Tag Archives: Cardiovascular disease

Straight, No Chaser Vlog: Heart Disease

Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, Cardiology/Heart, , , , , ,


This week, the Straight, No Chaser vlog (video blog) series presents “health care basics” to keep you safe, healthy and out of the emergency room. Heart disease has been the number one cause of death in the US for quite awhile. Protect your heart! Happy Holidays!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Tips to Limit Your Risk of Contracting The Most Deadly Diseases

Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

early-death-pair

It is interesting and, even more, curious to hear everyone obsess over how esoteric and rare conditions can potentially kill you. Word to the wise: Common things happen commonly.  I’m going to make this a very simple post (with links to previous Straight, No Chaser posts covering the individual topics in greater detail). Let’s help you extend your life expectancy by offering very simple tips (three to five for each) to prevent and combat the five most common causes of death. This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you follow the achievable steps mentioned, you’ll be much better off than if you don’t.

Health_hazards

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are the five most common causes of death in the United States for the year ending 2010. (It takes awhile to compile data, but these are basically the leading causes year after year.) I’ve also included the number of annual deaths per condition.

 agingheart

Heart disease – Click here to learn early recognition of heart attacks.

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Exercise daily. Walk at least two miles each day. It’s a final common denomination of other problems and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. You want your LDL (“bad cholesterol” levels) low and your HDL (“good cholesterol” levels) high. If your LDL and/or overall levels are high, it’s an immediate prompt to reduce your belly, change your diet and exercise more.
  • Limit your calories. Never supersize anything. Eat only until you’re full. Learn about healthy plate sizes.

cancer

Cancer – Cancer warrants a special comment to get screened! Early detection is the key to survival!

  • Don’t use tobacco in any form.
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables and less red meat.
  • Become physically active: strive for at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity at least five days a week.
  • Limit sun exposure and avoid tanning. (Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers.)
  • Limit alcohol intake to one to two drinks/day (women and men, respectively).

asthmarisk

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Get your home tested for radon.
  • Follow workplace guidelines for workplace exposures to particles known to cause cancer.

strokerecog
Stroke – Learn early detection.

  • Control your blood pressure. This is the most important risk factor in stroke prevention. High blood pressure increases your risk for a stroke four-fold.
  • Control your blood sugar levels. Diabetics have a 1.5 times higher risk of stroke.
  • Control your cholesterol.
  • Stop smoking. Smoking increases your risk for a stroke between 1.5-2.5 times above the risk of non-smokers.
  • Control your weight through diet and exercise, which is bundled in each of the first three considerations.

mvc

Accidents

  • Learn CPR.
  • Wear safety belts (shoulder and lap) every trip. Seat belts reduce auto crashes by approximately 50%.
  • Stop all distracted driving (drinking, cell phone use, eating, etc.).
  • If you’re going to swim, and even if you know how to swim, take a formal lesson that focuses on life-saving maneuvers.
  • Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

risk

There is no fountain of youth. Your cure won’t be found in a bottle, a fad or any other quick fix. It really is about diet, exercise and risk management. The choices you make matter. Remember, although these tips were focused on prevention, early detection and treatment at the time of crisis give you the best chance to survive. Learn early detection of heart attacks and strokes, learn CPR, get screened for cancer and learn how to survive car crashes. It’s not that hard.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Tips to Limit Your Risk of Contracting The Most Deadly Diseases

Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

early-death-pair

It is interesting and, even more, curious to hear everyone obsess over how esoteric and rare conditions can potentially kill you. Word to the wise: Common things happen commonly.  I’m going to make this a very simple post (with links to previous Straight, No Chaser posts covering the individual topics in greater detail). Let’s help you extend your life expectancy by offering very simple tips (three to five for each) to prevent and combat the five most common causes of death. This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you follow the achievable steps mentioned, you’ll be much better off than if you don’t.

Health_hazards

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are the five most common causes of death in the United States for the year ending 2010. (It takes awhile to compile data, but these are basically the leading causes year after year.) I’ve also included the number of annual deaths per condition.

  • Heart disease (e.g., heart attack): 597,689
  • Cancer (all cases): 574,743
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma, COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis): 138,080
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859

 agingheart

Heart disease – Click here to learn early recognition of heart attacks.

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Exercise daily. Walk at least two miles each day. It’s a final common denomination of other problems and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. You want your LDL (“bad cholesterol” levels) low and your HDL (“good cholesterol” levels) high. If your LDL and/or overall levels are high, it’s an immediate prompt to reduce your belly, change your diet and exercise more.
  • Limit your calories. Never supersize anything. Eat only until you’re full. Learn about healthy plate sizes.

cancer

Cancer – Cancer warrants a special comment to get screened! Early detection is the key to survival!

  • Don’t use tobacco in any form.
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables and less red meat.
  • Become physically active: strive for at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity at least five days a week.
  • Limit sun exposure and avoid tanning. (Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers.)
  • Limit alcohol intake to one to two drinks/day (women and men, respectively).

asthmarisk

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Get your home tested for radon.
  • Follow workplace guidelines for workplace exposures to particles known to cause cancer.

strokerecog
Stroke – Learn early detection.

  • Control your blood pressure. This is the most important risk factor in stroke prevention. High blood pressure increases your risk for a stroke four-fold.
  • Control your blood sugar levels. Diabetics have a 1.5 times higher risk of stroke.
  • Control your cholesterol.
  • Stop smoking. Smoking increases your risk for a stroke between 1.5-2.5 times above the risk of non-smokers.
  • Control your weight through diet and exercise, which is bundled in each of the first three considerations.

mvc

Accidents

  • Learn CPR.
  • Wear safety belts (shoulder and lap) every trip. Seat belts reduce auto crashes by approximately 50%.
  • Stop all distracted driving (drinking, cell phone use, eating, etc.).
  • If you’re going to swim, and even if you know how to swim, take a formal lesson that focuses on life-saving maneuvers.
  • Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

risk

There is no fountain of youth. Your cure won’t be found in a bottle, a fad or any other quick fix. It really is about diet, exercise and risk management. The choices you make matter. Remember, although these tips were focused on prevention, early detection and treatment at the time of crisis give you the best chance to survive. Learn early detection of heart attacks and strokes, learn CPR, get screened for cancer and learn how to survive car crashes. It’s not that hard.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what  http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2015 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Tips to Limit Your Risk of Contracting The Most Deadly Diseases

Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

early-death-pair

It is interesting and, even more, curious to hear everyone obsess over how esoteric and rare conditions can potentially kill you. Word to the wise: Common things happen commonly.  I’m going to make this a very simple post (with links to previous Straight, No Chaser posts covering the individual topics in greater detail). Let’s help you extend your life expectancy by offering very simple tips (three to five for each) to prevent and combat the five most common causes of death. This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you follow the achievable steps mentioned, you’ll be much better off than if you don’t.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are the five most common causes of death in the United States for the year ending 2010. (It takes awhile to compile data, but these are basically the leading causes year after year.) I’ve also included the number of annual deaths per condition.

  • Heart disease (e.g., heart attack): 597,689
  • Cancer (all cases): 574,743
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma, COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis): 138,080
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859

 agingheart

Heart disease – Click here to learn early recognition of heart attacks.

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Exercise daily. Walk at least two miles each day. It’s a final common denomination of other problems and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. You want your LDL (“bad cholesterol” levels) low and your HDL (“good cholesterol” levels) high. If your LDL and/or overall levels are high, it’s an immediate prompt to reduce your belly, change your diet and exercise more.
  • Limit your calories. Never supersize anything. Eat only until you’re full. Learn about healthy plate sizes.

cancer

Cancer – Cancer warrants a special comment to get screened! Early detection is the key to survival!

  • Don’t use tobacco in any form.
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables and less red meat.
  • Become physically active: strive for at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity at least five days a week.
  • Limit sun exposure and avoid tanning. (Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers.)
  • Limit alcohol intake to one to two drinks/day (women and men, respectively).

asthmarisk

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

  • Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
  • Get your home tested for radon.
  • Follow workplace guidelines for workplace exposures to particles known to cause cancer.

strokerecog
Stroke – Learn early detection.

  • Control your blood pressure. This is the most important risk factor in stroke prevention. High blood pressure increases your risk for a stroke four-fold.
  • Control your blood sugar levels. Diabetics have a 1.5 times higher risk of stroke.
  • Control your cholesterol.
  • Stop smoking. Smoking increases your risk for a stroke between 1.5-2.5 times above the risk of non-smokers.
  • Control your weight through diet and exercise, which is bundled in each of the first three considerations.

mvc

Accidents

  • Learn CPR.
  • Wear safety belts (shoulder and lap) every trip. Seat belts reduce auto crashes by approximately 50%.
  • Stop all distracted driving (drinking, cell phone use, eating, etc.).
  • If you’re going to swim, and even if you know how to swim, take a formal lesson that focuses on life-saving maneuvers.
  • Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

There is no fountain of youth. Your cure won’t be found in a bottle, a fad or any other quick fix. It really is about diet, exercise and risk management. The choices you make matter. Remember, although these tips were focused on prevention, early detection and treatment at the time of crisis give you the best chance to survive. Learn early detection of heart attacks and strokes, learn CPR, get screened for cancer and learn how to survive car crashes. It’s not that hard.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what  http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: The Benefits of Exercise and Other Physical Activity

General Health and Wellness, , , , ,

exercise

At Straight, No Chaser, we understand it’s the most optimistic time of the year. You’ve made many New Year’s resolutions, usually related to smoking cessation, eating better, lowering your levels of stress and starting an exercise routine. We’re here to help. The next several posts will feature our best advice to educate and motivate you as you pursue those goals.
As we begin the conversation on exercise, we will split the conversation into the “why” and the “how.” This post will remind you of why keeping your body moving is so important and why, no matter your age, sex, ethnicity, physical condition or presence of existing disease, you can improve from your current state.
Remember that your heart is a muscle, the purpose of which is to pump blood with its nutrients and oxygen around the body, supplying your organs. The more efficiently that muscle performs, the healthier you’ll be, because your vital organs will stay nourished. It’s important to restate that everything is relative, so starting with most any regular activity that’s more than your current baseline will improve your conditioning and eventually your health.
How, you might ask! Here are medically established ways that a routine of regular exercise provides physical and mental health benefits.

exercisebens

  • Exercise controls your weight by burning calories.
  • Exercise reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease by improving your heart’s function. It lowers the risk of both heart attacks and strokes.
  • Exercise reduces your risk for type 2 diabetes and combinations of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose levels (together known as metabolic syndrome).
  • Exercise specifically reduces your risk of colon and breast cancers, and it probably reduces your risk of endometrial and lung cancers.
  • Exercise improves the functioning of your immune system.
  • Exercise strengthens your bones and muscles, and it keeps your joints functioning well.
  • Exercise maintains your mobility and agility, it improves your ability to perform the activities of daily living and prevent falls as you age.
  • Exercise slows the development of arthritis.

exercisebrain

  • Exercise improves your mental health and mood by stimulating pleasurable parts of your brain and improving blood flow to your brain.
  • Exercise reduces the rate of depression.
  • Exercise reduces the development of insomnia and other sleep disorders.

The sum total of these facts is that exercise increases your chances of living longer.

At Straight, No Chaser we talk a lot about healthy and unhealthy decisions and the impact these decisions have on the length and quality of your life. There aren’t many lifestyle decisions you can make that will more positively impact those than the decision to stay physically active. Furthermore, that decision doesn’t need to be followed by the fear that in order to improve your health you have to turn your body into that of a stereotypical teenager, body builder or model. Moderate activity will produce measurable health improvements. In a subsequent post, we will explore the “how” of physical activity to improve your health, but for now, don’t just sit there. Do something!

If you can sprint, do so.

If you can’t sprint, jog.

If you can’t jog, walk.

Even it you can’t walk, move what you can!

Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant if you have any questions on this topic.

Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress. We are also on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

From the Health Library of SterlingMedicalAdvice.com: "If I stop smoking, what does this do to my risk for heart disease and stroke?"

Cardiology/Heart, Neurology, Hematology & Oncology/Blood Disorders/Cancer, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , ,

Stop Smoking

There are immediate and longterm benefits to smoking cessation that extend beyond just lowering your risk for lung cancer.  Consider the following regarding lowering your risk for heart disease and stroke, and make the change to make yourself healthier.

  • Within 1 year of smoking cessation, your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke has dropped to less than half that of a smoker.
  • Within 5–15 years after stopping, your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.
  • At 15 years after stopping, your risk of coronary heart disease is that of a person who has never smoked.

Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your Friends on WordPress, and we can be found on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

Straight, No Chaser: Back From the Dead (aka The One Piece of Medical Equipment I Wish You Had in Your House)

Health Prevention, Medical Treatment, General Health and Wellness, Cardiology/Heart, , , , , , ,

Have you ever heard of an AED (automated external defibrillator)? Well, you’re about to. We’ve promoted CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) a ton over the years, but recent recommendations place added emphasis on trying to literally shock patients back into consciousness. Thus, let’s start at the literal end of life, when you actually have a chance to save a life.
There are a couple of abnormal heart rhythms that suggest death is imminent. They’re called ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (V-tach). In these conditions, the heart is more or less quivering (V-Fib) or pumping too fast (V-tach) instead of giving off an optimal forceful beat. Effective beats pump blood (containing oxygen and nutrients) around the body you need to not only function, but to survive. Now, those two bad rhythms I just mentioned are unsustainable indefinitely, because without effective blood flow, vital organs such as the brain, lungs and ultimately the heart itself will give out within minutes, and that’s why you go ‘flat-line’ (aka asystole, aka dead, or soon to be). Even if you do survive, every minute these organs are starved of blood leads to damage that could be irreparable.
AEDs are designed to shock/stimulate the heart out of these deadly rhythms and back into an effective pumping state when possible (AEDs do not work for asystole, the flat-line rhythm.). The beauty of these machines is they are simple (and have been proven to be useable by untrained 6th graders), small/portable and if you pay attention, they’re all over the place. And even better: all AEDs used in the US talk to you and tell you what to do! My goal for you is simple: even if you can’t have one, know about them so you will think to use them if the opportunity presents.
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers regarding usage:
1) How do you connect it? AEDs have pads that need to be placed on the chest while staying attached to the machine. Instructions embedded on the machine will show you exactly where.
2) How does it know what to do? AEDs will detect the heart’s underlying rhythm and inform you if a shock is needed. Some machines will deliver it automatically; others will require you to press a button.
3) Are there limitations based on age? AEDs may safely be used on children and used by children. Appropriately sized pads must be used for kids.
4) Can I be sued for using this if the person dies? Users are protected by Good Samaritan Laws in case something (else) bad happens.
5) Should I own one? How expensive is it? I’d recommend one if you can easily afford it. I’d also recommend incurring the expense if you have a high-risk profile for heart disease and potentially fatal heart rhythms. This should be discussed with your physician. I paid $300 for mine, but you can pay up to $1100 for no good reason.
6) How long is it good for? You must be sure to stay up to date on the expiration dates on the components, most importantly the battery.
7) What should I do if the victim gets ‘back to normal’ after using an AED? Still call 911 and get to the Emergency Department for further investigation.
Of course the biggest question is “Do they work?” I’ll reference a study that reviewed effectiveness over two years of usage in Chicago’s Heart Start program, in which 22 individuals developed potentially fatal abnormal rhythms. 18 of these people met criteria to be treated by an AED. Of these 18, 11 survived. Of these eleven, bystanders with no prior training treated six.
I have an AED in my house and transport it in my family’s car because after all, I’m the one most likely to need it and benefit from it anyway (and I could shock myself, assuming I was still conscious). If it’s within your means, consider doing the same. It’s all about giving you the best opportunity to survive.