Archive for January, 2009

Clinical research from the Mayo Clinic shows that sleep apnea increases your risk of sudden death by heart attack. While apnea has always been serious, this new research emphasizes how important it is to treat apnea.

In an overnight sleep study of more than 10,000 patients, sleep apnea was the second leading cause of sudden death. Being over the age of 60 was the first.

If left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea will cause nighttime low oxygen saturation in the blood. The result? The heart has to work harder to oxygenate the brain and body.

Due to the dangerously decreased oxygen levels, the blood vessels alter in a way that may lead to heart disease in the patient. Sleep apnea is being considered a risk factor that ranks with smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

There is a common thread. If you dont get oxygen to the blood, the whole body and brain start to shut down. But with apnea, your throat closes down, suffocating yourself and starving your body of oxygen.

So, what is the most effective form of sleep apnea treatment? Doctors almost always recommend CPAP (continuous positive air pressure). CPAP therapy not only can save your life, there are other benefits to finally get good, deep sleep. For example, CPAP therapy can reduce daytime drowsiness, depression, and weight gain associated with apnea.

Medical research points to how important it is to regularly use CPAP therapy. However, for many patients the nightly use of a CPAP mask connected to a CPAP machine is not an easy habit to make. That is why the national compliance average is only 50%.

Luckily there are three time-proven strategies to increasing your CPAP compliance and therefore your chances of improved health and long life:

1. For best results, only use doctor recommended, quality CPAP equipment. Doctors recommend three manufacturers: ResMed, Fisher & Paykel, and Respironics. These brands are known to invest millions in R&D every year to ensure health and safety for the customer. There are risks associated with the lower quality manufacturers, in particular the ones from China. Before you waste your money or risk your life, ask your doctor about any brand other than the above three.

2. Beware when selecting a CPAP supplier. Avoid the online offers that sell grey-market CPAP equipment. You might end-up with a refurbished CPAP machine that just looks like it is new, but does not have warranty coverage or isnt even sterilized. (Many used machines on the grey market are from patients in nursing homes who have passed away, possibly from pneumonia or other respiratory diseases.) Be safe and smart: use a CPAP supplier who is certified by the National Apnea Association and/or is a ResMed Preferred Internet Provider.

3. Get a CPAP coach to help you use your CPAP equipment properly. An expert can help you with using, cleaning, and maintaining your CPAP, especially when you run into problems. Many studies have shown that CPAP chronic care or coaching is very effective: increasing patients probability of success from the national average of only 50% to over 90%. Best of all, some CPAP websites offer coaching for free to their customers.

A massage is often associated with a spa environment, where people treat themselves to the occasional indulgence. That’s certainly the case for a great many people. However, massage is also a proven method of helping you to manage any number of health conditions. Among its benefits are an improvement in your blood circulation and strengthening of your immune system. It can also lead to an overall sense of well being. Some health problems in particular can be managed very effectively with massage. Following are some of the health conditions that can be helped with an ongoing program of healing massage.

Stress: This condition underlies most of the problems that cause people to seek out massage therapy. You can manage your stress better through regular massage, and it also helps you to achieve a state of equilibrium. Stress that is left untreated can have serious consequences for your health and well being.

Anxiety: This problem is actually quite prevalent in today’s society. The good news is that massage therapy has been shown to be successful at treating this condition. For treating anxiety disorders, aromatherapy massage has been found to be especially effective. Shiatsu and reflexology are complementary methods of treating problems such as panic attacks, depression and other anxiety disorders.

Headaches: There are any number of underlying causes of headaches. To get the most effective treatment, it’s important that you discuss your health problems with your massage therapist. In particular, aromatherapy massage is found to be useful for relieving tension headaches. A headache that is caused by a pinched nerve might respond better to deep tissue massage.

Chronic pain: It can be very difficult to find the exact reasons for pain that never goes away. You really need to get information from your physician as to the reasons for your condition so that your massage therapist can use the most appropriate treatment methods.

Insomnia: If insomnia is an ongoing problem for you, you might find that massage helps you to relax enough that you can sleep well. Often, insomnia results from stress. Techniques like aromatherapy massage can help to manage your sleeping disorder and restore your body’s natural cycles.

Therapeutic massage is also very useful for people with arthritis, back pain and joint pain.

You need to be knowledgeable about your specific health issues for massage to be truly effective. The first thing you should do if you’re suffering from chronic pain or any other condition is to make an appointment with your doctor. Once you know the cause of your pain, it’s important that your massage therapist and physician work together to find the ideal means of giving you some relief.

Diagnosing chronic bronchitis can be particularly hard, owing to the fact that this condition shares a lot of symptoms with a range of diseases like pneumonia and emphysema. Throughout the examination your physician will ask you for a full medical history, plus request a full physical exam. The attending doctor will note down any symptoms that are upsetting you, and most likely ask about your smoking habits, because chain smoking is the principal trigger of this condition. If the results are revealed to be insubstantial, there are still a wide range of methods that may be carried out to confirm if a patient is suffering from this disease:

Pulmonary Function Testing a.k.a. PFT – PFT involves a series of respiratory exercises through a machine. The machine used in PFT calculates the airflow, as well as the level of oxygen that freely flows into your lungs. This is distinctly important in chronic bronchitis diagnosis because many people who experience chronic bronchitis complain of a gasping sensation, as well as labored breathing. This diagnostic method helps your physician to measure the condition of your lungs.

High Resolution Computer Tomography a.k.a. HRCT is a form of Computed Tomography scan that effectively provides the physician with a clear image of the patient’s lungs. A High Resolution Computer Tomography is done exactly like a CT scan, and ideally takes only a short number of minutes. These are most likely done on an open air, flat table.

X-Ray – Chest X-Rays provides the doctor with a clear chronic bronchitis diagnosis, and enables the doctor to exclude several other related possibilities.

Chronic bronchitis diagnosis is generally pain-free and easy. If you think that you have developed chronic bronchitis it is a great idea to seek a visit with your doctor and get a definite diagnosis. Avoid cigarette smoking and inhaling irritants either in your workplace or inside your home. If have been tested positive for chronic bronchitis it is often a better to make adjustments in your diet, and start exercising daily to protect oneself from the symptoms of of chronic bronchitis.