Among the risk factors that benefits the most from lifestyle modification in terms of dietary restrictions and regular exercise is diabetes mellitus.
Achieving and maintaining one’s ideal body weight makes elevated blood sugar easier to control.
The advice to take low salt, low fat diet has a lot of sound basis.
This is more so if coupled with avoidance of sedentary lifestyle. Indulging in aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming for 30 minutes for at least three times a week is bound to pay off.
It is never too late for those of us who are overweight, cigarette smoker, and hypertensive, dyslipidimic, diabetic and physically inactive.
Exercise is better as a preventive measure rather than as rehabilitative after a heart or brain attack.
A regular jogger was once asked why he does his exercise regularly. His reply was: “I feel good when I run. I feel better soon after I run, and I feel best 20 years later.”
Monthly Archives: February 2010
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART (part 6)
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART (part 5)
Moderate exercise, smoking cessation and small amounts of alcohol contribute to raising our good cholesterol.
Drinking alcoholic beverages is not encouraged for those who do not drink but for those who do, a simple “rule of two” applies.
This means two bottles of beer or two shots of hard liquor or two glasses of wine ( preferably red wine) But remember, it is not “and” but “or” of the mentioned beverages.
Hypertension is a major risk factor to the development of coronary disease, stroke and renal insufficiency.
Uncontrolled hypertension puts a patient to dangers of hemorrhagic stroke, a form of brain attack characterized by rapture of cerebral vessel leading to clot or hematoma formation within the brain tissue. This can lead to paralysis or death.
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART (part )
Hypercholesterolemia or dyslipidemia results from increase intake of fatty foods especially those derived from animal sources.
LDL cholesterol or the bad cholesterol is the main culprit in antherosclerosis or hardening of the blood vessels. It is the prime target for cholesterol lowering interventions.
Among patients with metabolic syndrome or frank diabetes mellitus, elevated triglyceride and low HDL-cholesterol (the good cholesterol) are the common lipid abnormalities.
These lipid abnormalities respond to dietary modification (low fat intake) and regular aerobic exercise.
For the non-responders to these interventions and for those who are considered high risk, drug intervention may be required=.
The role of HDL or good cholesterol needs to be emphasized as well.
HDL is involved in the so-called reverse cholesterol transport where it plays a role in the transporting bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol_ form blood vessel wall back to the liver for excretion.
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART (part 3)
They have slight blood pressure elevation, impaired fasting blood glucose, dylipidyenia and abdominal obesity.
Clustering of these abnormalities in one individual gives him 2-4 times the risk of developing CVD.
Tips for healthy heart are therefore directed at addressing the modifiable risk factors.
Fortunately, lifestyle modification can correct most of the risk mentioned.
Diet and exercise are know to have beneficial effects on hypertensive ( Both systolic and diastolic), obesity ( through burning of calories) and duslipidemia and elevated blood sugar ( through insulin effect).
Nicotine from cigarette smoke is addicting and has deleterious effect on the cardiovascular system.
It causes blood vessels to constrict, aggravates hypertension and triggers chest pain in those with established coronary artery disease.
Chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer are the other non-cordiac sequelea of chronic smoking.
Avoidance of smoking and smoking cessation are advised to those who are addicted to nicotine to gain or regain the benefits from nicotine abstinence.
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART (part 2)
They have slight blood pressure elevation, impaired fasting blood glucose, dylipidyenia and abdominal obesity.
Clustering of these abnormalities in one individual gives him 2-4 times the risk of developing CVD.
Tips for healthy heart are therefore directed at addressing the modifiable risk factors.
Fortunately, lifestyle modification can correct most of the risk mentioned.
Diet and exercise are know to have beneficial effects on hypertensive ( Both systolic and diastolic), obesity ( through burning of calories) and duslipidemia and elevated blood sugar ( through insulin effect).
Nicotine from cigarette smoke is addicting and has deleterious effect on the cardiovascular system.
It causes blood vessels to constrict, aggravates hypertension and triggers chest pain in those with established coronary artery disease.
Chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer are the other non-cordiac sequelea of chronic smoking.
Avoidance of smoking and smoking cessation are advised to those who are addicted to nicotine to gain or regain the benefits from nicotine abstinence.
TIPS FOR A HEALTY HEART
Choose your parents,
Be a female.
If you are a female, delay your menopause.
Don’t grow old.
These may well be the best advice I could give to anyone to prevent developing cardiovascular disease.
Age, male sex, bad genes and postmenopausal stage are non-modifiable risks that even doctors cannot change.
The other risk factor that some of us may have are fortunately modifiable.
Obesity, hypertension, diabetes milletus, dystipidymia, smoking and sedentary lifestyle are the factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD)
People with so-called metabolic syndrome have a bit of these risk factors.
They have slight blood pressure elevation, impaired fasting blood glucose, dyslipidemia and abdominal obesity.
Clustering of these abnormalities in one individual gives him 2-4 times the risk of developing CVD.
Tips for healthy heart are therefore directed at addressing the modifiable risk factors.
Preventing Cervical Cancer
Having a healthy lifestyle and modifying your risk factors will help prevent you from acquiring the infection (HPV). Safe and healthy sexual practices and lifetime mutual monogamy is like-wise the key, so are quitting smoking and getting vaccinated.
Also, cervical cancer has a pre-cancer stage that is only detected through regular screening. Screening methods available today are Pap Smear and Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA).
Unlike other viral infections, such as measles or chicken pox, where exposure to the virus can provide lifelong protection, infection with HPV tends to evade the immune system and one doesn’t mount a good enough immune response to protect against a subsequent infection. So even if you have already been infected, say with HPV 16, it will not guarantee that you will not get the infection again in the future.
Thus enters the cervical cancer vaccine. “The vaccine works by inducing high antibodies against HPV 16 and 18” says Dr.Carrie. “up to 80 percent of women will get an HPV infection in their lifetime so women can benefit from protection afforded by the vaccine.”
To get the best immune response, the HPV vaccine is administered in three does over a period of six months, this vaccine prevents one from acquiring the HPV infection and does not cure an already existing infection or a diagnosed cancer, so it is effective 70-80 percent of the time, since it targets the strains that make up 70-80 percent of all cases. So, even if one has been vaccinated on schedule, this does not exempt her from still acquiring the disease and later on developing cancer, still with a 20-30 percent chance.
The cost of the vaccine really depends on the brand that one avails herself of and each has its own unique features and benefits. Fortunately, since the vaccine first became available, the cost has been significantly reduced by up to 60 percent,. This enables more Filipinas to avail themselves of the vaccine and to make the fight against cervical cancer winnable. Just as Pia Magalona vigilantly says in her cervical cancer awareness TVC with daughter, Maxene, “we have to fight it every way that we can!”
Risk factor of cervical cancer
Risk factors for developing cervical cancer include early age of sexual debut, having multiple sexual partners, high number of full-term pregnancies, smoking, long term use of oral contraceptive pills, a weak immune system and presence of other sexually transmitted infections such as Chlamydia or gonorrhea. “Condoms do not necessary for transmission of this disease because the virus can live on the skin of the genital and pubic area, hence skin to skin genital contact, oral and manual manipulation are enough to transmit the virus. HPV can also be transmitted via contaminated clothing and HPV-infected cells shed during intercourse.”
Abnormal or irregular vaginal bleeding, pain during sex and vaginal discharge may already be symptoms of a more advance case. Other signs to watch out for include pelvic pain not related to your menstrual cycle, heavy or unusual discharge that may be watery, thick and possibly have a foul odor, increased urinary frequency, pain or difficulty during urination and bowel movement.
Causes of Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is caused by a chronic and persistent cancer-causing type of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which is transmitted sexually. The infection leads to pre-malignant lesions and progresses to cancer. Because it develops over time, cervical cancer is also one of the most preventable types of cancer by a cervical screening and a cervical cancer vaccine,
According to Dr. Carrie Pacheco-Purugganan, a Medical affairs manager for HPV and MMRV vaccines of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Philippines, cervical cancer occurs when there is uncontrolled growth of cancer cells developing in the cervix. She explains, “The early precancerous lesions may be silent without any signs and symptoms. Because of this, once the patient develops signs like pain or vaginal bleeding, the cancer may be at an advanced stage already and usually this may be at an advanced stage already ans usually this may mean poorer outcome with higher mortality rate.”
However, Cecap advocate Dr. Marlies Bosch clarifies, “Not all types of HPV cause cervical cancer as there are only about 15 cancer causing types, of which HPV type 16 and 18 are the most common, comprising 70-80 percent of all cases.” She also points out that it takes 10-30 years from the time of infection for the lesion to develop into cancer, so you may already have it, but don’t feel a thing. Early cervical cancer has no symptoms and it is only when the disease progresses that you may experience these symptoms, she says.
Cervical Cancer
Bad News: Cervical Cancer is the Second most common cancer among Filipino women.
Good News: it is HIGHLY PREVENTABLE
Much has been said about cervical cancer. In the past year all over the world, so many efforts have taken place for the sake of its awareness, advocacy and prevention though various television and radio ads, print ads, fundraisers, online readings and many others. Yet, with 500,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide and 250,000 deaths that occur each year, the efforts to reach out to women who may get affected are not enough. In the Philippines, 12 Filipinas die every day with more than half diagnosed during the late stages.