It was slightly more than a year ago when, Lauren Mahoney received a second chance at life.

She was diagnosed in 1999 with heart disease: a cardiomyopathy, heart muscle disease in layman s terms and is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle), bringing about dangerous arrhythmias.

When this happens, the heart beat may be too fast or too slow and it may be regular or irregular.

For ten years she lived with a deteriorating heart struggling with sleeping, walking and even eating.

In May of 2008, Lauren was referred to the Massachusetts Brigham and Women s Hospital where her condition was evaluated and they advised her that she qualified to join the heart transplant list. However, she wasn t immediately ready to add her name to that list.

She spent the summer trying to live a normal life, but found every day was a struggle. Eventually in her own time, she came to the conclusion that this was no way to live her life and she put her name down on the transplant list.

In February 2009, she wasn t feeling at all well and went back to the hospital and so began a stay of 3 months in hospital, waiting for a new heart. May 21, her cardiologist walked into her room and said: How about a new heart? Apparently with no drama; he said just that!. Well, Lauren knew this was it, and by then, was so ready for it.

She received her new heart at 2 a.m. on May 22, 2009.

The operation was a success. Recovering was tough at first, but as each day passed life became easier thanks to the great support she received from all those around her. Two weeks later, Lauren was discharged and able to return home somewhat worried at going back into the outside world saying goodbye to the continual hospital monitoring and constant care.

Now, Lauren is living healthy life of a 27-year-old, walking three miles a day, bike riding, going out with friends; simply living in a way that she previously could only dream about. She had forgotten what it was like to feel healthy and now she has the chance to do so again.

Through the AHA, Lauren participates fund raising in honor of her donor. Whoever the person is, he or she will always be a part of her. Lauren has also been walking to raise money for Brigham and Women s Hospital to thank them for the support that they gave her. The Shapiro Center does wonderful work and it is Lauren s desire to help other people finding themselves in the position of having heart disease.

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Two years ago, I had a stroke. Fortunately, it was a mild one and I have completely recovered. I was lucky. but it was a sign from Above for me to modify my lifestyle and keep another stroke from happening to me. Here’s my story.

I’m 64 years old, 5′5" tall, weigh 190 pounds and have been treated for hypertension, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. I’m a heart attack (or worse, a stroke) waiting to happen. I’ve been seeing a cardiologist for 20 years, and through increasingly better medications have got the high blood pressure and cholesterol under control. The Type-2 Diabetes is still a work in progress, but I’m still battling the diabetes, as it’s mostly a function of being overweight. My doctor says if I lost 30 pounds, the diabetes would most likely disappear. I already did that once and it did dissipate, but I gained the weight back. So the battle continues.

My Stroke

Now for the stroke. I had been taking my medication and my cholesterol was pretty good. For those of you don’t know exactly what causes a stroke, it’s caused by blockage in an artery that deprives the brain of oxygen. In most cases, as was the case with me, a small piece of placque broke off in my artery and was blocking some of the blood from getting to my brain.

I had been going through a very stressful  period with my business–a start up company that I was trying to raise money for, but was using my own personal funds and borrowing on the equity in my house. My partner, a former friend, controlled the company and made all the final decisions. Problem was that he was incompetent and was ruining any chance we had to succeed.I had corporate credit cards that I was paying off on my own because the company had no money. I couldn’t make the  payments on the corparate cards and the collection agencies were calling to collect their money. My partner had no money and refused to take responsibility for them, and since I had co-signed for them, I was on the hook. Needless to say, I was extremely angry and would totally lose it when a collection agency called and tried to collect their money.

I had an extremely heated exchange with one of the collection agencies one evening, slammed the phone down and went to bed. Sleeping was difficult but I finally dozed off. I woke up about five in the morning to go to the head and when I got out of bed, my legs felt very heavy–unusually so. But I managed to trudge off in the direction of the bathroom and everything was ok. I came back and went back to sleep for another hour and then got up for good. My feet, especially my right one, still seemed sluggish. I just figured I was still half asleep and didn’t think anything was wrong. I made coffeee, read the paper, then went downstairs to my office.

I’m not a very good typist, but I was having more difficulty than usual with my typing. So I stopped and went upstairs. As I was climbing the stairs, I tripped. My right foot hadn’t cleared the stair. Now I was starting to thinks something was wrong. But I continued up the stairs, had a light breakfast, then returned to my basement office. I typed a few emails, then returned upstairs a second time. I tripped again. Same thing happened. My right foot failed to clear the stair. So then I started to think that something was wrong, but I dismisssed it as I felt all right.

I had to take the dog for his walk. He did his duty in a neighbor’s yard. The yard had an incline in it where he had gone,and as I was squartting down to bag it, I lost my balance and fell on my side. And for several seconds I struggled to get up. But I finally did. Now I was worried. I felt absolutely no pain, but was obviously having a problem with my balance. So I called my doctor and he said I better come in right away. I drove to his office about ten minutes from my house, and he did an examination, tested my reflexes, heard my story, and told me to go to the hospital because he thought I had a stroke. He offered to drive me there, but I insisted I could drive myself, which I did, It was also about ten minutes away.

I checked into the emergency room, which was crowded. My doctor had called them and told them why I was coming in. I waited onlty about five minutes and was ushered back into one of the examination rooms. I took some tests, and the doctors there all thought I had had a stoke, which the tests later confirmed. They kept me in the hospital for more tests and examinations and treatments for several days.

It turns out my stroke was a mild one. One level above a TIA, which by definition is a stroke whose symptoms last for only 24 hours. Mine lasted longer, but mostly disippated after 72 hours. I basically had weakness in my right extremeties. The doctors would come to see me every three hours to check my vital signs, and they would tell me to squeeze their hand using my right hand to test my strength. They’d also test the strength of my right leg by asking me to push it against their hands and thighs. The most noticeable symptom I had was a lack of balance on my right side.  Walking across the room toe-to-heel was a challenge. But I got better each day and was discharged after 72 hours.

I had all sorts of expensive tests (fortunately I have a good health care plan)–MRI, sonar imaging, and others I can’t even remember. They concluded I had blockage in my carotid arteries (which my father also had–a heriditary factor), and I had a sonar imaging test on each carotid. The technician puts a sonar device on your neck and it creates an image on a screen of what your artery looks like, including any obstructions from placque build up. I had 35% blockage in one and 55% in the other, which was the artery where the blockage had caused my stroke.

The doctors said surgery was a possibility but it was premature. If the blockage had been 75% or greater, surgery would have been necessary. They advised me to modify my diet, get back on a regular exercise program, take an aspirin daily (it thins the blood), and check in with my doctor in three months. If anything developed, I was supposed to get back in touch with the neurological team at Evanston Hospital, where I live. They also said what might have triggered the stroke was my high-stress exchange on the phone with the collection agency. I got me so pumped up that my blood pressure probably dislodged a speck of the placque in my carotid artery.

So that’s my story. I was lucky. I knew I was in a high risk cardiovascular category and was more aware than perhaps the average person might be of potential problems like stroke or a heart attack. If you’re still reading this, I hope this has helped you understand what a stroke can feel like. There’s one VERY IMPORTANT thing you should remember. The sooner you get to a doctor if you think you’re having a stroke, the better your odds of  surviving one if in fact you are having a stroke. Don’t delay or ignore the fact that something is happeneing to your body. It’s better to be safe than sorry! Take it from me!

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Are you sick of the side effects of prescription drugs given to you for your high blood pressure? Well listen up, there are natural remedies for high blood pressure, silent killer, that it is, that do not have the awful side effects that prescription drugs do.

One word of caution however, if you are on medications prescribed by your doctor do not abruptly stop them and opt for natural remedies as this could be life-threatening. I suggest you consult with your doctor and tell him/her that you are considering changing to using natural remedies for your condition and come to an agreement of how to handle the switch together.

trabajo Drug metabolism does not come freely. There are many medicines which we feel safe are not at all safe for our long lifespan. I do not differentiate between smoking and taking medicines even for genuine illness. The very fact that we fall sick is due to our nutrition deficiency. Believe me most of them are created by us only and not outside of us. If we want to lead a healthy life even in the midst of polluted environment, it is not impossible though difficult.

The worst that can happen to our health is irreversible destruction of cells. The only way is to arrest the destruction. Is it possible to avoid altogether taking medicines so that we arrest the destruction? We all know it is difficult. The only alternative is to strike a balance between cells getting destroyed and cells are destroyed. What does that mean? We may be able to postpone aging but not to the full extent. We compromise our lifespan to some extent by taking few preventive steps. In this article, we will learn how to stop myocardial necrosis tissue caused by drug/medicine.

trabajar When cells are getting destroyed naturally, it is called apoptosis. In this case, new cells formation is not hampered. New and fresh cells are stronger and healthier. Thus it has beneficial effect.

The reverse is cells being destroyed. This is called necrosis. There are many reasons for necrosis tissue. One of them is induced by drugs/medicines.

When cell has its natural death, it passes a chemical signal for the white blood cells to respond and scavenge. But such chemical signal is extinguished in case the cell is destroyed by other means. You know the fatality? The dead tissues and debris are accumulated and necrosis tissue is formed. The fatality is nothing but a heart attack.

Other cholesterol lowering medications do not usually have the full effect because alcohol can lower their potency. This is also true for those who are being treated for other conditions such as diabetes. It’s a good idea to consult with a doctor before considering alcohol consumption as a mean of treatment.

Many of us know that Guggulipid, the extract from the resin of mukul tree native to India has been used as an Ayurvedic medicine. Mostly they are used to treat epilepsy, arthritis, atherosclerosis, cholesterol etc. But it has another potential benefit to treat the drug induced myocardial necrosis. How sylibin as a flavonoid helps for drug induced liver damage, gugglipid is for drug induced myocardial necrosis tissue.

As I said earlier, necrosis is irreversible. However, protecting against further damage is in our hand. The only way is to go in for complete planned nutrition food. Again all of us know that it will not be all the time possible to pay attention to this. The solution is to go in for natural nutrition supplement. That means, we should ensure total balanced nutrition input to our system and not focus on one alone.

I know for sure a fantastic natural nutrition supplement that contains more than 70+ natural herbs and few natural salts to offer required minerals in appropriate dosage to ensure total balance. This is manufactured under GMP conditions to offer the best quality. It has appropriate quantity of guggulipid to remedy the necrosis tissue.

I have given below my website link for you to visit wherein you will find many interesting and informative advices regarding nutrition. I guarantee you will not waste your time, rather you will only benefit You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.

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Technorati Tags: apoptosis, Ayurvedic, blood, Cholesterol, cure, drugs, Guggulipid, high, medications, Medicine, natural treatment, necrosis, prescription, preseeure

Each day, your heart pumps nearly 2,000 gallons of blood. Over the span of an average lifetime, it will beat over 3 billion times. It is slightly bigger than a clenched fist, and is located behind the sternum, between the lungs.

This article will explore your heart’s anatomy. We’ll describe its exterior, including the arteries and veins that supply blood to the muscle. We’ll also describe the organ’s interior, including the chambers, valves, and blood flow. Lastly, you’ll learn how its electrical system helps ensure its proper function.

Exterior Of The Organ

A network of coronary arteries and blood vessels supply the surface of the organ with oxygenated blood. If anything obstructs this blood supply, the muscle can become damaged. This is known as a heart attack.

The organ receives oxygen-depleted blood from the rest of your body through the inferior and superior vena cavae. Blood flows into the right side of your heart before moving to your lungs through the pulmonary arteries. It picks up oxygen from your lungs and travels into the left side of the organ. Enriched with oxygen (by your lungs), blood leaves the left ventricle and travels through the aorta; some of it passes into the coronary arteries and supplies blood to the surface of your heart.

Interior Of The Organ

There are four chambers within your heart: two upper chambers called atria and two lower chambers called ventricles. The left and right sides are separated by a wall called the septum. A series of four one-way valves help control the flow of blood as it moves through the organ.

As noted earlier, blood flows into the right atrium from the vena cavae. It then passes through the tricuspid valve as it moves into the right ventricle. From there, it flows through the pulmonary valve into the lungs before flowing into left atrium. The mitral valve manages the flow of blood between the left atrium and the left ventricle. The left ventricle empties as blood flows through the aortic valve into the aorta. This entire process is possible due to contractions triggered by your heart’s electrical system.

The Electrical System

A group of cells within your right atrium form the sinoatrial node. This node produces electrical impulses that travel across the surface of each chamber, causing them to contract. The signals begin by spreading through the atria. As the atria contract, the blood within is forced through the corresponding valves into the ventricles.

The electrical impulses then arrive at another group of cells called the atrioventricular (AV) node. This node is located near the tricuspid valve (between the right atrium and right ventricle. The signals pause at the AV node while the ventricles fill with blood. Once they have filled, the signals are released in order to spread throughout the lower chambers, causing them to contract and push blood outward.

Your heart works tirelessly to pump blood between the chambers and your lungs, and out to the rest of your body. Over time, problems such as mitral valve disease, atrial fibrillation, and clogged coronary arteries can prevent the heart from performing its job. If such issues emerge, speak with your physician regarding an appropriate form of treatment.

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Technorati Tags: anatomy, arteries, atria, atrium, blood, chambers, coronary, electrical, exterior, flows, heart, interior, lungs, pulmonary, right, system, valve, veins

A lot of people misunderstand the causes and potential side effects of atrial fibrillation (commonly known as Afib). Even among those who have coped with the disorder for years, there is a mistaken belief that the condition is harmless. In reality, it is not.

It can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other consequences.

To review, Afib is characterized as an erratic discharge of rapid electrical impulses that spread across your heart’s atria (i.e. the two upper chambers). Rather than contracting in sync with your heart’s ventricles (i.e. the two lower chambers), the atria flutter – or fibrillate. In some cases, the disorder causes no noticeable symptoms. In other cases, the patient might be at risk of experiencing medical events that can be life-threatening.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the dangerous risks involved with not addressing atrial fibrillation. We’ll also detai an operation known as the maze procedure that a growing number of surgeons are using to help solve the problem.

The Risk Of Stroke

A stroke is caused by blood clots that clog one of the arteries of the brain. Clots rarely form in these arteries; instead, they form elsewhere, break away, and travel along your bloodstream.

Atrial fibrillation can result in the pooling of blood with one or both of your atria. As a result, the blood begins to clot. As long as the clots remain inside the atria, they pose little danger. However, they can break away and move through your ventricles on their way to the aorta.

Blood flows from your heart into the aorta and toward your brain. The clots and then travel through your bloodstream until they reach and clog a major artery. That produces a stroke. Common symptoms of a stroke can include partial paralysis, eye problems, and difficulty remembering things.

The Risk Of Heart Failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is overworked to the point of exhaustion. This can happen for a number of reasons, including coronary artery disease, diabetes, and of course, atrial fibrillation. In the latter case, the rapid electrical signals cause the atria to flutter so quickly that they eventually wear themselves out and weaken the heart. That reduces your heart’s ability to pump blood effectively throughout your body. As a result, the heart muscle becomes enlarged and is further weakened.

Secondary Side Effects

The reduced ability of your heart muscle to pump oxygen-rich blood to your tissue and organs can produce a number of secondary side effects. For instance, your lower extremites (i.e. ankles and feet) may begin to swell. Moreover, it’s quite common for the abdomen to also begin expanding.

Depending on the severity of the Afib-induced heart failure, you may experience a level of organ damage. This is due to your organs not receiving a sufficient supply of oxygen-rich blood.

You might also develop a persistent cough and shortness of breath if the condition produces excess fluid around your lungs. Unless Afib is resolved, these side effects can become permanent.

Maze Procedure To Resolve Afib

The most common method for addressing atrial fibrillation is the maze procedure. This is an operation during which your surgeon will create incisions or use catheter ablation to produce a maze of scar tissue across the surface of your atria. Scar tissue cannot conduct electricity. By creating this path, your surgeon can disrupt the erratic patterns of the electrical impulses. In effect, the surgeon is able to guide the signals along a defined path, thereby eliminating the fluttering and restoring a uniform rhythm for your heartbeat.

Atrial fibrillation can remain undetected for years. This has been attributed to many patients never seeking treatment. The problem is, the conditin can be very risky, depending on the severity of the case. If you suspect you have Afib, consult your doctor regarding whether the maze procedure is an appropriate solution for your circumstances.

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Treating Atrial Fibrillation With the Maze Procedure

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Treating Atrial Fibrillation With The Maze Procedure

Over 2 million people in the US suffer from atrial fibrillation (also referred to as AF or AFib). The likelihood of developing the condition increases as you grow older. It is estimated that nearly 5% of those who are over the age of 65 …  

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Technorati Tags: Afib, atrial, failure, fibrillation, heart, maze, procedure, reduced, risk, Stroke, surgery, surgical

They work in unison, which makes it possible for your heart to pump blood effectively.

With Afib, the impulses are generated elsewhere and spread throughout the upper chambers in a disorganized pattern. This causes the upper chambers to fibrillate out of sync with the ventricles. As a result, the heart becomes less capable of pumping blood.

If you suffer from atrial fibrillation, maze surgery may be a viable option. This article will describe what you can expect before and after the operation.

Preparation

Your doctor will want you to make an appointment one or two weeks prior to the surgery. This is the time during which he or she will inform you about the procedure, recovery, and returning to your regular routine afterward. You will likely have an opportunity to meet the surgical team, including the surgeon and anesthesiologist.

The night prior to surgery, you should avoid eating or drinking. You can then check yourself into the hospital the following day. Your chest will be shaved and cleaned while your heart will be monitored. Then, you’ll receive a general anesthesia to put you to sleep before the maze procedure begins.

Maze surgery usually takes a couple of hours and possibly less if the surgeon is performing the operation with a minimally invasive approach.

Hospital Recovery

One the operation is completed, you’ll be moved to the ICU, where you’ll may stay for up to a week and a half. During your stay there, your physician will want to monitor your heart and other vital signs. Breathing tubes and related equipment will be connected and a catheter will be inserted to preclude the need to use the restroom.

The breathing tubes are typically removed after several hours. You’ll be transferred from the ICU into a general recovery ward where your doctor and nurses can continue to observe your progress. After about a week, if you experience no complications, you will be released to go home.

Recovering at Home

The length of your at-home recovery period depends upon a few factors. Your health prior to undergoing maze surgery plays a role. So too, does the surgeon’s approach (i.e. minimally invasive versus open heart surgery). Most patients can recover within six to eight weeks, and return to their normal routine a few weeks later.

While recovering at home, you’ll need to be diligent about taking any medications prescribed by your surgeon. You should also make sure the incision and the skin surrounding the area is cleaned on a regular basis. You will likely feel some degree of soreness as the area heals. That’s normal and will subside with time.

Your doctor will encourage you to adopt a healthy diet and mild exercise routine in order to rehabilitate your heart. Follow-up appointments will include a physical test to monitor your heart’s strength and identify any risks that might present a problem down the road.

Back To Normal

Within three months, you should be able to return to work and participate in your normal activities. It’s worth noting that one in three patients will experience a recurrence of atrial fibrillation after undergoing the maze procedure. Your doctor may prescribe medications to lessen the symptoms. Gradually (within a year), your heart will adopt a normal rhythm.

Atrial fibrillation is not always dangerous. It can often be managed by medications. That said, if you feel the condition is impacting your quality of life, consult your doctor regarding whether the maze procedure is an appropriate treatment path.

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Technorati Tags: arrythmia, atrial, fibrillation, heart, home, hospita, maze, recovery, surgery

Newly enriched with oxygen, blood flows into your heart’s left side before leaving the organ in order to be circulated throughout your body.

Your mitral valve (MV) is one of four valves that help regulate the flow of your blood as it moves through your heart. It is located between your left atrium (one of two upper chambers) and left ventricle (one of two lower chambers). This particular valve can experience problems that affect the flow of blood between these two chambers. One such problem is called mitral valve prolapse (MVP).

In this article, we’ll provide a brief overview regarding the causes and potential complications of MVP. We’ll also explain how mitral valve repair addresses the disorder.

 Causes

If the MV is working as it should, its two leaflets (or, flaps) close after blood flows through it into your left ventricle. When the leaflets close, the entrance becomes sealed, thereby preventing the flow of blood back into your left atrium. With prolapse, one of the two leaflets is too large and bulges back into the atrium whenever your heart beats. As a result, the opening between your atrium and ventricle does not seal off properly. Blood is allowed to flow back into the upper chamber.

The causes of MVP are unknown, though experts have speculated the disorder is related to Marfan syndrome (a condition in which your body’s connective tissue is irregular). Other possible culprits include a specific type of kidney disease and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Often, patients are born with a “floppy” mitral valve.

 Complications 

Prolapse may be severe or minor. Most patients who have the disorder suffer few if any symptoms. That said, when the condition is severe, it can cause a number of complications, especially in those who are older.

The most common byproduct of prolapse is regurgitation. This is a condition, as already described, in which blood flows from your left ventricle into your left atrium because the opening is not properly sealed. In severe cases of regurgitation, you may be exposed to potential heart failure.

Another side effect of prolapse is an arrhythmia. There is far less risk inherent with arrhytmias than a severly regurgitant mitral valve, though your physician will most likely want to monitor it over time.

Prolapse can also lead to endocarditis. This is an infection of your endocardium, a membrane that forms a lining between your heart’s chambers and valves. MVP can promote the growth of bacteria, leading to an infection of this lining.

Treatment

Depending on the severity of the condition, your doctor may prescribe one or more medications to treat the symptoms. For example, beta blockers can help reduce an arrhythmia while aspirin and anticoagulants can help prevent the formation of blood clots.

For patients who are suffering from severe MVP, surgery may be necessary to correct the disorder. A physician may choose either to repair the malfunctioning mitral valve or replace it. The latter approach is usually reserved for circumstances in which mitral valve repair is not feasible. If surgery is possible, the surgeon may perform a triangular resection or chordal transfer, depending on which of the two leaflets is abnormal.

Open heart surgery was once necessary to perform mitral valve repair. Today, a minimally invasive approach is commonly taken. There is less postoperative pain and a faster recovery period. If you suffer from a malfunctioning mitral valve that is causing severe problems, ask your physician whether a triangular resection or chordal transfer is an option.

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Technorati Tags: blood, Causes, chambers, disorder, flow, heart, leaflets, mitral, problems, procedure, prolapse, Symptoms, valve, ventricle

A promising new heart therapy involving injecting stem cells from persons with severe heart disease back into their diseased hearts is being tested and has shown promising results.

When the stem cells are injected into the damaged hearts,the heart patients have shown marked improvement.

The trial tests, being conducted by Baxter Laboratories and researchers from Northwestern University, is creating quite a stir in the stem cell research and heart disease communities. Preliminary results from their tests were presented to the American Heart Association at their scientific conference in Ft. Lauderdale last fall. 

Dr. Douglas Losordo, a Northwestern University researcher working on the tests, is using technology developed by Baxter to extract and purify stem cells from heart patients with severe angina or who have had prior open-heart surgery or balloon angioplasty procedures to treat their heart disease. The purified stem cells in the test procedures was injected back into the hearts of the patients.

There was a test and a control group totalling 167 patients, most of whom were men,and the test group  showed significant improvement in their conditions. Many have been able to resume moderate physical activity since receiving the treatments. Some of them were home bound and were unable to do normal daily activities like walking up stairs or going out of the house to shop but could do these after they completed the tests.

These trials are the second phase of the three phases required for FDA approval. No date has been announced yet for the start of the third phase.

Adult stem cell treatments such as these are showing similarly encouraging results in other medical areas such as cancer and even spinal injury rehabilitation.  

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Heart failure is a debilitating condition. When heart failure is in an advanced state, the heart is unable to pump enough blood to the body to allow a person to enjoy a normal, productive life. This disease affects over 5 million people … The Company’s pipeline includes multiple product candidates for the treatment of heart damage, including the TGI 1200, an autologous, adipose tissue-derived stem cell treatment for acute heart damage…  

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“We’re looking on the time frame here of five years, in the best-case scenario, to have approved cardiac stem cell therapies,” Hare said. Coronary heart disease, which causes heart attacks and angina — chest pain resulting from the … 

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Technorati Tags: angioplasty, Baxter Laboratories, cells, damaged, disease, diseased, Dr.Losordo, FDA, heart, hearts, improvement, Northwestern University, open-heart, patients, research, severe, stem, surgery, therapy, trials

Home blood pressure monitors are principally of 3 varieties, Mercury column, aneroid and Digital Blood pressure monitors.

Mercury HBPMs:
These are seen in Doctor’s Offices. They are the most exact, but most tricky to use. This unit utilizes a stethoscope to listen to the sounds in the arteries.

Aneroid HPBMs-
These blood pressure monitors are the next most dependable.  Aneroid machines range in cost from approximately $20 to $30. They also call for incorporating a stethoscope – which is integrated in this particular model. They are lightweight, manageable, and affordable. Experts from the American Society of Hypertension recommend this style and say that these are the most low-cost monitors and little can go wrong with them. Aneroid models can be difficult to use, and may call for instruction by a doctor or health worker. Additionally, using these requires excellent hearing and eyesight and might not be the greatest alternative for elderly or disabled individuals For these reasons, aneroid HBPMs are in general less well-liked than digital monitors.

Digital HBPMs:
These machines are less exact, but they are the easiest to operate. They are a fine option for individuals who are hard of hearing or have weak eyesight. If you operate it properly, it is the best option for anyone.

Also it is necessary to take into account the style of cuff when purchasing HBPMs. Cuffs are of three types. Arm, wrist and finger cuffs. Arm cuffs are the most precise. Finger and wrist cuffs are only recommended for those who cannot wear them on the arm. An improperly fitted arm cuff will offer a false reading. This is the most frequent cause for faulty blood pressure readings. To determine your cuff size, measure around the middle of your upper arm. If it is
Less than 31 cm (12.2 in), buy a standard-size cuff.
Between 31 and 40 cm (15.7 in), buy a large-size cuff.

Cuffs should be inflated to gauge blood pressure- they consist of those that need to be inflated manually, semi-automatic devices, or auto inflate devices.

Next are some guidelines for when you buy your blood pressure machine.

Display Size – Is a regular or an extra-large LCD read-out necessary? Try to take one with a normal size.
Power Supply – Battery powered or AC adapter. If you travel, the battery powered unit is your top choice.  
Recall Features – A few models remember the most recent reading or many readings. There are also models that include a PC link. Better to decide on one that has a recollection of atleast one month Blood Pressure monitoring.
Printing options- Some monitors also have printing options to keep your records safe.
Cuff Sizes – Large and small arm cuffs are available for some units. The size of the cuff on a blood pressure monitor may well be the most important factor in getting a precise reading. So always use a cuff which is not too small and not too large.
Cost – Price may possibly be the most important factor. Remember to do as much research as possible. The more costly models might not always be better than the less costly monitors
Accuracy – Readings on some wrist and finger units may not be as correct as an arm unit depending on the person.
Simplicity – Depends on personal preference. People with certain disabilities might come across one unit easier to handle than another.      
Length of Warranty – Warranties fluctuate from one to three years. Inspect your unit frequently to make certain everything operate smoothly and accurately.

While monitoring your blood pressure is important, reducing it is more important. If you are overweight, learning how to get rid of body fat and losing excess weight can be a literal life saver.

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Now, eating a good diet can be very straight forward. First of all you should be eating a diet that contains lots of fresh fruits and vegetables (the healthy carbohydrates), and also protein from legumes (dried beans, peas and lentils), and meats or dairy products.

But this is where the trouble starts. Butter, red meats, poultry and eggs – all animal products contain cholesterol, with butter, egg yolks and red meats being the worst cholesterol offenders.

For your cooking and recipes, you need to try to add some low cholesterol foods, while you also work on decreasing the volume of high cholesterol foods.

The result will be a decreasing of the risk that you have for heart disease.

The protein that these foods provide is very important for the health of your internal organs, and for building strong tendons and muscles, as well as maintaining bones, hair, blood and skin. So, by some means you still need to get this protein in your diet, but it shouldn’t be from high cholesterol foods available. Fish can also supply you with protein, and fish is a good source too, especially herring, sardines, and salmon which contain the omega 3 fatty acids that your body also requires.

Milk also contains protein, but since it is an animal product it too has fat so you should drink skim milk, or 1% milk in place of whole milk or 2%. If your room mates are used to drinking the milk with higher fat levels, you may get some complaints begin with, but given time, if you continue with the healthier choices, they will probably come to adjust to it.

Instead of cooking with butter (animal product), try using olive oil (plant product) in its place, especially the virgin olive oil which is processed less than the light olive oils. In fact the light olive oil refers to the color, and not the number of calories it contains – very misleading when we usually use light meaning less calories.

One way of lowering the fat level in baking is to use apple sauce, pureed prunes, or mashed bananas instead of the fat, and this also increases your fruit in your diet too.

Almonds, walnuts, peanuts and some other nuts are good for you when you are concerned about lowering your cholesterol, but only eat a handful a day, or you will be consuming too many calories which is never a good idea.

If you are making hamburgers, put in some oats, as this is a great food to help you lower your cholesterol. Pulses are legumes as they are also known, or more commonly, dried beans, peas and lentils are also effective cholesterol lowering foods containing soluble fibre, as do apples, pears and barley.

There is plenty more about low cholesterol foods as well as cholesterol lowering foods and recipes here .

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