, found that every year die from a heart attack more women than men, while women produce only 42% of all cardiovascular operations, 29% of coronary bypass surgery and 39% of angioplasty. The probability of death from heart attack or lack of surgical care is higher for women than for men. In addition, women often do not receive adequate assistance or medicines in the postinfarction period.
Different requirements
"In addition to ignorance, it is important and that women's EKG results of tests with the load depended on the hormonal status of the patient and the intensity of the load", - said Dr. Mires. Often the ECG does not reveal the characteristic signs of myocardial infarction. This may be due to different physiological and hormonal factors, or less sensitivity to the test. The most informative tests were echocardiography with stress or pharmacological stress test.
The study of heart disease has historically been based on the treatment of this disease in men. For example, a recent clinical study of artificial heart transplants included only male patients. It is essential that these studies also covered and women, convinced Dr. Mires. Physiology of the female body differs from the physiology of men and, perhaps, the size of the body and the heart play a role in the course of heart disease.
In the U.S. study of heart disease has been pursuing for decades, but women were not included in them until 1990, when the U.S. Congress issued a resolution directing the National Institute of Medicine to include women in the sample studied.
However, women currently represent only 25% of study participants due to circumstances related to pregnancy, family problems, work, and, most importantly, a lack of understanding of what coronary heart disease is not only a disease of men.
What follows?
"We can not sit idly by and wait until the doctors pereuchatsya - says Nancy Lavin of the organization" Women's heart. - Women should know what they should worry about and how to maintain their health."
Rx Arkansas
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Ovarian cysts: is every woman should know
Ovarian cyst - a common disease, which is usually asymptomatic and discovered only during a scheduled inspection at the gynecologist.
The ovaries are located in the lower abdomen on both sides of the uterus. Each month in women of reproductive age is ready to fertilize the egg is released from the follicle, in which she has been there, and the fallopian (uterine) tube enters the uterus. Ovarian cyst (capsule filled with fluid) can be located inside or on the surface of the ovary.
Sometimes the cyst reaches a large size. In such cases, the rupture may be life-threatening. It is therefore important to know the symptoms, indicating the presence of large cysts.
Types of cysts
If the egg is not released from the follicle, as it should be the norm, it continues to grow and is reborn in the brush. Development of cysts are often asymptomatic. Sometimes a few months cyst resolves itself.
After the release of an egg from the follicle in the body begins to produce hormones that prepares the uterus for fertilization. If the cavity, which is formed in the ovary after the egg, accumulated fluid formed corpus luteum cyst. Usually, this cyst is dissolving in a few weeks, but there are times when it develops further and becomes bigger than the ovary. Inside the accumulated blood, she curled around the ovarian cyst and causes pain. The gap filled with blood cyst causing sudden sharp pain. However cyst of the corpus luteum does not prevent pregnancy.
Other types of cysts are much less common. They are formed from the follicular cells or tissues of the ovary. These cysts, as well as those that occur after menopause, require careful attention, because they can degenerate into malignant ovarian tumors.
Symptoms and treatment
The signs of the presence of large cysts:
* Irregular menstrual cycle
* The feeling of overcrowding in the abdomen, bloating
* The difficulty with urination, caused by the pressure of the cyst on the bladder
* Pain in the pelvic area, which can give in the waist
* Pain during intercourse
These symptoms are not always indicate the presence of cysts. Seek medical advice. If he felt the cyst during the inspection, you will also be appointed by pelvic ultrasound and blood tests. Additional surveys, if necessary, help to select the right treatment.
First, the doctor is likely to choose expectant management. To track the dynamics will require additional examinations and ultrasound examinations. Small cysts, which are not absorbed by themselves, are removed by laparoscopy. In this special instrument (laparoscope) is inserted through a tiny incision in the abdomen.
Age of patients - an important factor influencing the choice of treatment. Ovarian cancer occurs in younger women is relatively rare. After menopause the likelihood of degeneration cysts in the tumor above, so the doctor may recommend surgery to remove it.
Rx Florida
The ovaries are located in the lower abdomen on both sides of the uterus. Each month in women of reproductive age is ready to fertilize the egg is released from the follicle, in which she has been there, and the fallopian (uterine) tube enters the uterus. Ovarian cyst (capsule filled with fluid) can be located inside or on the surface of the ovary.
Sometimes the cyst reaches a large size. In such cases, the rupture may be life-threatening. It is therefore important to know the symptoms, indicating the presence of large cysts.
Types of cysts
If the egg is not released from the follicle, as it should be the norm, it continues to grow and is reborn in the brush. Development of cysts are often asymptomatic. Sometimes a few months cyst resolves itself.
After the release of an egg from the follicle in the body begins to produce hormones that prepares the uterus for fertilization. If the cavity, which is formed in the ovary after the egg, accumulated fluid formed corpus luteum cyst. Usually, this cyst is dissolving in a few weeks, but there are times when it develops further and becomes bigger than the ovary. Inside the accumulated blood, she curled around the ovarian cyst and causes pain. The gap filled with blood cyst causing sudden sharp pain. However cyst of the corpus luteum does not prevent pregnancy.
Other types of cysts are much less common. They are formed from the follicular cells or tissues of the ovary. These cysts, as well as those that occur after menopause, require careful attention, because they can degenerate into malignant ovarian tumors.
Symptoms and treatment
The signs of the presence of large cysts:
* Irregular menstrual cycle
* The feeling of overcrowding in the abdomen, bloating
* The difficulty with urination, caused by the pressure of the cyst on the bladder
* Pain in the pelvic area, which can give in the waist
* Pain during intercourse
These symptoms are not always indicate the presence of cysts. Seek medical advice. If he felt the cyst during the inspection, you will also be appointed by pelvic ultrasound and blood tests. Additional surveys, if necessary, help to select the right treatment.
First, the doctor is likely to choose expectant management. To track the dynamics will require additional examinations and ultrasound examinations. Small cysts, which are not absorbed by themselves, are removed by laparoscopy. In this special instrument (laparoscope) is inserted through a tiny incision in the abdomen.
Age of patients - an important factor influencing the choice of treatment. Ovarian cancer occurs in younger women is relatively rare. After menopause the likelihood of degeneration cysts in the tumor above, so the doctor may recommend surgery to remove it.
Rx Florida
Stroke - women's disease?
For the time being this problem is nobody cares. But for the time being. A stroke occurs due to abnormalities of cerebral blood flow and cause serious damage to brain cells or even death. A stroke can greatly limit the ability of people to lead active, independent lives. In the best case, the patient is fully recovered, but the road to recovery is always slow and difficult.
Stroke cost more lives than breast cancer. You it may seem surprising, but a stroke - not such a "senile" problem. About a quarter of women at a time when they have suffered a stroke were younger than 65 years.
Stroke occurs more frequently in women than in men. However, the fairer sex have a greater chance of survival. Perhaps due to the fact that the female brain is hurting less than men. According to one study, female rats damaged cerebral cortex occurs in 33% less than in males. Scientists have suggested that the advantage associated with the content in the body the female hormone estrogen. This version is confirmed: the females, who received an additional injection of estrogen was noted in 2 times less brain disorders, than in the control group. Further research should shed light on whether estrogen is used as remedies for treatment of stroke.
Science does not stand still. Thus, American researchers say that in the next 10 years, they can prevent up to 80% of stroke in people of the United States.
"Women" risk factors
Risk factors for stroke in men and women, mostly the same (the existence of a family history of stroke, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system, increased red blood cells), but there are specific "female" risks. For example, the likelihood of stroke increases with an increase in blood pressure during pregnancy. Young women suffering from migraine and taking oral contraceptives, also in high-risk group.
As you can see, there is no panacea. The only measure of stroke prevention - maintaining a healthy lifestyle. To reduce the likelihood of attack, follow these recommendations:
· When high blood pressure, consult a doctor and follow his appointment.
· Quit smoking, avoid secondhand smoke.
· If you have diabetes diet and take prescribed medications.
· Avoid the development of cardiovascular diseases keep under control cholesterol. Avoid consumption of saturated fatty acids.
· Do exercises, play sports.
· Control your weight. If you want, lose weight.
· Drink alcohol in moderate doses. The key word here - "moderate". In Denmark, for 16 years conducted research involving 13,329 people and concluded that those who drank 1.6 glasses of wine a week, your risk of stroke is reduced by 34% compared with those who never consume wine or making is very rare. Result is not applicable to other alcoholic drinks! According to scientists, the positive effects of wine on the body due to their content of flavonoids and tannins, substances which slow down the development of atherosclerosis (the disease is one cause of stroke). There is also the view that the admission of any alcohol prevents atherosclerosis. But be careful! Intemperance in the use of alcohol may lead to more health problems.
Rx Connecticut
Stroke cost more lives than breast cancer. You it may seem surprising, but a stroke - not such a "senile" problem. About a quarter of women at a time when they have suffered a stroke were younger than 65 years.
Stroke occurs more frequently in women than in men. However, the fairer sex have a greater chance of survival. Perhaps due to the fact that the female brain is hurting less than men. According to one study, female rats damaged cerebral cortex occurs in 33% less than in males. Scientists have suggested that the advantage associated with the content in the body the female hormone estrogen. This version is confirmed: the females, who received an additional injection of estrogen was noted in 2 times less brain disorders, than in the control group. Further research should shed light on whether estrogen is used as remedies for treatment of stroke.
Science does not stand still. Thus, American researchers say that in the next 10 years, they can prevent up to 80% of stroke in people of the United States.
"Women" risk factors
Risk factors for stroke in men and women, mostly the same (the existence of a family history of stroke, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system, increased red blood cells), but there are specific "female" risks. For example, the likelihood of stroke increases with an increase in blood pressure during pregnancy. Young women suffering from migraine and taking oral contraceptives, also in high-risk group.
As you can see, there is no panacea. The only measure of stroke prevention - maintaining a healthy lifestyle. To reduce the likelihood of attack, follow these recommendations:
· When high blood pressure, consult a doctor and follow his appointment.
· Quit smoking, avoid secondhand smoke.
· If you have diabetes diet and take prescribed medications.
· Avoid the development of cardiovascular diseases keep under control cholesterol. Avoid consumption of saturated fatty acids.
· Do exercises, play sports.
· Control your weight. If you want, lose weight.
· Drink alcohol in moderate doses. The key word here - "moderate". In Denmark, for 16 years conducted research involving 13,329 people and concluded that those who drank 1.6 glasses of wine a week, your risk of stroke is reduced by 34% compared with those who never consume wine or making is very rare. Result is not applicable to other alcoholic drinks! According to scientists, the positive effects of wine on the body due to their content of flavonoids and tannins, substances which slow down the development of atherosclerosis (the disease is one cause of stroke). There is also the view that the admission of any alcohol prevents atherosclerosis. But be careful! Intemperance in the use of alcohol may lead to more health problems.
Rx Connecticut
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