7 important heart health screenings

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a serious health issue affecting a developing nation like India. In the coming years, the projected increase in disease burden due to CVD will make it a prime cause of mortality in India.

High obesity rates, low physical activity and unhealthy lifestyles, work together to increase the incidence of the condition. Further, more than half cardiac death cases occur in persons without any previous history of heart disease. This makes frequent heart health screenings vital to your health. The top 7 health screenings are as follows.

Blood pressure monitoring

Classified by WHO as a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, it is possible to detect this 'silent killer' by merely checking your blood-pressure levels with the help of a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope. Hypertension is commonly associated with heart ailments like stroke, heart attack and heart failure. Hence, frequent screening is vital especially if you have adverse lifestyle habits or a family history of high blood pressure. The standard blood pressure readings for adults are 90-119 mmHg Systolic and 60-79 mmHg Diastolic. Any variations from this level calls for regular checkups and lifestyle changes.

Body weight measurements

The BMI (Body Mass Index) is a simple test that helps doctors diagnose cardiovascular conditions. Apart from this, measurement of the waist circumference is also important. These measurements tell us if we are at the desired weight for our age. With increasing cases of obesity, people today are at a higher risk of increased blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. Development of these risk factors, in turn, triggers heart ailments. As per WHO standards, a BMI of 18.5 to 25 kg per meter square is regarded as normal and values greater than 25 overweight and above 30 is considered as obese.

Blood glucose level

An important biomarker offering detailed information about the risk of developing CVD is the blood glucose level. It is mandatory to check your blood glucose levels every three years after reaching the age of 45. Increased levels place you at a higher risk of Type II Diabetes which, in turn, can trigger a heart disease or stroke. In case, you have two or more cardiovascular risk factors at the same time, it is advisable to get this screening test done even before the age of 45.

Fasting lipoproteins

The American Heart Association recommends that a woman above 50 years of age and a man above 45 should test their fasting lipoprotein profile every five years. Another high risk group includes people with two or more risk factors at the same time. This test includes measurement of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (bad), HDL cholesterol (good) and triglycerides.

Stress test

Stress testing is a vital mode for diagnosing coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease. This provides important data about how your heart functions during strenuous physical activity. Signs of CHD are difficult to assess while at rest. But while performing exercises, the increased oxygen supply required by the working heart is not met due to the narrowed arteries in CHD patients. The main parameters measured during stress test are abnormal heart rate and blood pressure levels, shortness of breath, chest pain and abnormal changes in your heart rhythm.

Artery ultrasound

In heart patients, images obtained by ultrasound testing help physicians to diagnose any blocks or plagues in the carotid arteries of the neck or hazardous bulges in the abdominal aortic artery. It also helps to diagnose certain hidden heart ailments in patients having no prior symptoms. As per researches, periodic ultrasound screening in men aged 60-70 years can be reduced to more than 50 percent.

Electrocardiography

A high-tech screening module using for diagnosing heart ailments is Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG). Routine screening with the help of this non-invasive test helps to detect certain CVDs like coronary heart disease and coronary artery stenosis.

WHO joins with FIP for combating TB

The World Health Organisation and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) signed a joint statement here on Sunday seeking to involve pharmacists in tuberculosis care and control. It's a major initiative to combat TB epidemic. The statement was signed by Hiroki Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and FIP president, Michel Buchmann, at the World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2011 and the 71st International Congress of FIP. The event was organized by President Pratibha Patil earlier. 

Dr. Nakatani said that TB was one of the major killers worldwide claiming five million lives per year. Referring to the emergence of multi-drug resistant TB due to underuse, overuse and misuse of anti-TB drugs, he insisted out that India was home to largest burden of TB patients and emphasised the necessity of collaboration with pharmacists. FIP president Michel Buchmann revealed that FIP would endeavour to support WHO and its member States in enabling national TB programmes and national pharmacy associations to enhance their collaboration towards care and control of TB and multi-drug resistant TB globally. 

The statement called upon TB programmes and pharmacy associations to engage pharmacists in the fight against TB by increasing awareness of TB, referring people with TB symptoms to facilities with quality diagnosis and treatment, offering patient-centric treatment supervision to improve adherence and help prevent multi-drug resistant TB and promoting the rational use of anti-TB medicines. Meanwhile, FIP honoured several individuals for their outstanding dedication to the development of pharmacy and science . The awards include FIP Distinguished Practice Award to Dr.Marianne F. Ivey (USA) and FIP Lifetime Achievment in Pharmaceutical Practice Award to Dr. Th ( Dick) Tromp (The Netherlands).

Summer health care tips for dogs

It is necessary that every body should take care of their health. Not only the human but also we should take care of pet animals. If your dog is feeling so hot, they it should be moved to a cooler, ventilated environment.

It is important that never leave the dog alone in a care. If you need to take your dog with you on a car journey, make sure that your destination is dog-friendly and you don't want your day out to be ruined!

If you have to leave your dog outside, you must offer a cool, shady spot where it can escape from the sun at all times of the day. Make sure your dog always has a good supply of drinking water, in a weighted bowl that can’t be knocked over. Fetch water with you on hot days and give your dog frequent, small amounts.

Never leave your dog in a glass conservatory or a caravan. Even if it is cloudy when you leave, the sun may come out later in the day and make it unbearably hot. Groom your dog regularly to remove excess hair. At the start of summer, it is necessary to give long-coated breeds a hair-cut and later in the season.

Dogs need exercise, even when it is hot, but walk your dog early in the morning or later in the evening. Never allow your dog to exercise excessively in hot weather. Dogs can get sunburned too – particularly those with light coloured noses or light coloured fur on their ears – ask your vet for advice on pet-safe sunscreen.

Study about healthy food

According to a new study,  Americans aren't taking healthy foods since the grocery bills are large as the budgets are tight. Amy Sutten,  Central Shenandoah Health Department's WIC Coordinator informed that they have people asked in public that why they should buy these fruits and vegetables since it is too expensive so they cant afford it.

He also added that he thought people just are not shopping right and they can shop and eat healthy on a budget. Meeks, Registered dietitian expressed that planning meals is the key to that food plate. Sitting down ahead of time and saying, they are going to eat this this and this this week and shopping with that plan.  That's going to budget for healthier food.

The study revealed that the average person should have to spend a year to obtain the recommended amount of potassium but that could be misleading. Meeks informed that it all depends on what you buy. He told that bananas are not crazy expensive and potatoes have obtained a bad rap in our society. He advised that we really should think about how much money we are willing to spend on our overall health.

Food Choices for healthy life

According to a new research, our food choices can be influenced by shifting of attention towards the healthy side of life. The shift of healthy side offers strategies to support us all by making healthier choices. The healthier choice is not just interms of the foods that we eat but other areas such as cigarette.

Antonio Rangel, professor of economics and neuroscience at Caltech, and Todd Hare, who is now an assistant professor of neuroeconomics at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, came to their conclusions depends on data from a brain-imaging experiment conducted with 33 adult volunteers, none of whom were following a specific diet or trying to lose weight for any reason.

Each of the volunteers was served 180 different food items-from chips and candy bars to apples and broccoli-via a set of video goggles while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. When thinking about healthiness, subjects were less likely to eat unhealthy foods, whether or not they deemed them to be tasty, and more likely to eat healthy-untasty foods.

Being asked to think about healthiness led subjects to say "no" to foods more often than they did when asked to make decisions naturally.

Maintaining health and fitness

Health and Fitness are the major concerns of everybody's life. There are so many ways to be healthy and strong but we should follow accordingly. Some of the tips for being healthy at all time are as follows.

A man want more than 40 different nutrients for good health and no single food supplies them all. Our daily food selection includes bread and other whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods.
 
Simple fitness exercises can support to have a fitter and healthy life. Stretching exercises can help in many ways in mainting a fitter body. Medical breakthroughs can happen by regular meditation and exercising.

Yoga and other workouts which can be performed easily are available in this website to keep you fit and healthy.Health and Fitness can make all that difference in one's life. One can reduce the weight with the help of yoga and small exercises.

Healthy living is all that one needs, and to achieve that we picked up the best of the articles from reliable sources and have presented here in an organized manner.

Healthy diet begins with baby food

Healthy diet starts from the baby food and stops till our death. Researches informs that babies fed home-cooked food which are likely to eat fruit and vegetables when they are older than those given meals from jars and packets.

The result appears that youngseter who were frequently given home-cooked fruit or vegetables aged six months were more likely to be eating higher amounts of fruit and vegetables at the age of seven than those given home-cooked meals less often.

The research informs that fruit and vegetables is important in the early weaning period since both are recommended for good health.

In addition fruit and vegetables from packets, jars and tins are likely to have a uniform taste and texture, whereas those cooked at home or eaten raw will vary according to the variety of the particular fruit or vegetable, whether it is in season and the cooking method.