What to Do When You're Having an Asthma Attack

If you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a full-blown asthma attack, would you know what to do? The answer to that question could be the difference between life and death.
If you've been diagnosed with asthma, you've probably worked with your doctor to develop an asthma action plan that provides important steps to help you prevent and treat this chronic respiratory condition. Most asthma action plans also include a list of warning signs that can alert you when you're heading into an attack so you can respond right away. This plan can be crucial in an emergency because it spells out exactly what to do and when.
Some of the common signs of an asthma attack include coughing, wheezing, trouble breathing, and extreme tiredness. If you use a peak flow monitor to follow changes in your breathing, you may also find that your lung capacity drops by about 50 percent.
As soon as you notice any asthma attack symptoms, respond immediately. Some steps your doctor may recommend for treating a mild asthma attack include: Using your fast-acting relief inhaler to try to open up the tight airway muscles to let air flow freely again. Waiting for a minute and see if you feel any better. Repeating the inhaler dosage if you still feel symptoms.Calling your doctor right away if the discomfort persists.
While many asthma attacks can be effectively managed at home without ill effects, if you're prone to life-threatening asthma attacks or find yourself suddenly experiencing more severe symptoms, it's crucial to call 911 to summon emergency medical care right away.
Some warning signs that can signal a life-threatening asthma attack include:
A peak flow reading that continues to drop even after using your fast-acting relief medication.Blue fingernails or lips.Trouble talking.Difficulty taking a breath.Pulling in your neck, chest, or ribs when you try to breathe.Nostrils flaring with each breath.
Remember that if left untreated, an asthma attack can be fatal. By working closely with your doctor and taking the proper precautions to prevent and treat the symptoms, you should be able to effectively manage your condition and keep it from getting out of hand.
Sources:
"Asthma." National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. US Department of Health & Human Services/National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 30 March 2011.
"Asthma Attack." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 March 2011.
"Asthma: Learning to Control Your Symptoms." American Academy of Family Physicians. Familydoctor.org, Jan. 2011. Web. 4 April 2011.
"What to do in an Asthma Attack. Winning with Asthma." Steps to a Healthy Minnesota, n.d. Web. 30 March 2011.

View the original article here

What to Do When You're Having an Asthma Attack

If you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a full-blown asthma attack, would you know what to do? The answer to that question could be the difference between life and death.

If you've been diagnosed with asthma, you've probably worked with your doctor to develop an asthma action plan that provides important steps to help you prevent and treat this chronic respiratory condition. Most asthma action plans also include a list of warning signs that can alert you when you're heading into an attack so you can respond right away. This plan can be crucial in an emergency because it spells out exactly what to do and when.

Some of the common signs of an asthma attack include coughing, wheezing, trouble breathing, and extreme tiredness. If you use a peak flow monitor to follow changes in your breathing, you may also find that your lung capacity drops by about 50 percent.

As soon as you notice any asthma attack symptoms, respond immediately. Some steps your doctor may recommend for treating a mild asthma attack include: Using your fast-acting relief inhaler to try to open up the tight airway muscles to let air flow freely again. Waiting for a minute and see if you feel any better. Repeating the inhaler dosage if you still feel symptoms.Calling your doctor right away if the discomfort persists.

While many asthma attacks can be effectively managed at home without ill effects, if you're prone to life-threatening asthma attacks or find yourself suddenly experiencing more severe symptoms, it's crucial to call 911 to summon emergency medical care right away.

Some warning signs that can signal a life-threatening asthma attack include:

A peak flow reading that continues to drop even after using your fast-acting relief medication.Blue fingernails or lips.Trouble talking.Difficulty taking a breath.Pulling in your neck, chest, or ribs when you try to breathe.Nostrils flaring with each breath.

Remember that if left untreated, an asthma attack can be fatal. By working closely with your doctor and taking the proper precautions to prevent and treat the symptoms, you should be able to effectively manage your condition and keep it from getting out of hand.

Sources:

"Asthma." National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. US Department of Health & Human Services/National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 30 March 2011.

"Asthma Attack." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 March 2011.

"Asthma: Learning to Control Your Symptoms." American Academy of Family Physicians. Familydoctor.org, Jan. 2011. Web. 4 April 2011.

"What to do in an Asthma Attack. Winning with Asthma." Steps to a Healthy Minnesota, n.d. Web. 30 March 2011.

View the original article here

What Causes a Heart Attack?

Everyday occurrences such as drinking coffee and alcohol, physical exertion and even breathing can help spur a heart attack, according to a Belgium study published in the journal The Lancet. The study researchers analyzed data from 36 separate studies of potential triggers for heart attack in people ranging in age from 44 to 72 years old. They then calculated the relative risk posed by each trigger and the population-attributable fraction (PAF)-the proportion of total heart attacks estimated to have been caused by a specific trigger.

Their results found that air pollution due to time spent in traffic triggered 7.4 percent of heart attacks. Other potential triggers included

Physical exertion 6.2 percentAlcohol 5 percentNegative emotions 3.9 percentSexual activity 2.2 percentCocaine and marijuana use just under one percent

Although only a small number of people in the entire population are exposed to cocaine, as opposed to the hundreds of millions exposed to air pollution on a daily basis, air pollution was estimated to cause more heart attacks across the population.

"Of the triggers for heart attack studied, cocaine is the most likely to trigger an event in an individual, but traffic has the greatest population effect as more people are exposed to the trigger. PAFs give a measure of how much disease would be avoided if the risk was no longer present," wrote the researchers. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes air pollution as "a major environmental risk to health" and estimates that it causes about two million premature deaths worldwide each year.

And while exposure to secondhand smoke was not included in the study, the effects are probably of the same magnitude as air pollution, the authors concluded, citing evidence from British studies showing that bans on smoking in public places have reduced the rate of heart attack by 17 percent.

While air pollution may contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases, a person's relative risk for contracting heart disease due to air pollution is small compared with the impact of established cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, or high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.

To stay heart healthy:

Eliminate saturated and trans fats from your diet and instead choose monounsaturated fats such as olive oil or canola oil.Choose lowfat protein sources such as lean meat, poultry, and fish; lowfat dairy products; and legumes-beans, peas, and lentilsEat more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grainsExercise at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week

Sources:

Medical News Today. "Air Pollution Can Trigger Heart Attacks To Same Extent As Known Risks Like Physical Exertion, Alcohol And Coffee." February, 24, 2011.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217190.php

Mayo Clinic. "Heart-Healthy Diet: 8 Steps to Prevent Heart Disease."
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196

American Heart Association. "Air Pollution, Heart Disease and Stroke." April 11, 2011.
http://americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4419

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Diet Soda And Your Risk For Heart Attack Or Stroke

February 20th, 2011 by DrJohnMandrola in Opinion, Research

It tastes sweet. It’s pleasurably fizzy. And free of calories. What’s more, the FDA says NutraSweet (aspartame) is safe. So what’s not to like about diet soft drinks?

A bunch. The ongoing debate about the healthiness of diet soft drinks reminds me of the old adage, “If something sounds to be true, it probably is.”

Artificially-sweetened “diet” drinks get touted as healthy alternatives to sugary drinks because they contain no calories or carbohydrates. On paper it seems plausible to think they are inert, no more dangerous than water. The Coca-Cola Company sublimely strengthens this assertion by putting a big red heart on Diet Coke cans.

But diet-cola news (Los Angeles Times) presented at the International Stroke Conference 2011 suggests otherwise. This widely-publicized observational study of 2,500 older patients (average age=69) from New York showed that drinking diet soda on a daily basis increased the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by 61 percent. The abstract — not a peer-reviewed study — stated that this association persisted after controlling for other pertinent variables.

Sure, this is only a look back at 559 patients who had a vascular event. The study asserts only an association, not that diet colas cause heart attacks and strokes. That’s a big difference.

That said, however, I don’t view these results as trivial either. This trial builds on the results of prior studies of diet drinks which strongly suggest that despite their lack of calories, diet drinks don’t prevent obesity.

My take on diet drinks is that they’re junk food in a can. It isn’t just the science, it’s the common sense: Nothing that is artificially colored, artificially sweetened, and packaged in aluminum is good for you. Even the supermarkets agree — they display soda right next to chips and cookies.

That’s why I find the views of a prestigious stroke doctor so disturbing. The vice chair of the stroke meeting, Dr. Steven Goldberg of Massachusetts General Hospital, advised patients to focus on a healthy diet and exercise before they consider cutting back on soda consumption. He adds, “People shouldn’t rush to stop consuming diet soft drinks.” I hope he was misquoted. How dumb would the above sentence have sounded if the words “Fritos” or “Twinkies” were substituted for “diet soft drinks?”

To me, minimizing the consumption of junk food is at the crux of a healthy diet. Our obesity epidemic isn’t mickey mouse. Thus when a medical leader is given the bully pulpit, it seems to me they should aggressively advocate for the total package of better health.

JMM

*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*

Tags: American Heart Association, American Heart Month, American Stroke Association, Aspartame, Cardiovascular Health, Coca-Cola Company, Diet Coke, Diet Soda, Diet Soda and Heart Risk, Diet Soft Drinks, Dr. John Mandrola, Dr. Steven Goldberg, Food and Drink, Food and Nutrition, Healthy Diet, Heart Attack Risk, Heart Health, International Stroke Conference 2011, Junk Food In A Can, LA Times, Los Angeles Times, Massachusetts General Hospital, National Heart Month, NutraSweet, Obesity Epidemic, Stroke Risk

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