One quarter of all pregnant women experience migraines. Now, a new study suggests that migraines can be an indicator of stroke, heart disease, or vascular problems as well.

According to the Ithica Journal, pregnant women who have migraines “are 15 times more likely than other women to suffer a stroke, twice as likely to have heart disease and three times more likely to have blood clots and other vascular problems during pregnancy.”

The study also found that women over 35 were more likely to experience migraines. The condition was also present in white more often than in other ethnic or racial groups.

Image from sxc.

A new study suggests that a woman’s heart health may be affected by changes in her reproductive system. Two situations in particular were looked at: giving birth prematurely (or delivering a smaller baby), and the removal of a woman’s ovaries.

In the first condition, women showed an increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in her life. In the second, a woman’s overall risk of dying, stroke, and heart disease increased.

Studies like this are often scary if not properly explained and understood. If you have had a preemie or underweight baby, you should ask your doctor how it could affect your heart health going forward. Likewise if you are having your ovaries removed, discuss all the possible risks, both immediate and future, before deciding on a course of treatment.

Image from StockXchange.

My sister married when I was 8 years old, her husband was like another father to me. Don was my hero he was always so full of life and included me in his mad adventures, with his children.

Don was over six feet three inches tall and weighed about 240, he was always outdoors, his only faults were smoking and eating fatty foods. He was never sick so there was no need to go to the doctor, so he thought.

Imagine our surprise when we found that he was an extremely ill man with diabetes.

He fought a good fight in every way, but he would not give up his smoking. The doctors told him that the medicine that he was taking could not help him if he continued to smoke.

Don died in a nursing home with heart failure, unable to walk; he took a large part of my heart with him.

If you have a loved one that is fighting diabetes please do all you can to help them to give up smoking.

Patient’s with diabetes should have an AIC glucose test twice a year. Diabetics blood pressure should be no more than 130/80mmHg. Their Cholesterol LDL (bad) needs to be below 100 mg/dl their HDL (good) should be above 40mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women. 

Currently, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes in the United States die from a heart attack or stroke. Diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputations. In many cases, medicine is also needed to keep diabetes under control.

For more information click here MSNBC.

Not all headaches are warnings of a stroke, not all chest pains are the onset of a heart attack, you need to learn the signs to look for. If you have shortness of breath and sweating, this is your body telling you that something more serious going on.

There are normal headaches caused by stress, eyestrain or allergies this type of headache will fade. If the headaches persist you should see your health care provider. If you experience a headache that feels as if your head will explode and it persists you need to see your health care provider immediately, this could be the sign of bleeding in the brain.

Patients going to an emergency room that are aware of what is going on within their body, can actually help the doctor to diagnose their problem more efficiently.

I found an article that has six serious medical symptoms listed, that would be great to copy and place somewhere so that you could have easy access to it.

To find the article click here Six Serious Medical Symptoms.

NuvaRing was approved for use as in birth control October of 2001. NuvaRing is considered a third generation combination hormonal contraceptive.

There are ongoing lawsuits due to the side effects of the contraceptive which include risks of blood clots, stroke.

You should always research any medications before having them prescribed for you.

Here are a few more side effects of the NuvaRing birth control.

• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Pulmonary Embolysm
• Heart Attack
• Death

To find more information on this type of birth control click here NuvaRing

CRP or an inflammatory marker is a protein that is made when there is inflammation present in the body. CRP inflammation can be caused by high blood pressure, high blood sugar or smoking, it is also the way your body reacts to injury or infection.

CRP(C-reactive protein) inflammation encourages plaque to form in the blood vessels. This plaque will eventually cause the blood vessels to rupture causing a heart attack or stroke.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is often shortened to CPR. When your health care provider is explaining your disorder they will usually use the term CRP.  You will see CRP in written articles also.

If you are experiencing any health problems related to your heart make an appointment with your health care provider immediately. Be sure to tell them at the time of your appointment, you would like your cholesterol and CRP levels checked.

People who are otherwise healthy but have high CRP levels are more likely than those with low CRP levels to have heart disease and its complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, sudden cardiac death, and peripheral arterial disease (hardening of the arteries in the legs, which causes leg cramps and poor circulation in the legs and feet). In fact, people with high CRP have 2 or 3 times the risk of heart disease compared to people with low CRP levels.

You can find more informative on this site Heart Health.

When we think of depression we generally think it is associated with women, this is not always true as we get older. There have been studies that show when men in their fifties start to show signs of depression, it puts them at a greater risk of a heart attack.

In the U.S. 80 percent of suicides are male, and 90 percent of these suicides are Caucasian males over the age of 60.

Men that fall into a depressed state after a heart attack or stroke are more likely to die of heart disease.

If you recognize a change in moods or depression, in a loved one it would be wise to call their health care provider and make them aware of these changes.

But what if you notice that one of your older relatives isn’t quite their old self? That they’re more anxious, more irritable, less joyful or quieter than they once were? That they seem focused on talking about people who have died, or have lost interest in things that they used to enjoy - including holiday traditions and festivities?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/58587.php

A blood test can help identify an elderly person’s risk of having a heart attack within the next 10 years, scientists reported recently in an American Heart Association journal called Circulation.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5289/is_/ai_n24301918

Researchers from Austria have studied studying carotid arteries with repeat US. Strange sentence but true.

The team first did ultrasound exams of the carotid arteries of 1,268 patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease because of multiple risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or known blockages in other blood vessels such as the coronary arteries. Then they concentrated on the 574 patients that showed the most plaque buildup.

What did they find?

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This is of great importance. Realizing the signs and symptoms of a stroke can make the difference between life an death and between resolving symptoms and forever disabilities.

tPA is only administered if the symptoms are within a 3 hour window at most ER’s. What happens if you present saying your symptoms started yesterday? Well, first of all you are not fast tracked and wait as a stage or grade 2 patient. Next, you are not eligible to receive any clot busting type medications.

Aldo of importance, how you arrive at the hospital. Yes, believe it or not it does make a difference. If you are having signs or symptoms of a stroke you need to call 911 right away. An ambulance will assure you fast and prompt treatment as well as quicker service on the receiving end. I am a nurse and I can say this with 100% conviction!

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Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes using new 3-D ultrasound technology they designed. This is believed to be the first of its kind- to see past the skull and actually view the major arteries.

This could save many of lives, in emergent and routine situations. What are the real benefits?

The 3-D ultrasound has the benefit of being less expensive and faster than the traditional methods of assessing blood flow in the brain — MRI or CT scanning, Ivancevich said. Though 3-D ultrasound will not totally displace MRI or CT scans, he said that the new technology would give physicians more flexibility in treating their patients.

via Science Daily