What to Expect During Your Heart Surgery Recovery

When preparing for surgery, it is wise to know what to expect from cardiac hospitals. Many people are mostly nervous about the surgery and preparation for it. Care should be taken beforehand to make blood donations for emergencies, provide an accurate list of all medications, and have a good understanding of what will happen during the procedure. While the surgery itself can last a few hours, much of the time is spent during recovery. Knowing what to expect is important so the patient and family can prepare themselves and their home, and the patient can make the best recovery possible. Everyone involved will receive instruction about what to do and to avoid for the six to eight weeks it could take to recover.

Manage pain

Pain is to be expected after surgery. The body has undergone trauma and will react to the incision site. The staff at cardiac hospitals will provide necessary prescriptions and instruction on ways to deal with it. Pain can manifest in the muscle all over the body or in the soft tissues around the incision site. There can also be numbness or itching involved. If the pain becomes too much to bear, then a doctor should be asked for recommendations to help provide relief, until the tissue can heal. However, keep in mind that many pain medications have sever side effects if abused beyond the prescription guidelines. It is important to follow the instruction of the doctor.

Promote healing

Some medical professionals recommend eating a healthy diet to aid in recovery. Cardiac hospitals can provide a list of meal planning options. If the appetite is suppressed, try feeding the patient smaller meals more often, but keep encouraging them to eat well. Common sense dictates that doing physical therapy to increase muscle tone can help the body heal and reduce pain more quickly. It is also important to not lift too much or over stress the incision site soon after the procedure. Sleep can also help the body heal. It might be difficult for the patient to get comfortable, but added pillows, soft music, maintaining a sleep schedule, and avoiding stimulants can all help them relax enough to rest.

Avoid infection

The most successful surgeries are those that avoid infection. The surgeons at cardiac hospitals will follow the strictest guidelines to keep a sterile environment for the surgery. However, when the patient returns home, there are innumerable ways the incision can be compromised. It is important to be gentile with the incision site and keep it clean and dry. The doctors and nurses can instruct on proper wound care methods. Contact the medical team immediately if any symptoms of infection appear, such as a raised temperature, gaping, drainage, redness, or warmth around the incision area.

Stay positive

Major surgeries often bring depressed feelings for both the patient and the caregiver. Worrying about the future, frustration with a slow healing process, and feeling pain are big contributors. It is important to beat the blues by maintaining daily activities, like getting dressed, going for walks, and participating in hobbies. One of the best ways for everyone to stay positive is simply to sharing feelings with each other. By utilizing the support network of friends and family, fears can be eased through the compassion and positive success stories.

Remember to check with your doctor before taking any medical remedy or treatment.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8782919

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From High Risk Of Cardiac Disease To Heart Healthy and Active

In this article, I'll reveal how my friend Patrick went from high risk of cardiac disease to heart healthy and active. It wasn't always like this for Patrick. In fact, it all started when Patrick visited his GP not long after his 65th birthday. He told me, "I got a shock when my doctor warned me that I was at high risk of cardiac disease which can lead to stroke and heart failure. My doctor explained that I have several risk factors for heart disease. These including being overweight, having high blood pressure and did not do enough physical exercise.

I knew that I should have been looking after myself better, as the last thing I needed was to have a heart attack. It's just that I liked my lifestyle the way it was, working hard and ending the day in front of the TV with a drink or several. I was spending money on medication and health checks, and was feeling a bit down. I was finding it hard to keep up with the grandchildren and slightly embarrassed about my bulging gut. I was concerned that if I didn't make some changes, things could really bad, especially because I was at high risk of having a stroke and even early death. I had to find a way to reduce my risk of heart disease.

If I couldn't do this, I would remain overweight and would have little energy for my two great loves; my wife and fishing. I would lose all enjoyment in life as the challenges and struggles would just get bigger and more insurmountable. I could end up having a stroke. This would mean I would no longer be able to go on the boat and fish with my mates, or go walking with my wife which she loves. I would stop being able to bring in the dough for my family. I would become a burden to those I love the most.

My health challenges seemed to have got the better of me. One day my wife looked at me with great disappointment when I said I couldn't come with her to visit the grandchildren because I was too unwell and exhausted. I'd hit rock bottom and knew I had to take some positive action. I was going to follow the first thing my doctor had told me to do. My doctor told me start eating healthy as one on the ways to reduce my heart disease risk factors.

My wife happily started cooking heart healthy meals when I assured her I would eat them.

I started to research heart disease diets and what foods are actually healthy. At first I was completely overwhelmed by all the different and sometimes conflicting answers and I suffered from information overload. I ended up spending a lot of money and time gathering information and trying different diets to see which ones would reduce my blood pressure.

One day my wife's friend, who had heard about my health challenge, sent me an article on the benefits of making your body alkaline. My doctor had told me that healthy eating was one of the factors that helped keep your heart healthy and helped stroke prevention. My wife and I started implementing an Alka Paleo diet and drinking only alkaline water. The Alka Paleo diet combines the best aspects of the Alkaline diet with the Paleo Diet. We followed an Alkaline food chart when doing the weekly shop and bought an alkaline water filter. We quickly got used to having yummy salads with meat or fish at lunchtime instead of high carb and processed foods.

It was about 3 months later that I booked in to see my GP again. I was really nervous and my palms were sweaty. But I was very excited to share the changes I had made with my doctor. The doctor wrapped the blood pressure monitor around my arm, and I held my breath in anticipation.

The doctor often had a worried look on his face but now it was only held a look of surprise. My blood pressure had come down to a healthy level. I felt so proud of myself for getting back in control of my health and was excited to share the good news with my wife and kids. I no longer had to worry about having a stroke and becoming dependent on others. I had the energy to continue my work with the local council and to have a yarn with my mates while fishing and playing golf. My wife and I were having more fun then we'd had for ages. It was refreshing to be able to laugh with her again.

The results were more then I could hope for. I had turned my ship away from the storm and I knew my life was about to change dramatically, for the better. So today I have a simple question for you, would you like to achieve similar results in your own life?



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8794709

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Most Treatments for Blood Clots Appear Safe, Effective

(HealthDay News) — Almost all the various treatment options for blood clots that form in veins are equally safe and effective, new research shows.

In exploring the safety and effectiveness of treatments for such blood clots as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (blood clot in a lung), Canadian researchers analyzed outcomes associated with eight blood-thinning options, including unfractionated heparin, low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and fondaparinux in combination with vitamin K antagonists.

The investigators also examined LMWH with dabigatran (Pradaxa), edoxaban, rivaroxaban (Xarelto), apixaban (Eliquis), as well as LMWH alone.

After examining nearly 50 randomized studies, the researchers found that unfractionated heparin combined with vitamin K antagonist was associated with a higher percentage of recurrent blood clots over the course of three months than the LMWH-vitamin K antagonist combination.

Meanwhile, bleeding risk was lowest with Xarelto and Eliquis compared with LMWH and vitamin K antagonist. The study showed that during three months of treatment, 0.49 percent of patients taking Xarelto had a major bleeding event. The same was true for 0.28 percent of those taking Eliquis. In contrast, 0.89 percent of those taking the LMWH-vitamin K antagonist combination experienced a major bleeding event.

All other treatment options had bleeding risks similar to LMWH with vitamin K antagonist, the study authors reported.

The research, led by Dr. Lana Castellucci of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute at the University of Ottawa, was published in the Sept. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“To our knowledge, this network meta-analysis is the largest review, including nearly 45,000 patients, assessing the clinical outcomes and safety associated with different anticoagulation strategies for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism,” the study authors wrote.

Venous thromboembolism includes two related conditions: deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. In deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the leg, causing swelling, redness, warmth and pain. If the blood clot breaks free, it can travel and lodge near the brain, heart or another vital organ, causing severe damage. If a clot blocks a blood vessel in the lungs, it’s a life-threatening emergency called pulmonary embolism.

“We provide estimates on symptomatic recurrent venous thromboembolism and major bleeding outcomes (both patient-important outcomes), which are clinically relevant and are what clinical practice guideline recommendations are based on,” the authors explained.

“All management options, with the exception of the unfractionated heparin-vitamin K antagonist combination, were associated with similar clinical outcomes compared with a management strategy using the LMWH-vitamin K antagonist combination,” the study authors said.

“Treatment using the unfractionated heparin-vitamin K antagonist combination was associated with a higher risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism during the follow-up period,” Castellucci’s team concluded.

Venous thromboembolism is a common medical condition and the third leading cause of cardiovascular death, the authors noted in a journal news release.

Article Source : news.health.com

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Rare Blood Type May Slightly Raise Dementia Risk

Your blood type may play a small role in your risk for dementia, a new study finds.

People with blood type AB, which includes about 4 percent of the population, appear to have an increased risk for memory problems as they age. Over about three years, individuals with blood type AB were almost twice as likely to show memory problems as those with type O blood, the most common blood group, the study found.

But experts cautioned that those with AB blood shouldn’t panic because other circumstances play a bigger part in their risk for mental impairment.

“If you were to do the same study and look at smoking, lack of exercise, obesity and other lifestyle factors, the risk of dementia is much, much higher,” said Dr. Terence Quinn, a clinical lecturer in stroke and geriatric medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. “People who are worried about dementia, whether they have that blood group or not, should look at making those lifestyle changes.”

In the study, researchers gave more than 30,000 people, aged 45 and older, a series of memory and thinking skills tests and then tested them again a little more than three years later. From this group, 495 participants scored low enough to qualify as having some memory or thinking impairment, and their blood types were compared to those of 587 participants with normal cognitive (mental) scores.

After making adjustments for differences in the participants’ age, race, sex and geographical region, those who had AB blood types were 82 percent more likely to have impaired thinking skills than those with type O blood, according to the study.

Yet these findings, published online Sept. 10 in the journal Neurology, aren’t necessarily surprising considering other recent research, said the study’s senior researcher, Dr. Mary Cushman, a professor of hematology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. It’s already known that having blood type AB can affect blood clotting characteristics and risk of blood vessel-related conditions, she said. In addition, her research group found earlier this year that the AB blood type was linked to a higher risk of stroke.

About half of the association between stroke and AB blood type in the previous study was related to higher levels of clotting factor VIII, a blood protein that helps blood clot to stop bleeding. Factor VIII is the protein that is deficient in individuals with hemophilia. Too little factor VIII, and a person’s blood doesn’t clot properly. Too much, and the body forms clots too easily, potentially leading to heart attacks, stroke or large blood clots that clog veins.

But in this study, only about 20 percent of the association between memory problems and AB blood type could be explained by higher levels of factor VIII, suggesting other reasons for the link, Cushman said.

Though it’s not clear what those reasons are, it may relate to the link between AB blood type and vascular problems, considering that stroke and dementia share several risk factors, she said. Those with memory and thinking impairment in the study were also more likely to smoke and to have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or high cholesterol.

“People who have AB blood type should not be overly worried about these findings since the association we saw was relatively small and requires other research for confirmation,” Cushman said. An association does not prove cause-and-effect.

She said it’s more important that all individuals aim for a healthy lifestyle, regardless of blood type. Healthy lifestyle choices she recommended included not smoking, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet and keeping up with preventive care, such as controlling blood pressure and blood sugar.

“It is also important to exercise your brain by staying ‘cognitively active’ with things like reading and playing games like cards or puzzles,” Cushman said.

Quinn, who wasn’t involved in the research, said the study provides some insight into the underlying cause of dementia. “Along with other work, this study implies that blood is a predictor of dementia, and that’s probably related to possible changes in blood, such as silent strokes or silent blood clots, that may, over time, cause memory problems.”

He also emphasized the importance of healthy behaviors in reducing your risk of dementia.

“Although these studies are interesting and give us knowledge, the way to prevent dementia is not through drugs that affect blood,” Quinn said. “It’s through environmental, lifestyle factors.”

By Tara Haelle

Article Source : http://news.health.com/

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Scientists Spot How Bacterial Pneumonia Damages the Heart

Doctors have known that bacterial pneumonia can raise your risk of heart problems, but new research pinpoints why.

The bacteria actually invade and kill heart cells, increasing the chances of heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms and heart attacks in patients, scientists report.

In mice, monkeys and human heart tissue, researchers found direct evidence of heart damage caused by the bacteria, and they tried a vaccine that might one day prevent such an attack. But they also discovered that an antibiotic currently used to treat pneumonia may actually make it easier for the bacteria to damage the heart.

“When people are hospitalized for pneumonia, about 20 percent of them have something happen to their hearts, and those people are much more likely to die,” explained lead researcher Carlos Orihuela, an associate professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“Finding out why they are having these incidents is a big deal,” he said. “We were able to show how and why that happens, and how to prevent it.”

The report was published online Sept. 18 in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Specifically, Orihuela’s team found high levels of troponin, an indicator of heart injury, in the blood of mice with bacterial pneumonia. Moreover, the mice had abnormal heart rhythms.

When the investigators examined the hearts of the mice, they found tiny scars called microlesions, which indicate heart damage.

In these lesions, Orihuela’s group found the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which told them that bacteria were able to thrive in the hearts of mice. They also saw signs that the heart muscle next to these lesions was dying.

The researchers said that pneumolysin, a poison produced by the bacteria, was responsible for killing heart cells.

In addition, a molecule called CbpA was needed to allow the bacteria to enter the heart, they noted.

“There is a potential vaccine,” Orihuela said. But how broadly it would be used isn’t clear, he said. “We have to work on that,” he added.

The researchers tried the experimental vaccine, which was made up of CbpA and a non-toxic type of pneumolysin. In the mice, it made antibodies that prevented the bacteria from damaging the heart, Orihuela said.

The researchers next looked at heart tissue from monkeys that had been treated with antibiotics but still died from bacterial pneumonia. The investigators found microlesions, but no trace of the bacteria.

This was also the case in samples of human heart tissue taken from people who also had been treated with antibiotics but still succumbed to the disease. Two of the nine samples had microlesions, but no bacteria.

To see if antibiotics might have had a damaging effect on the heart, Orihuela’s team infected mice with bacterial pneumonia and gave them high doses of the antibiotic ampicillin when heart lesions appeared.

The mouse hearts showed the same degree of damage as the monkey and human heart tissue had shown, even though the bacteria had been killed.

Orihuela said that ampicillin caused the bacteria to “pop open,” releasing pneumolysin as it destroyed the bacteria. This could explain the heart damage, as the poison is then released directly into the heart, he said.

“There are other kinds of antibiotics — so-called bacteriostatics. Those kill the bacteria, but they don’t cause the bacteria to pop — maybe those are better,” Orihuela said.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said earlier studies have shown that patients with pneumonia have a higher risk of developing heart failure and other types of heart problems.

There have been a number of mechanisms suggested that may account for this, he said. “This new study finds that a common bacteria that causes pneumonia can lead to microscopic bacteria-filled lesions within the heart,” Fonarow said.

“This microlesion formation and subsequent heart muscle damage may provide a viable explanation for why pneumonia can lead to heart failure and other heart problems,” he said.

Article Source : news.health.com

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Top 5 Foods for a Heart Healthy Diet

Imagine a world where bacon double cheeseburgers, Krispy Kreme donuts and nachos are great for your heart, and fried chicken, French fries and hot fudge sundaes make you shed pounds like a bride before her wedding day. You could indulge in whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, your health would only improve and the weight would only disappear. Sounds like paradise, doesn't it? Sadly, the foods many of us often crave aren't the things we should be eating. In the real world, what we should be eating is spinach, Brussels sprouts and cantaloupe -- not as compelling for many of us.

Heart disease is a worldwide problem and the leading cause of death among Americans. The good news is that over the years,nutrition experts have come a long way in determining what's good for our hearts. Things like alcohol and fat aren't the evil things doctors once thought they were. The trick is to have the right kinds of fats and to drink alcohol in moderation. There isn't any one magic food that can guarantee a healthy heart, but adding certain foods to your diet on a regular basis can go a long way to helping you to avoid the emergency room or operating table.

We'll get to some specific foods in our top five list, but what most people should know is that a whole-foods approach to eating is the healthiest way to go. By whole-foods, we don't mean the trendy g­rocery store that puts a dent in your bank account. We're talking food in its most natural state. For example, raw veggies are best, followed by lightly steamed or sautéed. Fresh potatoes with the skin on are loaded with vitamins and nutrients, but potato chips will clog your arteries. Whole grains like oatmeal are great for you, but sugary, processed instant oatmeal packets lack many of the healthful properties of their unprocessed cousin.

Avoid packaged and processed foods as much as possible and you've got a head start on our list. That said, we'll get to the top five heart healthy foods. Who's hungry?

By Charles W. Bryant

Article Source : http://health.howstuffworks.com/

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Lifesaving Ways to Respond to a Heart Attack

When describing their heart attacks, many survivors recall uncertainty rather than panic. 

Many of them don't even know they're having an attack until they get to the hospital—and that's OK: Experts say it's exponentially better to err on the side of caution and get to a hospital quickly. 

Incredibly, one study of patients who had suffered a heart attack found that more than half did not immediately call an ambulance.

Women respond more slowly

Women are more likely than men to delay seeking treatment at the first signs of a heart attack, a behavior pattern that has puzzled cardiologists and contributes to the higher mortality rate from heart attack among women.

When researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland looked more closely at this trend by interviewing heart attack survivors, they found some surprising results. Nearly a quarter of the women they interviewed downplayed the severity of their symptoms during their attack, and a fifth of them chalked up their symptoms to something other than a heart attack. One woman said she was reluctant to go to the emergency room because she thought the hospital staff would tell her she was "wasting their time."

While heart attack care has come a long way, says Anne G. Rosenfeld, PhD, lead author of the study, "We need to do more to educate people about the consequences of delaying treatment."

Female, nonwhite, and poor patients are more likely than other patients to wait six hours or more before seeking help for a heart attack, according to a study of elderly Medicare patients led by a Georgetown University researcher. 

According to J. Willis Hurst, MD, a cardiologist at Emory University, treatment delay is a public health issue that needs to be addressed. "Rather than repeated advertisements about gastrointestinal reflux, how about advertisements about MI (myocardial infarction)," Dr. Hurst has said.

Article Source : www.health.com

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