The less invasive process of stenting is also as effective as the widely followed surgical method to clear any blockage in the neck arteries for the prevention of strokes, as revealed by the largest comparative study.

Stenting is the procedure by which flexible tubes are fixed to open up the blockage inside the artery for the clearing of any plaque-clog in the coronary arteries that causes the heart attack. This procedure is also being used to open up any blockage in the neck arteries. However, the surgical procedure known as carotid endarterectomy is still the widely followed method.

Researcher Wayne Clark, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University opines, “This has presented us with two options and one of it should be chosen depending upon the person’s health, age and preference.”

The research study placed at the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) International Stroke Conference revealed that for patients who had undergone surgery, the incidence of heart attack was little bit more patients who had stents faced slightly more strokes, in the weeks after the surgery.

“However, there was no substantial difference in the nature of strokes or heart attack after an average time of 25 years,” Clarke reveals. “The occurrence of stroke, heart attack or death was only 2 percent in both the groups. This is the lowest rate of fatalities in any ‘stenting vis-à-vis surgery’ stroke trial,” He said.

Thomas Brott, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, the lead researcher said, “We expected stents to be more suitable for older patients due to its less invasive procedure. But the study showed that while the stents was more beneficial for patients under the age of 70, surgery was better for patients above 70 years.”

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke with supplemental funding from stent maker Abbott Vascular funded the research.

Stenting vs. Surgery: Trials in Europe show inconclusive results.
The result of the research study announced immediately after the European research findings published in Lancet, an online journal claimed that patients who had stents suffered from higher rate of heart attack, stroke and death, as compared to surgery.

The University of Miami’s Ralph Sacco, MD, president-elect of the American Heart Association attributes this discrepancy to the selection of the patients. To highlight this, he observed, “While the European study covered only patients with symptoms like vision problem and swishing in the ears due to neck blockages, the North American study included patients with or without these symptoms.”

“Furthermore, for the North American studies, the doctors were more experienced.” Brott opines. “The stents used were also different. While in case of the European trials, any approved stents were used, only Abbott’s Acculink Carotid Stent System was used during the North American trials,” Clark said.

Stents is as effective as Surgery
Strokes are reported to be third amongst the leading causes of death in the United States, as around 800,000 Americans suffer from it and almost 140,000 succumb to it.

About 2,502 patients in more than 100 hospitals in the US and Canada, half of whom received stents and the rest surgery were included in the recent study known as CREST.

In the first month after the procedure, 2.3 % of patients of surgery patients suffered heart attack, as compared to 1.1% of stents patient and 4.1% of stents of patients suffered a stroke as compared patients who had undergone surgeries.

The quality of life of the patients who had heart attack was reportedly better than those who suffered from strokes. Within two and half years, 2 percent of patients with stents faced heart attack, stroke or death. This was 2.4% in case patients who had undergone surgery. But this difference is very minor and could be due to chance.

In the European trial, of the 1713 patients, 5.2% of patients, who underwent surgery had heart attack, stroke or death as compared to 8.5% of stent patients.

Men generally don’t like to go for medical tests but it’s important for them to have the following medical tests once a year:

Medical Tests #1:Testosterone level – Low testosterone level can be related to bone strength, growth of hair, sexual performance and overall mood of men. About 5 million of American men are reported to have a low testosterone level.

Medical Tests #2:Testicular check-up – Testicular cancer affects many white men in the 20-34 age group. Any change in its appearance warrants a professional consultation.

Medical Tests #3:Digital rectal examination – This involves the direct check-up made by the physician to investigate the prostrate and colorectal cancer.

Medical Tests #4:STD screening – Studies show 50 percent of American would have contracted a sexually transmitted disease by the time they attain the age of 25. So, get tested for STD every six months.

Medical Tests #5:Colon cancer test – Doctors recommend that men with average risk of colon cancer should have sigmoidoscopies or investigation of signs of polyps or colon cancer apart from yearly stool tests for blood every 5 years or at more frequent intervals, if you have a family history of it.

Medical Tests #6:Hypertension – Almost 33 percent of Americans suffer from high blood pressure, which is a major cause of kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. So, get tested for it at least once a year or at more frequent intervals, if you already suffer from it.

Medical Tests #7:Skin cancer screening – Skin cancer can be prevented, if detection is done at its early stage.

Medical Tests #8:Eye examination – Apart from rectification of vision problem, glaucoma and other age-related mascular degeneration, you can also detect any signs of diabetes and high blood pressure thorough eye examination.

Medical Tests #9:Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test – The age (almost 70 percent of prostate cases are found in elderly men of 65 years or more) and family history (people of African-American origin are at greater risk) constitute the prime risk factors of prostate cancer. So, men above the age of 50 should undergo annual check-up.

Medical Tests #10:Routine physical examination – You may not have any major problem like cancer or stroke. But an annual medical check up should be performed to rule out the risk factors.

A man may need one or all of the above medical tests and it all depends on the general health of the man.

Get the man in your life to go for his annual medical tests to ensure he can lead a long healthy life.

It is not advisable to follow health rules blindly. The age-old advice of health experts like drinking lots of water, doing heavy work-outs, devouring tons of green salads may not hold true for some people and they may not even know it. For instance, take the case of Elaine Monarch. Her natural affinity for whole wheat bread and other cereal products got a boost, when her physician advised her to consume more of them, after a bout of bloating and diarrhea.

It almost proved fatal. She had celiac disease. Her immune system reacted to the glutens from the grains and in the process; tissues in her small intestine were distressed. Now, she avoids taking grains and instead, gets her share of fiber from nuts, fruits and food supplements. She has been working as the founder of the Celtic Disease Foundation.

The health rules that every American gets perennially from the health experts are indeed, right for most and the advices to quit smoking or to avoid foods trans-fats should be diligently followed. [quote]But some of the other general health rules may not be beneficial for everybody, as can be viewed from the fact that even the USDA has not placed a section for celiac disease, in their recommended food pyramid. The advices are based on the results of surveys, which may not always be all-encompassing. Even the success rate of a staggering 94 percent of the sampling studies, still leaves aside 6 percent of people, which may be a sizable population.

Dan Rod, MD, assistant vice chancellor for the personalized medicine at Vanderbilt University says in this regard, “The recommendation made by the health experts, may not always hold true in some individual cases.”

Hence, we analyzed some of the established health rules and sought the advices of the health experts about the precautions, just in case; they may prove to be otherwise.

Health rules about your exercise regimen

Recommendation: Excessive exercise is more beneficial than moderate ones

Be cautious, if you are fighting obesity. By indulging in vigorous exercises, you would feel exhausted too soon and as result, wouldn’t be able to burn sufficient calories to attain weight loss. Studies showed the amount of weight loss was around 15 to 18 pounds in women, who took up a lengthy but moderate exercise regimen as also with those who did strenuous workouts for shorter spells. In fact, a study conducted among 184 women in 2003, revealed that women who walked for two and half hours each week at a moderate speed and those who took up a more elaborate and vigorous exercise regimen, achieved the same level of weight loss. So, to fight obesity, take up such exercises that you can do for 30 to 40 minutes without gasping for air.

Recommendation: Walking is the easiest and best exercise

Do it in moderation if you have any cardiac ailment and on smoggy days. The dust particles present in the air on a smoggy day can accentuates the risk of a cardiac attack. So, on such days, it is better to do your workouts indoors, preferably in an air-conditioned room, as it can reduce the level of air pollutants by half.

Recommendation: Routine household activities like gardening can make you healthier

Be cautious, if you are suffering from any cardiac ailment and want to prevent a cardiac attack. While any sort of physical activities helps, the routine household works like cooking and washing may be too light and of short duration in order to prevent the risk of blockage of arteries and cardiac attack. On the other hand, the risks of cardiac attacks can be significantly reduced by doing moderate to heavy exercise 30 minutes every week. A brisk walk for two hours each week can reduce the risk of cardiac ailments by 50 percent, as revealed by a study carried out on around 40,000 women.

Recommendation: Swimming is the perfect aerobic exercise

The chlorine present in the swimming pool can lead to various allergies and disorders. This is more so in the case of children. People with asthma and children under the age of seven with any form of allergy, should also avoid getting into the pool and settle for some other form of aerobic exercise. Contrary to popular belief, swimming does not lead to a substantial weight loss, if you are fighting obesity.

Recommendation: Devouring lots of leaf green vegetables

Be careful if you are taking warfarin (Coumadin), the blood thinner drug, which is taken to prevent the harmful blood clots. It restricts the action of vitamin K, the vital component for blood-clotting. But taking high amount of vitamin K-rich leaf green vegetable like spinach, kale and Swiss chard can inhibit the effect of the drug. Hence, don’t eat too much of them. Thus, the common health rules of eating more leaf green vegetables can do more harm in this case.

Recommendation: Taking eight glasses of water daily

Be cautious of this health rules if you have bladder control problem. By moderating your fluid intake, you can avoid leaks. Take the advice of your doctor about how much water you should drink every day. If it is less than eight glasses, do not worry, as in any case, around one-fifth of the body’s water requirement is from the food, as per the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. And if you pass light colored urine every eight hours, then in all probability, you are drinking sufficiently.

Health rules about the drugs you take

Recommendation: Low blood pressure is always better

This health rules may not be true if you have coronary artery disease (CAD). It is advisable to keep your blood pressure at 120/80, so as to prevent a cardiac attack or stroke. But very low blood pressure is risky, as the flow of blood through the narrowed vessels gets restricted. Study conducted among more than 22,000 patients who had CAD, revealed that a diastolic pressure of below 70, have twice the risk of cardiac attacks and deaths. Thus the health rules of having low blood pressure is not always good in every case.

But, for patients who had angioplasty or bypass surgery to clear blocked vessels or for the passage of the blood via another healthy vessel, having a low blood pressure is not risky.

Recommendation: Use of acetaminophen is safe and ideal for relief from pain like arthritis

Be cautious, if you regularly take wine (alcohol). Acetaminophen, in combination with alcohol, can damage the liver. So, the label of acetaminophen contains a warning to people who take three or more drinks regularly when using them. Donald Jensen, a board member of the American Lever Foundation warns that light drinks can also be damaging. According to him, you should take only 2 mg of acetaminophen on days when you drink; the recommended dose of 4 mg/day notwithstanding. The health rules of taking drugs have to be taken seriously and in accordance to what your physician prescribed.

Recommendation: Whole foods are better source for nutrients than pills

This health rules may not apply if you eat only vegetarian foods. You have to depend on pills to supplement your needs of vitamin D and B12, if you avoid taking eggs and milk. Recent researches propose that the recommendation for vitamin D should be 1,000 to 2,000 FU to be on the safer side than the presently recommended 200 to 600 IU. Though one can get enough iron from vegetarian foods, it needs a sensible planning. You should get your hemoglobin test done, if you tire easily.

Recommendation: In case of chronic pain, anti-inflammatory, non-steroidal medicines like Ibuprofen or prescription drug like Indocin are the safest and most effective

Be careful if you are above 65 years old. NSAIDS can lead to stomach ulcers and internal bleeding, especially among the elderly people. Experts say that deaths due to NSAID-related bleeding mostly occur among the aged persons. The best thing for persons over the age of 65 would be to consult their doctor. You can take other drugs like acetaminophen, corticosteroids or narcotic like Demerol, while diligently following the instructions of the doctor to take care of any side-effects or over-dependence.

Health rules are not to be followed blindly, consult your physician whenever you have doubts.