Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Los Angeles Times Examines Increase In Caesarean Births, Related Rise In Risk, Cost
Caesarean sections -- which are performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965 -- often are considered an unnecessary risk and "an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good," the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the Times, c-sections can increase a woman"s risk of complications, such as infection, blood clots and premature delivery. Even without complication, c-sections typically result in longer hospital stays and increased costs. Expenses related to c-section births account for 45% of the more than $79 billion in annual hospital charges that childbirth incurs in the U.S. annually. The average uncomplicated c-section costs about $4,500, which is about twice the cost for vaginal births. C-sections cost about $13,000 for privately insured patients. According to a 2008 report by Childbirth Connection, "The financial toll of maternity care on private (insurers)/employers and Medicaid/taxpayers is especially large." It also said, "Maternity care thus plays a considerable role in escalating health care costs, which increasingly threaten the financial stability of families, employers, and federal and state budgets." Addressing the Increase
generic viagra online
Working Memory May Be Improved By Short Stressful Events
Experiencing chronic stress day after day can produce wear and tear on the body physically and mentally, and can have a detrimental effect on learning and emotion. However, acute stress -- a short stressful incident -- may enhance learning and memory.
News of the day
Burgess Accepts President Obama's Offer To Meet And Discuss Health Reform Bill
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas) sent a letter to President Obama yesterday accepting his invitation to "come over to the White House and go over line-by-line" the health care reform plan the President is pushing.
Health Insurance

Heart Health Unaffected By Dialysis

Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments. People with even mild forms of kidney disease have an elevated risk of heart attack. Those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are particularly vulnerable and often experience a heart attack while undergoing kidney disease treatments such as dialysis. Unfortunately, it is unclear how safe the dialysis procedure is for heart attack patients. Because dialysis may be harmful to the heart, physicians often delay dialysis in patients who have had a heart attack. To investigate the issue, George Coritsidis, MD (Elmhurst/Queens Hospital Center/Mount Sinai School of Medicine), and his colleagues reviewed the medical charts of 131 ESRD patients who had a heart attack while they were on dialysis. They looked to see if the timing of dialysis had any effect on patients" heart health following their heart attack. About half of the patients received dialysis within the first 24 hours of their heart attack. A quarter received dialysis 24-48 hours after their heart attack, and a quarter received dialysis more than 48 hours after. The researchers found no link between the timing of dialysis treatments and cardiac symptoms such as chest pains or emergency room admissions. A similar number of patients in each of the three groups experienced cardiac symptoms. However, the investigators identified several predictors that might indicate which dialysis patients have a particularly high risk of having a heart attack. These include the seriousness of the patient"s condition, prior heart disease, high pre-dialysis potassium blood levels, and a large drop in potassium blood levels after dialysis. "In conclusion, our study does not indicate that timing of dialysis poses a risk. What may be of greater importance is the potassium status, its treatment, and the severity of the patients" condition on admission," the authors wrote. "Given that this is a retrospective as well as a small study, we cannot make any clear recommendations, however our findings suggest that rather than delay dialysis, concern should be placed on the degree and rate that potassium levels change," they added. Notes: The authors report no financial disclosures. Study co-authors include Dharmeshkumar Sutariya, MD, Aaron Stern, MD, Garima Gupta, MD (Elmhurst/Queens Hospital Center/Mount Sinai School of Medicine); Christos Carvounis, MD (Kyanos Stavros Medical Center, Greece); and Robin Arora, MD, Anjali Acharya, MD, and Serge Balmir, MD (Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine). The article:"Does Timing of Dialysis in Patients with ESRD and Acute Myocardial Infarcts Affect Morbidity or Mortality?" Shari Leventhal American Society of Nephrology


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009