Professional Health Care Services, Inc.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 631,636 people died of heart disease in 2006. Heart disease caused 26% of deaths—more than one in every four—in the United States.

What causes heart attack? In most cases, an attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). This stoppage is caused when one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart is obstructed, usually by the fatty plaques that characterize atherosclerosis, a result of coronary-artery disease.

Although it is not clear where the plaques come from in each individual case, the most common causes are blood cholesterol level that’s too high, a hereditary tendency to develop atherosclerosis, and increasing age (55 percent of all heart attack victims are 65 or older, 45 percent are under 65 years of age, and 5 percent are under 40).

You can’t change your age, your gender, or your genes, but you can watch what you eat to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. The following tips were taken from The Home Remedies Handbook.

Stay away from saturated fats. Many people make the mistake of believing that if their blood cholesterol level is high that it’s because they ate too many foods containing cholesterol. Not exactly true, says W. Virgil Brown, M.D., past president of the AHA and professor of medicine and the director of the division of Arteriosclerosis and Lipid Metabolism at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The number-one cause of high serum cholesterol is eating too much saturated fat, the kind of fat that is found in full-fat dairy products and animal fat, he says. Another culprit is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil which contains trans fatty acids, substances that increase the cholesterol raising properties of a fat. The best rule-of-thumb is to stick with fats that are as liquid as possible at room temperature, according to Brown. “For example”, he says, “if you are going to use margarine, use the most liquid kinds, such as the tubs or squeeze bottles.”

Read your meat. The small orange labels stuck to the packages of meat at the grocery store aren’t advertisements or promotions; they’re actually grades of meat, William P. Castelli, M.D., director of the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts. “Prime,” “Choice,” and “Select” are official U.S. Department of Agriculture shorthand for “fatty,” “less-fatty,” and “lean,” he explains. “Prime is about 40 percent to 45 percent fat by weight, Choice is from 30 percent to 40 percent fat, and Select, or diet lean, is from 15 percent to 20 percent fat,” he says. You could have a hamburger made from Select ground beef for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still not exceed your daily saturated fat limit, he adds.

Learn to count grams of fat. The AHA’s dietary guidelines outline the percentages of daily calories that should come from fat. However, since most package labels show grams of fat, not percentages, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you’re eating. Instead, he recommends counting grams of fat. How many grams of fat, and how many grams of saturated fat, can you have each day? Multiply your total number of calories per day by .30, and then divide by 9 to find the number of grams of total fat allowed. (You divide by 9 because of each gram of fat provides 9 calories.) Multiply your total number of calories per day by .10 and divide by 9 to find the number of grams of saturated fat allowed each day.

“If you’re on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, you should not eat no more than 22 grams of saturated fat a day,” Castelli says. “The average American eats twice as much.”

What can you eat for 22 grams of fat? One serving of Choice beef contains from 12 to 15 grams of fat, whereas serving of Select contains 4 to 10. One tablespoon of butter is just under seven grams, while many brands of low-fat margarine contain only one gram per tablespoon. Whole milk has a whopping five grams per cup; skim milk just one. You add it up. After all, if you choose the lower-fat versions of each item, maybe you’ll have enough saturated fat calories left in your daily budget to indulge in some low-fat frozen yogurt, a cup of which may contain as little as two grams of saturated fat.

Eat as much like a vegetarian as possible. Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal products; animal products also tend to be higher in fat (Skim milk products are exceptions), especially saturated fat. Foods derived from plant sources, on the other hand, contain no cholesterol and tend to be lower in fat. The fats they do contain tend to be polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, which are healthier than the saturated kind, says Peter F. Cohn, M.D., chief of cardiology of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. (The exceptions are coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and particularly hydrogenated oils, which contain higher amounts of saturated fatty acids.) You’ll be doing you arteries a favour if you increase your intake of vegetable proteins, such as beans, whole grains, and tofu, and keep servings of high-fat animal products to a minimum.

Increase your carbohydrates intake. Adding extra servings of complex carbohydrates into your diet will fill you up and make your feel more satisfied, leaving less room for fatty meats and desserts, says Cohn. Complex carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, pasta, whole grains, and rice.

Grill it. Grilling, broiling, and steaming are heart-smart ways to cook food, says Brown. Unlike frying, they require no added fat.

Skin a (dead) chicken. The skin of chicken (and turkey, too, for that matter), is an absolute “no-no” for people who are watching their fat intake, according to Cohn. The skin contains high amounts of saturated fat, he says.

Skip the pastry. One hidden source of saturated fat is pastry- donuts, Danishes, piecrust, éclairs and so on, says Brown. These confections are often made with shortening or butter – two things that should be limited to people who are working to reduce their saturated fat intake. Stick with whole grain bread and rolls, and read labels to make sure you know what’s in the package, he suggests.

Eat fish. Fish oil, as a cholesterol reducer, has gotten a lot of play in the media in the past few years. And it is true that the slimy stuff contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, substances that have been associated with lower cholesterol levels, according to Henry Blackburn, M.D., Mayo Professor of the Public Health and a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. However, the greatest benefit has been achieved in people who frequently substitute their intake of higher fat meats with fish. Also, fish oil itself tends to be high in fat, Blackburn says. His advice is to add more servings of fish into the diet (as substitute for some of the meat dishes) and reap the oil’s benefits naturally.

Eat smaller meat proportions. One way to cut down on saturated fat without giving up steaks is to keep your proportions small, says Brown. “Reduce the size of the meat proportions, even chicken, to about three ounces per serving,” he advises. “Try to have a vegetarian lunch. Then you can have six ounces at dinner.” A three-ounce serving is about the size of a deck of cards, Brown says.

Increase your fiber intake. Soluble fiber, the kind found in fruits and brans, has been shown to be effective in lowering cholesterol levels, says Brown. However, to exert this effect, it must be consumed in high amounts; a bowl of oatmeal a day probably won’t make much difference. “You have to eat about a quarter pound of oatmeal per day to get ten grams of soluble fiber a day, the amount that can lower cholesterol,” he says. He recommends a daily one-teaspoon dose of a psyllium-husk powder, such as Metamucil, which provides a lot more bang for our buck. “For the person whose cholesterol is still borderline high after changing their diet, psyllium may give them another eight percent to ten percent reduction in their LDL,” he says. And no need to get overboard, either. More than ten grams a day won’t make much more of a difference, he says. It’s also prudent to increase your fiber intake gradually in order to give your system time to adjust.

Eat like the rest of the world. “Four billion of the 5.3 billion people on this earth eat 15 grams of saturated fat or less each day,” says Castelli. “Where do they live? Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They are four billion people that never get atherosclerosis. We want our 250 million people to eat like those 4 billion. If we accomplished this, we could get rid of heart attacks, stroke, and other manifestations of cardiovascular disease. We could live five years longer, which isn’t much. However, we wouldn’t have heart attacks in our 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s. That is the vision of America.”

The disease and its causes

A patient with a cataract has an eye condition in which the lens of the eye becomes clouded over. When the lens becomes completely opaque, no longer allowing light to pass through to the retina, sight is completely lost.
The likelihood of cataract development increases with age, peaking at greater than 70% of the over 75 years population. This clouding of the lens is seen most frequently after the middle age, as the tissues of the eye lenses degenerate. But some people are born with cataracts and others may inherit the disease or the tendency toward it. Cataracts are caused by nutritional diseases such as diabetes and rickets, an injury to the eye lens or lens capsule, and by diseases of the eye. Certain drugs, and exposure to radium X ray, can also cause toxic hazards.

The disease may start in one eye, but eventually it will affect both. This is not because it is “catching” or infectious. What it signifies is that the same physical breakdown takes place in the second eye. From start to finish the development of cataracts can take about two years. Usually it is seen without any other sign of eye disease.

Symptoms

Regardless of the cause, the symptoms of most cataracts are the same. With time, the patient sees less and less, and his sensitivity to light decreases. He may develop double vision and nearsightedness. Often he will complain of spots before his eyes or have unexplained daytime headaches. On close examination the pupil of the affected eye, normally black, takes on a milky gray or whitish color.

Complications

Slow but continuously increasing loss of vision is the most serious complication which develops as the cataract grows. An eye disease in which the cataract is a secondary condition can cause blindness if the primary infection or injury is not properly treated. Most cataracts accompany old age and there is little that can be done to prevent their development. When they are secondary to injury or infection their development can be prevented with prompt care.

Surgery

In which the cataract-covered lens of the eye is removed – is considered the only effective treatment for cataracts once they have developed. After the operation, the patient wears special cataract glasses or contact lenses which effectively replace the clouded eye lens removed in the operation. However, it usually takes several months after the operation before the patient gets used to this and adequate vision returns. These information were taken from the New Illustrated Medical and Health Encyclopedia.

What you can do?

As with many health conditions, you can take preventive measures to reduce your risk of developing a cataract. These were taken from elderissues.com. The measures include:

• Having regular eye examinations that include cataract screening
• Keeping your eyes from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light by using sunglasses that block UV penetration and by wearing a hat with a wide brim
• Managing illnesses such as diabetes to reduce your risk of complications as a result of systemic diseases
• Reducing your risk of eye injury by wearing protective goggles for active sports and work in which your eyes could be exposed to chemicals or injury
• Staying in good nutritional balance and eating eye healthy foods that are rich in vitamin C and beta carotene
Once you have developed a cataract and are experiencing some difficulty with your vision, you can maximize your ability to see by:
• Increasing your lights at home and at work to make sure your work areas are well lit to ease reading and working; assure that light comes from more than one source
• Reducing glare on television screens by paying close attention to room lighting and making sure the light doesn’t reflect on the TV screen; adjust window shades and treatments to also reduce glare
• Using larger print for writings and readings – a magnifying glass may also be helpful

With the advances in medical knowledge it is now possible to reduce your risk of cataracts and to prevent their formation.

Dentures have come a long way since the wooden teeth worn by George Washington. But, as anyone who has worn them can attest, dentures can cause discomfort. There are two times when dentures often cause discomfort – during the “initial” adjustment phase, when dentures are new, and after several years of wearing, when dentures may stop fitting properly.

Most people become accustomed to their new dentures within a short time. However, at first, you may have difficulty talking and eating. You may find the dentures tend to “slip,” or you may develop sore spots in your mouth.

Even people who have had dentures for years sometimes develop problems with them, sometimes problems related to fit. “When the teeth are extracted, the dentures sit on the bony ridge that is left,” says Sandra Hazard, D.M.D, a managing dentist with Willamette Dental Group, Inc., in Oregon. “Without the teeth, the stimulation of the bone is gone and, over the years, the bone is reabsorbed by the body. The plastic denture, of course, stays the same but starts to fit badly.”

Poor fit is probably the most common cause of denture discomfort. As the bony ridge shrinks, the dentures can slip, move around, and cause sore areas. Often, people try to refit their dentures by using commercial denture adhesives. But using too much adhesive can change the relationship of the denture to the tissue and result in more soreness. Sometimes the body itself tries to resolve the ill-fitting denture problem by causing the tissue to overgrow in the mouth.

While dentures will never be as comfortable as your natural teeth, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent and resolve denture discomfort. The following information was taken from The Home Remedies Handbook.

Keep those chompers clean. When you first have your teeth extracted and your new dentures fit, it’s important to keep your dentures clean, “because excess bacteria can retard the gum’s healing process,” says Hazard.

Once you’re accustomed to your dentures, it’s important to clean them at least twice a day. “You can brush them with toothpaste or use a special denture cleaner,” says Hazard.

Jack W. Clinton, D.M.D., Dean of School of Dentistry at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, prefers plain old soap and water to keep dentures sparkling. “Using a hand brush and soap and water works great,” he says.

Brush the gums. Don’t forget to brush your gums, too. “You can help maintain the health of the tissues that lie underneath the dentures by brushing your gums twice a day with a soft brush,” says Ken Waddell, D.M.D., a general, family and sedation dentist in private practice in Tigard, Oregon.

Brushing the gums, palate, and tongue not only stimulates the tissues and increases circulation, it also helps reduce bacteria and removes plaque.

Baby your mouth. At least at first, your gums need time to adjust to the compression created by the dentures. Hazard advises patients to eat soft foods during the denture adjustment period to avoid damaging the tender tissues.

Once the gums have healed and your dentist has refitted your dentures properly, you’ll be able to chew more normally. But Waddell says some foods, such as apple and corn on
the cob, are probably best avoided by people who wear dentures. “Advertisements show people with dentures eating all kinds of hard foods,” he says. “But hard foods cause the denture to traumatize the gums and the bone of the upper jaw. Cut up your apples and take the corn off the cob.”

Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. During the initial break-in of your dentures, your mouth is likely to feel sore. According to Hazard, over-the-counter pain relievers, including aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen, can take the sting out of the pain.

However, if you have persistent pain or if you’ve worn dentures for several years and pain develops, see your dentist.

Take them out. When you develop a sore area in your mouth from dentures, Clinton says to do what is natural – take them out. “If you’re uncomfortable, you probably have a soft tissue injury,” says Clinton, “Take the denture out and leave it out for an hour or so. In most cases, that takes care of it.”

If you develop a red spot, Clinton advises going dentureless for 24 hours. Then, if it doesn’t clear up or if the soreness returns when you start using your dentures again, see your dentist.

Rinse with salt water. If you’re in the adjustment phase of wearing dentures or if you’re adenture veteran who has developed a sore area in your mouth, Clinton advises rinsing the mouth with warm salt water (half a teaspoon of salt to four ounces of warm water). “Take out your dentures and rinse your mouth every three to four hours with the salt water,” he says. “Not only does the salt water help clean out the bacteria, it also helps toughen the tissue.”

Try hydrogen peroxide. Rinse your mouth out once a day with oral three percent hydrogen peroxide, advises Ronald Wismer, D.M.D., past president of the Washington County Dental Society in Oregon. Mix the peroxide half and half with water, swish for 30 seconds or so (don’t swallow), and spit. The hydrogen peroxide helps clean the bacteria.

Don’t self-adjust. Too often, people who have worn their dentures for a while and develop a fit problem try to adjust their dentures themselves with a pocket knife or other tool. “This can cause more harm,” says Clinton, “because it can break down the dentures, change the dentures “bite” and alters how the dentures fit against the gum.“

Also, don’t try to “fill the space” between the denture and the gum tissue with over-the- counter adhesive. If your dentures begin to slip or don’t feel like they’re fitting properly, see your dentist who can reline them.

Take time out. “I tell people their dentures should be out of their mouths half the time,” says Clinton. “It gives the tissues time to recover.”

Always take your dentures out at night, Clinton advises, “You don’t sleep with your shoes on,” he says. “It’s the same with your dentures.” This also helps to make sure you have a good night’s sleep.

Pneumonia is an inflammation of one or both lungs. Many types of pneumonia have been distinguished, but usually when the word pneumonia is used without qualification, lobar pneumonia, in which one or more entire lobes are infected, is implied, and the causative organism is the pneumococcus. Other organisms may also produce pneumonia, such as the streptococcus and staphylococcus, which may cause bronchopneumonia.

Pneumonia is the 5th leading cause of death in the elderly since this can go unrecognized as they may be asymptomatic due to other medical issues or typical age-related changes in the lungs like decreased productive cough for bringing up liquid/sputum from the lungs.

The symptoms of a typical case of pneumonia may follow a slight cold or infectious disease or may appear suddenly without warning. A shaking chill may be followed by a sharp stabbing pain on the side of or in the chest, with coughing and expectoration of brown or bloody sputum. The pulse is rapid, the cheeks flushed, temperature rises sharply, and weakness and even prostration, headache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea sometimes ensue.

The person with pneumonia must be put to bed immediately, and carefully watched, since restlessness, sleeplessness, and even delirium may provoke the patient, despite his weakness, to try to get out of bed.

As the infection progresses, changes may take place in the lung itself. It may become filled with inflammatory material and solidify, causing shortness of breath and shallow noisy breathing. The blood cannot obtain sufficient oxygen and so the skin and mucous membranes may become bluish, a condition known as cyanosis. The patient must be placed in an oxygen tent to assist his breathing as well as correct the cyanosis.

During the acute stages of pneumonia, care must be taken to prevent complications, such as heart failure, empyema, distention of the abdomen, and abcess. The development of other diseases, including pericarditis, endocarditis, meningitis, and arthritis, must also be carefully prevented.

For long time pneumonia was a dreaded disease with a high mortality rate. Treatment depended on the use of serums, which were developed to combat specific infections, and the condition usually led to an acute stage with a definite crisis, in which the patient appeared near collapse. After the crisis, a sharp drop in temperature followed and the patient fell into a deep sleep, with subsequent recovery in some cases.

Today the use of sulfonamides and antibiotics, such as penicillin, terramycin, aureomycin, and streptomycin, have decreased the development of lung abscess and empyema, and the death rate has fallen sharply. Good nursing care in pneumonia still continues to play a considerable part. The recovery period is especially significant. The patient should not get up from bed or engage in activity too early. A complete physical checkup, including a chest x-ray examination, is strongly advised following pneumonia.

The number of cases of virus pneumonia has sharply increased, at the same time that bacterial pneumonia has yielded to treatment with sulfa drugs and antibiotics. Although the nature of viruses is not completely understood, and few specific measures have been developed to combat them, it is known that virus pneumonia is produced by a number of specific types of virus. Virus pneumonia may vary from mild or walking state to a serious condition requiring hospitalization. In a mild case the patient may not suspect that he has anything more severe than a slight cough and fever, which may ascribe to a cold. In the more severe form, fever, sweating, malaise, headache, sore throat, weakness, and a dry hacking cough are involved.

Treatment of virus pneumonia includes bed rest, even in a mild case. Antibiotics are frequently effective in preventing complications. It is essential to treat the fever and cough; and in severe cases in which cyanosis is present; an oxygen tent may also be required. In general, virus pneumonia does not persist more than a few days to a week. However, convalescence, usually characterized by weakness, is often long and slow, and x-ray examination of the chest may reveal shadows for several weeks. These information were taken from The New Illustrated Medical and Health Encyclopedia.