This past week, the University of Chicago released a study evaluating a chiropractic manipulative technique of the neck and its effect on blood pressure. Let’s take a look at hypertension and current treatment recommendations.
What is hypertension? Hypertension is defined as abnormally high blood pressure, with a reading of 120/80 measured in millimeters of mercury by a blood pressure cuff. The systolic (top) number measures the pressure against the arteries as the heart pumps. The diastolic (bottom) number is the resting pressure in the arteries between each heartbeat.
For the past few years, Vice President Cheney has made headlines because of his cardiac problems. Most recently, doctors detected an irregular heartbeat – atrial fibrillation – during Cheney’s examination for a lingering cough. Doctors proceeded to apply an electrical shock to restore his heart’s normal rhythm.
Definition. Atrial fibrillation is a common heart problem. Statistics show that over 2 million Americans suffer from an irregular heartbeat in which the upper and lower chambers of the heart are not synchronized.
The danger associated with this condition is the possibility that a person can experience a stroke if the atrial fibrillation is left untreated. Fifteen percent of people with this condition can eventually suffer a stroke. A stroke occurs because the uncoordinated beating increases the likelihood that a small blood clot will form in the lower chamber of the heart, called the ventricle. Eventually, a small piece of the clot can break off and travel to the brain leading to a stroke.
Recently, I was asked to evaluate a worker’s compensation claim regarding respiratory complaints that occurred in the work place. The individual worked in a food milling company and was exposed to flour dust. After 20 years on the job, she noted that she began to experience shortness of breath and wheezing while at work. This had never happened before and she had never been diagnosed with asthma. After an extensive investigation, it was determined that she was suffering from occupational asthma. The number of workers in the United States affected by this condition is unknown, but this is a real disease entity. Let’s look more closely at this respiratory illness.
What is occupational asthma? Asthma is a respiratory illness whereby the airways become irritated and over reactive after being exposed to an irritant. In this case, the irritant is found in the work place and research has shown that up to 250 substances can cause this condition.
On September 11, many of us awoke with a heavy heart because of the terrorism our country suffered two years earlier, while beloved actor, John Ritter, woke up and had no idea that his life was about to end. Mr. Ritter felt tired most of the day, and even took a nap between breaks of taping his popular new sitcom, which was about to begin its’ second season. After the nap, he informed fellow actor, Henry Winkler, that he still felt tired, and collapsed soon after.
How many of us are walking around with this silent and mostly undetected fatal heart ailment? If undetected and allowed to rupture, more than 80 percent of all people will die. Let’s look closer at this serious health problem, which if caught in time, may be successfully corrected, and if not, you will join the 80 percent.
What is an aneurysm? The term aneurysm comes from the Greek term aneurysma, which means widening. The widening occurs in a blood vessel, such as the aorta, the largest artery in the body. What actually occurs is there is a bulge in a section of the blood vessel, which is like a worn spot in an old inner tube of a tire. The weakened bulge, which is under pressure from the pumping of the heart, will actually burst causing hemorrhage and death.
If you think that the only people who suffer from strokes are in their senior years, guess again. Every year, more than 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke, which can strike individuals in their mid-teenage years, but the average age is 65 years old. Strokes are the third leading cause of death and disability in our country, with 20 percent of the victims dying within the first year, at a cost of $30 billion in health care costs.
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