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Heart Attack Signs! Women, Take Note

3/25/2015

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6 Signs You May Be Having a Heart Attack
Published: 2/18/2015 by Dr. Andrew Weil


Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women. Some common symptoms of a heart attack shared by men and woman include:
 

  1. Chest discomfort or pressure sensation
  2. Arm discomfort
  3. Shortness of breath
  4. Sweating and clammy skin
  5. Nausea
  6. Stomach pain and feelings of indigestion
Aside from these, women are more likely than men to experience unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances and anxiety, as well as throat, jaw and neck discomfort during a heart attack.

Unfortunately, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to heart health as they often don't realize that heart disease is as much of a threat to them as it is to men. They are less likely than men to believe they're having a heart attack and therefore are more likely to put off seeking treatment. In addition, doctors tend to treat women less aggressively with surgery, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors or even aspirin after a heart attack.


Don't let your gender influence your response to heart concerns. Whether you are male or female, if you experience these symptoms and feel you might be having a heart attack, don't delay dialing 911 - the most effective window for treatment occurs during the first 60 minutes after symptoms manifest.

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What Healthcare Providers Are Paid

3/17/2015

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New Free Website, Guroo, Reveals what Healthcare Providers are Paid - 
Price Transparency Debated

MyHealthGuide Source: Melanie Evans, 2/25/2015, Modern Healthcare Article

Healthcare consumers have a new tool to compare prices using data from some of the largest U.S. health insurers, but comparison shopping will remain a challenge for most. The Health Care Cost Institute, a not-for-profit healthcare research organization, launched the first of two websites conceived to help consumers navigate prices for medical services. 

The website, Guroo, allows consumers to search for average prices for 70 services across more than 300 hundred cities, 41 states, coastal California and the District of Columbia. 
Example: Enter "Gallbladder" in Guroo

Below are excerpts from the website.

Gallbladder Removal - Laparoscopic

Laparoscopic gallbladder removal is surgery to remove the gallbladder using a medical device called a laparoscope.

Alternative Names
Cholecystectomy - laparoscopic

Contents

  • Cost Overview
    • National Average$15,771
      IN YOUR AREA:
      Tennessee State Average $14,099
      Nashville, Tennessee Average $18,367
  • Care Detail
  • What to Expect
  • Questions to Ask Your Provider
  • How to Prepare
  • Related Links


Description

Surgery using a laparoscope is the most common way to remove the gallbladder. A laparoscope is a thin, lighted tube that lets the doctor see inside your belly.

Gallbladder removal surgery is done while you are under general anesthesia so you will be asleep and pain-free.

The surgeon will make three to four small cuts in your belly. The laparoscope will be inserted through one of the cuts. Other medical instruments will be inserted through the other cuts. Gas will be pumped into your belly to expand the space. This gives the surgeon more room to work.
The gallbladder is then removed using the laparoscope.

An x-ray called a cholangiogram may be done during your surgery.

To do this test, dye is injected into your common bile duct and an x-ray picture is taken. The dye helps find stones that may be outside your gallbladder. If other stones are found, the surgeon may remove them with a special instrument.

Sometimes the surgeon cannot safely take out the gallbladder using a laparoscope. In this case, the surgeon will use open surgery, in which a larger cut is made.

Why the Procedure Is Performed

  • You may need gallbladder removal surgery if you have pain or other symptoms from gallstones.
  • You may also need it if your gallbladder is not working normally.


Common symptoms may include

  • Indigestion Pain after eating, usually in the upper right or upper middle area of your belly (epigastric pain)Nausea and vomiting
  • Most people have a quicker recovery and fewer problems from surgery through a laparoscope than with open surgery.


Risks

  • The risks for any anesthesia include: Reactions to drugs you are given, Breathing problems, Pneumonia, Heart problems, Blood clots in the legs or lungs
  • The risks for gallbladder surgery include: Bleeding Damage to the blood vessels that go to the liver Infection in your belly Injury to the common bile duct Injury to the small intestine, Pancreatitis (inflammation in the pancreas)


Before the Procedure

  • You may have the following tests done before your surgery:
  • Blood tests (complete blood count, electrolytes, and kidney tests)Chest x-ray or electrocardiogram (EKG), for some people Several x-rays of the gallbladder


Prices are drawn from medical claims for 40 million Americans covered by Aetna, Assurant Health, Humana and UnitedHealthcare.

Consumers will be able to identify the low, average and high prices within each market, and they will see prices for all of the services to treat certain conditions, including office visits, laboratory and diagnostic tests, and other services in addition to the procedures themselves. 

"HCCI is going to use this data to ultimately create a national source of truth for consumers," said Tom Beauregard, executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group. 

The new website comes amid a wave of healthcare price transparency tools developed by entrepreneurs, health insurers and states to give patients and employers more ability to shop around. Pricing tool Castlight Health went public roughly one year ago with a hugely successful initial public offering. (Wall Street has lost some of its enthusiasm recently, although the company has been adding customers and narrowing its losses.) A dozen states operate all-payer claims databases. Regulators, too, may use price data to challenge hospitals and doctors to justify wide differences in price. 

Price Transparency Debated

But useful price information for consumers and regulators remains out of reach in many areas of the country. "There's still a big distance between what you experience as an individual and the price you might have to pay and what ends up being disclosed," said Francois de Brantes, executive director of the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute. State data is often difficult for consumers to access and understand. 

For the new website, the Health Care Cost Institute selected conditions for which patients can plan ahead. "We focused on shoppable, discretionary, scheduled services," said David Newman, HCCI executive director. 

The prices do not yet include the cost of pharmaceuticals, and the website does not include data on quality, but officials said measures of quality are under development. 

Average prices will give consumers a reference point to help them compare prices as they shop. Guroo prices are accurate "assuming that the patient, on average, is average," he said.

But that is rarely the case, de Brantes said. That's because illness and medical care are highly complex. To better prepare patients for differences and sticker shock, public pricing should clearly disclose what services are included -- and excluded -- from estimated medical bills. 

"Let's be clear about what's in and what's out and how that might affect the price I have to pay for that particular condition, illness or injury," de Brantes said. "Healthcare is complex and people aren't stupid. Explain what you're doing. Be clear about it." 

Patients who will benefit most from public prices are those who remain uninsured despite the Affordable Care Act'sexpansion of subsidized health plans or those with extremely high deductibles who face significant expenses for everything but the most routine preventive care.

Some experts also suggest that price transparency can help slow healthcare inflation and the overall cost of healthcare, though price growth has recently been weak. 

Mark Pauly, a health policy and management professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said comparison shopping among such a small percentage of the nation's patients will do little to slow the overall growth in U.S. healthcare. 

But employers and regulators can use published prices to exert pressure on providers to lower or justify their rates, as has been the case in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, said Chapin White, an economist and senior policy researcher for RAND Corp. who studies price transparency. 

Later this year, patients with health plans from insurers involved in the effort will have access to a separate website developed by the Health Care Cost Institute that will provide personal information on consumers' out-of-pocket costs.

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4 Ways Massage Helps Your Dog

3/11/2015

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4 Ways Dog Massage Helps


1. Pain relief

Just as with human clients, massage can alleviate sore or tight muscles; improve circulation; and assist the flow of lymph. Jumping on and off the couch, running in the dog park, and other daily, physical aspects of living a dog’s life can result in muscle strain. For example, Sirens says many of the dogs she massages have stiff necks from being moved and held by a leash.

2. Flexibility

In between walks, stiffness can build up in a dog’s muscles and joints. This is especially true for dogs living in harsh winter environments who might not venture out much until the snow melts.

“Dogs that may not be as active during the winter, and then suddenly in the spring are taken on long walks or runs, can be prone to muscle strain and tightness,” Sirens says. “Massage can be very beneficial after that first long hike of the season.”

3. Emotional health

Anyone with a dog knows that he doesn’t hold back with emotions—from the surprise or anger shown through growling or barking, to loving kisses and snuggles, dogs are emotionally expressive creatures. Just as some people create coping mechanisms to try to feel safe and relieve anxiety, so do dogs.

Rudinger says these might include overeating, separating or isolating, aggression, belligerence, socialization or destructiveness—and that all of these behaviors can be gentled with massage.

Ayrault says massage can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and create a relaxation response in a dog, “as well as build trust and confidence with people, provide positive social interaction, and generally be a grounding experience for a stressed-out canine.”

4. Old dog, new touch

As your pooch’s age grows, so does the chance of developing arthritis in the hips, knees or lower back; generalized stiffness; or compensation patterns. Massage eases an aging dog’s pain by limbering up muscles, increasing circulation and improving range of motion.

Also, often when dogs have tightness or pain in one body area, they will, just as people do, make up for it in another area, which can cause even more tightness and soreness, Sirens says. “For example, if a dog has a hip or knee problem, they will tend to put more weight on the front limbs, which can create tightness in the neck or shoulders,” she explains.

Dog Massage is Good for You, TooSome trained animal massage therapists also teach pet owners how to massage their animal companions with easy-to-learn strokes, for use between professional appointments. 

“Canine massage benefits the person providing it as much as it does the dog,” Ayrault says. “For dog owners, not only will they get physical and emotional benefits from the time spent connecting with their dog through touch, but they will also learn useful information and experiences that can be applied to their own body and health—and anyone can learn how to do it.”

About the Author

Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s editor in chief (www.massagemag.com).

- See more at: http://www.massagemag.com/dog-massage-keeps-canines-healthy-28833/#sthash.C7sjsf5e.dpuf
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American Heart Association Says Walk, Don't Run Your Way To Heart Health

3/3/2015

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OK, so you’re not much into running? Or maybe you’ve had an injury and can’t run. Then just walk — every step you take is part of your journey to good heart health.

In fact, walking briskly can lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as much as running, according to a new study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Science Division in Berkley, Calif. All three conditions are risk factors for heart disease and stroke — and you can do something about them.

Researchers analyzed 33,060 runners in the National Runners’ Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study. They found that the same energy used for moderate- intensity walking and vigorous-intensity running resulted in similar reductions in risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and possibly coronary heart disease over the study’s six years. Read more about the study highlights.
The more people walked or ran each week, the more their health benefits increased.

“The findings don’t surprise me at all,” said Russell Pate, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. “The findings are consistent with theAmerican Heart Association’s recommendations for physical activity in adults that we need 30 minutes of physical activity per day, at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week to derive benefits.”

On Your Mark, Get Set … Walk!
Maybe you’ve been sedentary for a while. No problem.

“Just get started,” Pate said, “even if it’s a few additional minutes per day.”

It’s not all or nothing; it’s step by step. So set a reachable goal just for today. Then you can work toward your overall goal of 30 minutes a day by increasing your time as you get in better shape.

“Just find an approach that you find enjoyable,” said Pate, who is also a volunteer for the American Heart Association. “It may be the setting, doing it with someone or walking alone because you appreciate the solitude.”

And if you’re busy — like most of us — you can split up your walks into 10-15 minutes each. You can also work in walking when you:

  • Take the dog out for a stroll through the neighborhood.
  • Spend quality time with the family at the park.
  • Park farther from your workplace and use the stairs instead of the elevator.
  • Window shop at the mall.
  • There’s lots of ways to engage in it,” Pate said.
It’s So Easy — and It Works
All you have to do is lace up with a good pair of sneakers — and walk. It’s that easy. It’s also safe, the least expensive and has the lowest dropout rate of any type of exercise.
“It’s not a skill-dependent form of activity,” Pate said. “It’s the most accessible form of physical activity. You can do it almost anywhere. And it doesn’t require a lot of equipment.”

Before you know it, brisk walking can become a part of your daily routine. And you’ll reap plenty of benefits:

  • For every hour of brisk walking, life expectancy for some people may increase by two hours.
  • Walking for as few as 30 minutes a day improves your heart health.
“Clearly, walking is an important form of physical activity,” Pate said.
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    From DC Royalty

    Welcome! Great to Connect and Looking forward to continuing my massage therapy practice.  

    ​Thanks to all my past and current massage clients who have allowed me to work at a profession I love for the since 1992 right here in Clarksville, Tennessee!

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