I received some very interesting information this morning from Kaylea Livingston of Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I found that children born with heart defects are all but forgotten when they reach 18.

Caitlyn MacKay underwent heart surgery when she was just 90 days old, for an extensive heart defect. Throughout child-hood she had consistent care; she is living proof of what has been accomplished in recent years.

It is estimated that 30 to 40 thousand children out of a million are now receiving specialized care.

The way health care stands today 95% of the children that have gotten specialized care throughout their child-hood will find that it stops at 18.

Doctor Curt Daniels of Ohio State University is participating in a study following children into adulthood that have congenital heart disease. The Nationwide study is reaching out to those that have lost their health care after turning 18. Doctor Daniels and others are trying to find alternative ways to best treat these patients. 

To learn more about these programs click here, Adult congenital heart disease.

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Forgotten Children At 18

A new method of measuring blood flow can help to boost the outcome of stents. The measuring of the blood flow can determine where stents need to be implanted.

Studies have shown that this new method is more effective than X-Ray examinations.

If you are considering having this procedure, your health care provider should be made aware of any problems.  Let them know if you have an allergy to shellfish or intravenous dye, have diabetes or kidney disease.

You will find more on this subject by clicking here Angioplasty.

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ANGIOPLASTY and STENTING

Healthbolt has inspired me to write once again about that taboo subject of sexual relations. When I think about it, my discharge teaching with an acute MI patient is focused on nutrition, exercise and lifestyle changes, but doesn’t touch on sex. Don’t you think that should be a valid thought? “When is it safe to have sex again?”

Well, lucky for ya’all, I have done my research on the horizontal hookie pookie.

Sexual intercourse is considered as mild to moderate exercise. It takes about as much energy as walking up a couple flights of stairs. Most people can safely resume sexual activity as soon as they leave the hospital. In some cases, your doctor may advise a delay until your strength improves.

Fear and anxiety about sex after a heart attack is to be expected. A few suggestions to help you on your lovin’ way…

Ask your doctor for his or her suggestions. Do not have sex right after a heavy meal. Try to have sex only when you feel rested. Focus on touching, sharing, and closeness by using sex play, mutual pleasuring (mutual masturbation), and self-pleasuring (masturbation) to orgasm.

What do I think is the most important component to getting back in the game? Talking! Share your concerns and worries with your partner. Let the experience be something that you share together and brings you closer. After all, sex is all about “togetherness”!

via Women’s Health Advisor

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When is it safe to have sex again?

There is a minimally invasive Phase II EVEREST clinical trial with the aim of treating malfunctioning heart valves in the elderly.

The new technique, already proven safe by a Phase I clinical trial in 2005, involves only a small incision through the skin in the groin. A small catheter is then guided up through the maze of the blood vessels of the circulatory system and into the targeted heart chamber. Then, a tiny metal clip is clamped into the area to stabilize the malfunctioning valve. This less-invasive method also means less morbidity and less recovery time — as little as a one-day stay in the hospital compared to the usual five days.

via Science Daily 

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New minimally invasive trial for elder heart valve patients

A new US study found that cardiac surgery patients who received blood transfusions of blood that had been stored for 2 weeks or less had lower rates of complications and death than those who received blood that was older.

Were you instructed on when to donate? Did the nurse or case manager that prepared you for surgery advise you that the fresher your blood the better?

Why would this be the case you ask? Older blood loses nitric oxide, an important agent in the delivery of oxygen to tissue cells. Another reason is that red blood cells become more rigid and sticky as they age, making it difficult for them to squeeze through narrow blood vessels and raising the risk of a clot.

via Medical News today

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Newer blood will yield better results in heart surgery

Whether the preference for angioplasty is good for the patients of Elyria is open to medical debate. The cardiology group’s leader says the high rate of angioplasties is simply a function of his doctors’ detecting disease more often in their patients than physicians elsewhere might spot, and being quicker to intervene.

With heart disease being the number one killer in industrialized countries, cardiac healthcare easily earns doctors money which could be a motivating force for them to suggest stents. What’s worse, Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz, a cardiologist and professor at Yale, says there are no systems by which doctors can assess whether they are performing on par or at odds with their colleagues nation- or worldwide.

Unfortunately, the NY Times article doesn’t offer any solutions. I think patient empowerment is part of the answer here. Jason Bobe tells me that there are online communities planned where patients will be able to share symptoms, treatment plans, and success rates with one another. But are all-knowing doctors willing to listen? One can only hope.

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More Angioplasty Heart Surgeries in Elyria, Ohio