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Archive for the ‘Diseases and Conditions’ Category

Heart attacks can be fatal immediately, may progress to chronic disease, or may be resolved completely. The rate of hospitalization for first myocardial infarction has not changed significantly in recent years.

On the positive side, however, improved treatments significantly decreased the mortality and hospital readmission.
High-risk individuals. A heart attack is always more severe in some people:

- Elderly (particularly those who are thin)
- People with risk factors or history of myocardial
- People with heart failure
- People with diabetes
- People on dialysis for some time Read the rest of this entry »

Any unusual chest pain or angina symptoms do not disappear when taking medication is a warning sign to go to hospital.

Common symptoms of myocardial infarction. Some signs to which we must pay attention are the following:

- Sometimes a month before the episode of heart attack, the patient may experience mild chest pain, unexplained fatigue and malaise, and depression.
- Just before a heart attack, many patients experience chest pain, usually precipitated by exercise or stress that continues even after taking medication or rest.
- Many patients experience pain from a heart attack like a crushing weight against his chest, accompanied by profuse sweating. The pain may radiate to the shoulder and arm, neck or jaw, and even, though less frequent on the right arm. The arm can even be numb. Read the rest of this entry »

Angina

Angina is the primary symptom of coronary artery disease and, in severe cases of myocardial infarction. Usually you experience chest pain. It is often referred to as stable angina (predictable) or unstable (less predictable and a sign of a more serious situation). Angina itself is not a disease. There is much evidence that, indeed, the onset of angina within 48 hours before myocardial infarction may be protective, possibly by conditioning the heart to resist damage resulting from the attack.

Angina may be experienced in different ways and can be mild, moderate or severe:

- It is defined as an oppressive feeling but mild, it may seem to an object that presses on the chest.
- The pain often radiates to the neck, jaw or to the shoulder and arm.
- More rare is that patients explain burning sensation in the chest, stinging, or pain extending into the right arm or back.
Sometimes the patient experiences shortness of breath, fatigue, or palpitations instead of pain.
- The intensity of pain is not always related to the severity of the medical problem. Some people may feel severe pain due to weak ischemia, while others may experience only mild discomfort from severe ischemia.
- Some people have also reported increased sensitivity to heat the skin with the onset of angina.
- Angina can also be precipitated by large meals that require an immediate demand for more oxygen to the heart. Read the rest of this entry »

What is a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and what causes it?

The heart is the organ of the body that works harder. Throughout life, is responsible for continually pump oxygen-rich blood and vital nutrients through a network of blood to all organs and tissues of the body. It has its own arterial system, known as coronary arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle (myocardium). If the blood flow to the myocardium is interrupted, an injury occurs known as heart attack, or in other words, a myocardial infarction, popularly known as heart attack or heart attack.

Coronary heart disease

The most common cause of myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease. To carry out the arduous task of pumping blood, the heart muscle needs a plentiful supply of oxygen-rich blood, which comes from the network of coronary arteries. Coronary heart disease is the end result of a complex process called atherosclerosis (commonly called “hardening of the arteries”). There are different stages in this process, and some of them are not known at all: Read the rest of this entry »

How is osteoporosis diagnosed?

When a fracture occurs with minimal trauma is the most common cause of osteoporosis and densitometry is not necessary. If the patient has not suffered fractures a bone density test needs to be done (to measure bone mineral density) to dignosticar osteoporosis. In this case it is better to perform densitometry in the lumbar spine and hip in the forearm.

Even on the occasions that densitometry is not necessary (when there are previous fractures) should be performed a physical examination and blood tests to ensure that the cause of fractures is osteoporosis, since there are other diseases that may also cause fractures and loss of calcium in the bones and need different treatments than those used in osteoporosis. For example, cancers, vitamin deficiency or disease of the bone marrow can cause bone fractures. However, osteoporosis is the most common cause of fractures. Read the rest of this entry »

How can I prevent osteoporosis?

Get plenty of exercise throughout life.

Follow a diet with adequate calcium content and vitamin D.

A simple rule for adults is trying to consume 1,000 mg of calcium per day (eg 2 cups of milk and a yogurt or 100 gr. Of cheese). After menopause, osteoporosis experts recommend a dose of 1,200 to 1,500 mg of calcium per day. The same amount should be taken by persons who are treated with corticosteroids.

The people who do not like dairy products or are allergic to them should take calcium supplements. Currently on the market different preparations of calcium, some in combination with vitamin D. The amount of calcium tablets to be taken depends on the intake of dairy products. Calcium supplements should be combined with food in 2 or 3 doses per day. Read the rest of this entry »

What are the symptoms of osteoporosis?

Many people have bone pain, often in the back and buttocks, but there may be no symptoms until a fracture occurs, because the decrease in bone mass alone does not cause symptoms. The most common fractures in people with osteoporosis affecting wrists, vertebrae and hip.

In people with vertebral collapse occurs stooped posture (kyphosis) and loss of body size, and ribs can get contact with the pelvis causing a decrease in the chest cavity and respiratory distress.

What are the warning signs?

- The occurrence of spontaneous fractures or minimal trauma, such as a slight drop.

- A click on the back (caused in the vertebrae) with severe pain flare-ups. Read the rest of this entry »

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bone loses some of its calcium content, leading to more fragile bones susceptible to spontaneous fractures or accidents such as falls slightly smaller and sprains.

Osteoporosis can be diagnosed when there are fractures or when the disease is still asymptomatic. In this case it is necessary to measure the amount of bone mineral content by densitometry.

The frequency of the disease increases with age and rarely occurs before age 55. Women are affected more often than men. In people with osteoporosis fractures occur primarily in the spine at the height of the back, wrists and neck of the femur (hip bone). Each year there are 33,000 cases in Spain of hip fracture because of osteoporosis. Read the rest of this entry »

What are the symptoms of osteomalacia and rickets?

Osteomalacia

It is widespread pain in bones and sometimes weakness. Fractures may occur.

Rickets

This is pain and bone deformities variables as age of onset, for example in the bones of joints such as wrists.

How do you check the vitamin D deficiency?

- Blood

- Radiological studies, are useful mainly in children to see their wrists and knees. Some patients show a characteristic decrease in bone density scanner. Read the rest of this entry »

What are osteomalacia and rickets?

Disorders of mineralization of bone usually caused by insufficient levels of vitamin D or phosphate in the body. In fact it is the same disease rickets is the name used when it occurs in children and osteomalacia that used for adults.

Where do we get vitamin D?

There are two sources of vitamin D:

- Food

- Training in the skin by sun exposure.

There are some food sources of vitamin D. The best ones are fatty fish like salmon and sardines, and margarines with vitamin D. In less sunny countries the source of this vitamin appears in the consumption of foods rich in it, some of them, like milk, by adding vitamin D to them. A normal person has enough vitamin D stored in the body so it will last about two or three years. Read the rest of this entry »