Wednesday, May 30, 2007
World No Tobacco Day – May 31
World No Tobacco Day aims to encourage countries and governments to work toward strict regulation of tobacco products. According to World health organization (WHO), Tobacco is responsible for the death of 1 in 10 adults worldwide. Tobacco is responsible for 5 million deaths worldwide. WHO urged all governments to ban smoking in public places. Women and children are worst sufferers due to passive smoking. China is the worst sufferer where more than 1 lakh people are dying each year due to second hand smoking. 
Leading causes of death according to WHO:
1. Heart diseases,
2. Tobacco use.
Tobacco use in any form can produce number of diseases in the body. Out of them, 70% are diseases of Respiratory system. The most important disease is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the second important disease is Lung Cancer.
Tobacco mainly contains –Nicotine, Tar, Carbon Monoxide and 4000 different types of different harmful cancer producing chemicals.
When a person smokes tobacco, the harmful chemicals enter into the respiratory tract damages the inner mucous layer and produce other poisonous substances. The cilia (thread –like small structures) immediately come into action and move vigorously to all sides, trying to remove the harmful products.
But after some time the cilia become weak and cannot send out these pollutants from the respiratory system and in turn, the harmful products remain there and begin to damage the respiratory system and infect the organs causing diseases.
Diseases due to Tobacco use:
1. Pneumonia
2. Bronchitis
3Tuberculosis
4. Emphysema
5. Lung Cancer.
Signs and Symptoms of Lung Diseases:
1. Tightness in the chest
2. Pain in the chest during inhalation
3. Cough and wheezing.
4. Breathlessness
5. Loss of appetite and weight loss,
6. Sleeplessness, tiredness and shivering of the body (mainly due to accumulation of Nicotine in the blood).
7. If the person is already suffering from Asthma, smoking aggravates it severely.
70% of the smokers want to get rid of this bad habit, but only 3% are able to put a full stop to it.
How to get rid of this bad habit:
1. Doctor’s moivation is essential.
2. Support from family members and friends is also plays a prominent role.
3. Behavior therapy with psychologists.
4. Constipation problem may be there after stopping smoking, but this will be solved with drugs. 5. De- Addiction Therapy the desire of smoking is gradually decreased.
The drugs have to be taken under the supervision of a physician. Many individuals might stop the smoking with the above methods, but some may start to smoke again, so the persons should be watched by their relatives for some more time and also they should be kept away from the smokers’ circle. It is good to consult the doctor for every three months.
Smoking should not be stopped all of a sudden, because of nicotine effect on the body.
If stopped suddenly, the person gets angry even for small causes and develops vomiting, diarrhea, pains all over the body, shivering, loss of concentration and tiredness. So smoking should be stopped gradually.
Why they smoke?
Brain is activated and there is a sense of happiness develops in the mind of a smoker, due to the presence of Nicotine in the tobacco. Our body naturally produces some amount of Nicotine along with other chemicals. The normal function of Nicotine is to control the emotions that arise in the brain (mind) and gives joyfulness even in the depressed mind (man).The body produces only the required amount of Nicotine, for its normal physiological function, and not excess any more.
More over hormones like-Adrenaline and neurotransmitters like Acetyl choline control the production of Nicotine; otherwise the excess production will endanger the life of a person. Here the Nicotine in the tobacco mixes with the already present natural Nicotine in the body and causes the harmful effects in the individual.
Now, devices contain artificial Nicotine in the form of –chewing gum, skin patches and also Nicotine sprays. But these are not given in those patients suffering from heart diseases and high blood pressure. These patients will be given other medications which contain very less amount of Nicotine.
The final advice is—‘’Where there is a will, there is a way’’. If the individual develops strong will power, he can get rid of that bad habit, under any circumstances.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Coronary heart disease – Risk Factors, Symptoms and Prevention
Heart disease is a broad term that includes several more specific heart conditions.
The most common condition is coronary heart disease (CHD), which occurs, when the coronary arteries, that supply blood to the heart muscle, become hardened and narrowed due to the plaque build- up. Plaques are a mixture of fatty substances including cholesterol and other lipids. Blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart can be reduced or even fully blocked with a growing plaque.
What happens in CHD?
In some people, the first sign of CHD is heart attack. A person is likely to experience one of the below or all symptoms or signs:
1. Chest discomfort in the form of pain, or uneasiness or tightness or fullness.
2. Shortness of breath.
3. Discomfort in the other areas of the upper body, which include pain in one or both the arms, the back, the neck, the jaw area or in the stomach.
4. Cold sweating
5. Feeling nausea
6. Light-headedness
The risk factors for CHD are:
1. High blood pressure
2. Obesity
3. High blood cholesterol levels
4. Alcohol.
5. Tobacco smoking
6. High fat diet
7. Physical inactivity.
8. Stress and strain.
Prevention of Coronary heart Disease:
1. Control of cholesterol levels.
2. be physically active
3. Keeping blood sugars under control
4. Diet control
5. Avoid-alcohol, smoking and tobacco use in any other form.
6. Meditation to avoid stress and strain.
Bypass surgery: when should be done?
It is reported that out of 5 deaths that are occurring daily one is due to heart attack( which is also known as Myocardial infarction).
This heart disease is treated either by, Angioplasty or Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and supply to heart is restored.
Indications for bypass surgery:
1. When treatment with medicines is not possible,
2. When main coronary artery (which supply blood to heart) on the left side is closed 70% or more.
3. In chronic diabetic patients (for them Angioplasty is not suitable),
4. In those patients, where there is block in the three coronary arteries.
Method:
Now the latest procedure is “Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting”. In this method there is no necessity to open the heart and with the help of one or two openings operation will be done. It is possible only when there is one block only.
But when there are two or more blocks in the arteries, surgeons will do operation in the conventional method by opening the heart.
There is no guarantee that heart attack will not reoccur later on once the bypass operation is performed, hence the patient should take the following precautions.
Patient should take the drugs regularly and should undergo periodical checkups. He should not carry heavy loads.
He/she should avoid constipation and situations that cause stress and strain and also other factors that cause heart attacks.
Walking is the best form of exercise. 30-45 minutes of walking is enough.
Avoid non- vegetarian food like mutton etc also it is good to take less amount of fats in the diet,
Yoga and meditation are good to do but no sexual activity at least for two months after the surgery.
If the patient follows the above precautions scrupulously, life span will be prolonged minimum for 10-15 years.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Children will suffer from parent's smoking
According to a study presented at the American thoracic society international conference 2007, Kids may suffer from respiratory problems due to the smoking habits of their parents. Children of smoking parents show more respiratory problems like puffing, wheezing and may suffer from pneumonia. Even those children who do not suffer from any respiratory problems in childhood may suffer from lung diseases in the later stages of life.
This study was done on 244 children (4-12 ages) without any previous history of lung disease to understand the effects of passive smoking.
These children were divided into 4 groups according to the smoking pattern of their parents.
4 Groups of children:
1. Children whose parents have never smoked.
2. Smoking after birth but not during pregnancy.
3. During pregnancy but not after birth
4. Both before and after birth.
According to study, children whose parents are smokers are experiencing respiratory problems than children of non-smoking parents. Smoking after birth appeared to be more harmful than smoking during pregnancy.
Even though some children of smoking parents have not shown any signs of respiratory diseases, they are still suffering from reduced lung function which could worsen progressively if they are under constant exposure.
Children of these parents generally suffer from Asthma, Pneumonia, Bronchitis and infections in the later stages of life.
The American Lung Association defines second-hand smoke as a mixture of smoke that is expelled from the blazing end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and that which is exhaled from the lungs of a smoker.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Atherosclerosis – Pathology and prevention
Atherosclerosis Pathology:
Atherosclerosis means there is an obstruction to the flow of blood in big and medium sized vessels walls in the human body due to accumulation of fat patches or plaques. Usually the inner layer of blood vessel is smooth and slippery in nature. If there are creaks in this layer, then fat accumulation beings to form. Blood vessels last their elasticity and become hardened.
Body has got its own mechanism for repairing any damaged part in the body. Here the monocytes become active and begin to repair the damaged inner walls and removes the accumulated fat particles. Some times the fat particles have the upper hand over the monocytes. Then these hardened fat particles separate themselves from the wall of the blood vessels and travel in the blood circulation and forms round balls called embolus.
It forms at the junction where the blood vessels divide into two branches and obstructs the blood flow. If the obstruction occurs in the coronary blood vessels, the heart-attack occurs. If it occurs in the brain –paralysis (stroke) occurs.
Atherosclerosis statistics:
The deaths due to Atherosclerosis are 2 times more than the cancer especially in western countries.
Risk Factors:
1. Smoking
2. Rise in Blood Cholesterol Level
3. High blood pressure
4. Diabetes
5. Obesity
6. Sedentary life
7. High levels of Homo cysteine in the blood.
How can we know this condition of Atherosclerosis?
Usually these symptoms appear when the blood vessel is closed up to 70% only.
If the blood vessels of heart (coronary vessels) - closes partially – the person gets heart attack.
If the openings in the vessels closed completely, there is heart attack or heart failure or changing in the rhythm of heart beatings.
If the vessels in the legs are totally closed-we get severe pain in the legs (called intermittent claudication).
In the persons beyond 50 years of the age-if the blood flow does not go to kidneys, kidney failure occurs.
If there is less oxygen supply to the muscles-we call it as “muscle cry”.
How to prevent Atherosclerosis?
1. Avoid smoking, Alcohol and meat.
2. Control Blood cholesterol level and take fat free diet. Stay away from fast foods.
3. Avoid stress and strain.
4. Take soya beans, oatmeal, brawn, Garlic, fish and more vegetables.
5. Garlic: It is called as “old doctor”. It does more benefit of health to the humans. It prevents thickening of blood and blood clots and thus prevents heart diseases. It contains “Alison” a chemical which prevents cancer. Garlic decreases the high blood pressure. It is better to take it in raw form rather than cooked product.
6. Fish: It contains omega-3 fatty acids and also cad liver oil which prevents heart diseases, joint pains and it increases brain activity. The omega 3 fatty acids increase the good cholesterol (HDL), and decreases bad cholesterol (LDL) and thus prevent heart diseases.
Most of the heart attacks are preventable with simple measures like diet control and regular exercise. Meditation and Yoga reduce the stress levels.
Please share your preventive measures.
Recent Medical articles
Search for Heart Diseases
