Cardiovascular Medicine & Health Pages
Believe Me; It’s Not Like An Appendectomy
By Dr. Gifford Jones
“Have you had your bypass operation?” and “How are you doing?” I’ve had a massive response from readers asking these questions. But I’ve delayed writing about my experience as a patient so I could sit back, reflect on it, and provide a more rational answer.
Well I’m a bit scarred. So I won’t win a beauty contest! But I’m grateful to be alive and well.
First, the humorous side to the surgery. My operation was scheduled on a Thursday morning, the same day my column appears in The Toronto Sun. Early that day on our way to the hospital I casually asked my wife to bring me a copy. She agreed impatiently, suggesting that I get my priorities in order!
10 Ways To Lower Cholesterol Without DrugsBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Are you worried about your level of blood cholesterol? If not, you must be living on Mars. Day after day patients ask me to measure their blood cholesterol. Others who are aware of an elevated cholesterol level are wondering about taking drugs to lower it. The following are 10 ways to lower blood cholesterol without resorting to drugs.
#1 © First, a caution about the non©drug approach. Don’t toss out dairy products or you will jump from the frying pan into the fire. Too many people are doing this, becoming deficient in calcium, and developing osteoporosis (brittle bones) with disastrous results. There are better ways to lower blood cholesterol. But you can switch from 2 percent milk to skim milk.
I’m Not A Good PatientBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What passes through your mind when you’ve suffered a heart attack? It’s a question I wish I didn’t have to answer. But I’ve recently returned home following a coronary attack. There’s little doubt that coming close to greeting your “Maker” is an eye©opener. And editors have asked me to write about it.
First, there’s a huge shock to the psyche. One moment I was sitting at my computer writing a column. The next minute I experienced sudden severe chest pain. There’s no doubt I was suffering an acute coronary attack.
The Cry Of The HeartBy Dr. Gifford Jones
This year 750,000 North Americans will experience a heart attack. Half will not make it to the hospital. Others suffering from anginal pain are more fortunate. Listening to this cry of the heart (angina pectoris) can save your life.
William Heberden, an English physician, first described angina pectoris (pain in the chest) in 1772. It’s difficult to improve on his literary eloquence.
He wrote, “There is a disorder of the breast with strong and peculiar symptoms considerable for the kind of danger belonging to it. The seat of it and the sense of strangling and anxiety with which it is attended may make it not improperly called angina pectoris.”
A Simple Way To Predict Heart DiseaseBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Why do we make life so complicated? How much better our lives would be if we could only take to heart the current expression ,"Keep It Simple, Stupid” (Kiss). This week I’ve got a big “Kiss” to pass along to readers and doctors. It’s a simple, inexpensive, painless and speedy way to help people predict their chances of heart disease. And it’s better than all the other complicated ways of predicting coronary heart disease (CHD).
CHD is the nation’s # 1 killer. Last week, I commented on the Hungarian disaster. How Hungarians were digging their own graves due to faulty lifestyle. How this was carrying them off to the Great Beyond five to ten years sooner than their European neighbours.
Hungarians Are Not The Only Grave-DiggersBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Is there a lesson to be learned from the Hungarian medical disaster? And can it be avoided? By following Hungarian lifestyle habits it’s obvious that its citizens were digging their own grave. But they are not the only graveªdiggers, it seems.
Dr. Xavier Coll, is The World Bank’s principal public health specialist. During an interview in Washington he described how Hungarians are dying needlessly before their time. Hungary is “the sick man of Europe, he claims. Young people, in particular, should listen carefully to what he says.
The Odds Are Better With Sex Than at Las VegasBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Every year 1.5 million North Americans suffer a heart attack and 1.2 million survive. Should this brush death affect their sex lives? Is it safe for them to continue a normal sexual life after a coronary? Or is it prudent to toss in the towel and play backgammon instead?
Heart attack patients share several fears. One is that the increased heart rate accompanying sexual activity will put too much stress on a damaged heart.
Some physicians are reluctant to tell them otherwise. One patient told me, “The doctor said I was lucky to be alive so why worry about sex?”
Does Aspirin Protect Against Several Diseases?By Dr. Gifford Jones
It appears that with each passing year acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), commonly referred to as Aspirin, has found another important use in medicine. But what is fact and what is still questionable?
Today thousands of people over 60 years of age are taking ASA daily to prevent heart attack. Others use it who have already suffered a coronary attack, or following by©pass surgery, angioplasty or suffer from the pain of angina.
Aspirin decreases the risk of heart attack by keeping the blood well©oiled and less likely to form a fatal blood clot. There’s little doubt that it’s one of the greatest therapeutic bargains of all time.
Kill the Cat or Your Child!By Dr. Gifford Jones
Why are so many people suffering from asthma being rushed to emergency rooms or dying? Is it the fault of the doctor, the patient or both? And what is so sacred about the family cat when a child’s health is at stake?
It’s estimated that 10 million North Americans suffer from difficult breathing. Or what’s called “reversible bronchospasm”. During an acute attack the airway constricts, bronchial tissues become swollen and increased mucus production clogs an already narrowed airway.
10 Things To Know About Your “Vital Rubber”By Dr. Gifford Jones
Sir William Osler once remarked that if one wishes to live long, much depends on the quality of the arterial tissue. Or the “vital rubber” as he called it. Hypertension affects an estimated 50 million Americans and 4 million Canadians. Here are 10 points you should know about this common problem:
1. Hypertension: Do You Really Have It?
25 percent of patients who believe they suffer from hypertension and are being treated for it, don’t have it. They suffer from “white©coat” hypertension a nervous reaction to being in the doctor’s office. A better term is “assembly©line hypertension”. What they need is an old©fashioned family doctor who doesn’t rush them out of the office in two minutes. Rather, one who says “relax, think about a Caribbean cruise and I’ll check the pressure again in 10 minutes”. It’s usually lower.
Why Women Must Become “Heart Smart”By Dr. Gifford Jones
Have women been getting the short end of the stick when treated for heart disease? Whatever way you look at the problem this seems to be the case. For years research studies have focused on heart disease in men. But heart disease is not only a “man’s disease”. It is also the biggest killer of women.
Ask anyone what kills most women and many answer, “breast cancer”. Yet the number of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) is seven times greater than those from malignancy of the breast.
Shoes, Eggs and Blood CholesterolBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What would you think if I claimed everyone could wear the same size of shoe? No doubt you’d quickly conclude I’d either gone crazy or had too many Johnnie Walkers, and it was time for me to retire. But for years doctors and the media have been telling everyone to avoid cholesterol like the plague.
Now there’s evidence that the consumption of cholesterol has much in common with the practice of buying a pair of shoes. Just as one shoe size doesn’t fit all customers, neither is the same amount of dietary cholesterol correct for everyone.
10 Ways To Decrease The Risk of Heart AttackBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Here’s the good news. Death from heart attack has decreased 30 per cent during the last 20 years. The bad news? It’s still the number one killer. But it can be reduced further by following 10 lifestyle rules.
One © Quit smoking
Of the 600,000 deaths every year from myocardial infarction 100,000 to 200,000 are related to smoking. Addiction to nicotine more than doubles your chance of heart attack and also adds to the problems of diabetes and hypertension. Use the nicotine patches if you can’t stop “cold turkey”.
The Cry Of The HeartBy Dr. Gifford Jones
This year 750,000 North Americans will experience a heart attack. Half will not make it to the hospital. Others suffering from anginal pain are more fortunate. Listening to this cry of the heart (angina pectoris) can save your life.
William Heberden, an English physician, first described angina pectoris (pain in the chest) in 1772. It’s difficult to improve on his literary eloquence.
He wrote, “There is a disorder of the breast with strong and peculiar symptoms considerable for the kind of danger belonging to it. The seat of it and the sense of strangling and anxiety with which it is attended may make it not improperly called angina pectoris.”
Can Atherosclerosis be Reversed?By Dr. Gifford Jones
What brought Germany to her knees in World War II? It wasn’t the massive damage that Allied planes wrought on German factories. The final coup de gras occurred when bombing destroyed Germany’s railways, the lifeline of the nation. Just as a deteriorating transportation system can be lethal to a nation so can degenerating coronary arteries be fatal to humans.
This year another 750,000 North Americans will succumb to coronary heart disease (CHD). Many of these deaths will result from narrowed atherosclerotic (hardened) coronary arteries. But is atherosclerosis always a slow, relentless process as certain as aging? Or can it be controlled like other diseases?
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