Archive | April 2017

QUOTE FOR THURSDAY:

“The liver is like our transmission to the human body—it cleans out end products of what enters in our body keeping the essentials we need inside.”

Elizabeth Lynch RN BSN (30 yrs a nurse)

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

“A stroke occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a portion of the brain is blocked. Without oxygen, brain cells start to die after a few minutes. Sudden bleeding in the brain also can cause a stroke if it damages brain cells.”

NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

QUOTE FOR TUESDAY:

“People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of about $13,700 per year, of which about $7,900 is attributed to diabetes. People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.”
American Diabetes Association

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

Easter means to live with a sense of newness.  Just as the return of spring lifts our spirits and makes us feel like the whole world is new, the Resurrection of Jesus makes “all things new.”

(Rev. 21:5)

How to live the spirit of Easter!

“The Easter season—beginning on Easter Sunday and continuing for 50 days—is an opportunity for us to cultivate a spirit that defines who we are as Christians. So what does living the spirit of the Easter season mean in practical terms? Here are three concrete suggestions.

Live with Joy

Joy is a deep-down gladness that cannot be taken away, even in the midst of sorrow. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus teach us that suffering is transformed through faith in the Risen Christ. With this faith, we are able to hold on to an enduring sense of joy even in the midst of the sadness we experience from the loss of a loved one, a failure to achieve an important goal, or a setback during recovery from an illness.

Live without Fear

The Resurrection teaches us that God can overcome anything, even death. When the Risen Christ appears to the women at the tomb and later to his disciples, his first words are “Do not be afraid!” (Mt 28:5,10) These words speak to our hearts, helping us cope with the fear from the loss of a job, a serious illness, or a crumbling relationship. Our faith allows us to trust that God can overcome our most serious problems.

Live with New Eyes

Easter means to live with a sense of newness.  Just as the return of spring lifts our spirits and makes us feel like the whole world is new, the Resurrection of Jesus makes “all things new.” (Rev. 21:5) The Easter spirit is a spirit of renewal that enables us to show up at work with a positive attitude, to renew relationships that have been taken for granted, and to express appreciation and affection to those closest to us. It means to see the world through new eyes—God´s eyes.

We can use these 50 days to cultivate an Easter spirit that enables us to be truly Christian: embracing joy, living without fear, and seeing the world again—as if for the first time.”

Reference:

Loyalapress.com

Happy Easter to All this Sunday and have a great Easter Season!

QUOTE FOR FRIDAY:

“We all know that being happy today is a daily challenge; between our personal daily struggles, those we are close to, and the hardships that are happening globally.  It’s easy to fall to a place of sadness. And yet we still yearn and often times work towards a feeling of true happiness and inner peace.  3 Tips doing it Dancing & Movement,  Silliness (2 external ways) & judging others favorably (1 internally).”

Nanachnation.org

 

How and why the heart can go into failure.

  

Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by high prevalence in society, frequent hospitalization, reduced quality of life and high mortality (overall,50% of patients are dead at an interval of 4 years [1], annual mortality varying from 5% to 75%). Outcomes in heart failure are highly variable, prognosis of individual patients differs considerably and trial data, though valuable, does not often give an adequate direction. Taking into account the high prevalence of heart failure in society and its complexity physicians need a model to predict the risk of death, to estimate the survival of heart failure patients. A key element of interest in this area is the survival function, usually noted by S and defined as S(t)=exp(–H0(t)eaTx)=e–H0(t)eaTx

Keywords: heart failure, definition, descriptive terms, epidemiology, prognosis, mortality, hazard, survival function

Heart failure–Definition

Heart failure is a syndrome in which structural or functional cardiac conditions impair heart’s ability to supply sufficient blood flow in order to meet the body’s needs, or to do that at an elevated diastolic pressure.

There are many definitions of this complex syndrome, but none is satisfactory, due to the lack of a universally agreed definition and challenges in definitive diagnosis. Until now, only some selective features of this extremely complex physiological state were highlighted in the definitions–oxygen consumption, cardiac pre-load and after-load, left ventricular remodeling and dysfunction, ventricular filling pressures, neuro-hormonal responses, exercise capacity, etc.

The new American and European guidelines and recommendations include new information and have the declared intention to simplify and clarify the previous recommendations.

Heart failure is a clinical syndrome in which patients have featured symptoms typical of heart failure (breathlessness at rest or on exercise, fatigue, tiredness, ankle swelling) and typical signs of heart failure (tachycardia, tachypnoea, pulmonary rales, pleural effusion, raised jugular venous pressure, peripheral edema, hepatomegaly) and objective evidence of a structural or functional abnormality of the heart at rest (cardiomegaly, third heart sound, cardiac murmurs,abnormality on the echocardiogram, raised natriuretic peptide concentration).

A clinical response to a pharmacological therapy directed to heart failure is not sufficient for the diagnosis of heart failure, although the usefulness/efficacy of the treatment may be established by the improvement in symptoms or signs (e.g. diuretic administration).

Heart failure may be classified by structural abnormality (ACC/AHA), or by symptoms relating to functional capacity (NYHA).

ACC/AHA stages of heart failure (based on structure and damage to heart muscle).

  • Stage A: At high risk for developing heart failure. No identified structural or functional abnormality; no signs or symptoms.
  • Stage B: Developed structural heart disease that is strongly associated with the development of heart failure, but without signs or symptoms.
  • Stage C: Symptomatic heart failure associated with underlying structural heart disease.
  • Stage D: Advanced structural heart disease and marked symptoms of heart failure at rest despite maximal medical therapy.

NYHA functional classification (severity based on symptoms and physical activity) (NYHA classification refers to stages C and D)

  • Class Ⅰ:No limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnoea.
  • Class Ⅱ: Slight limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but ordinary physical activity results in fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnoea.
  • Class Ⅲ: Marked limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but less than ordinary activity results in fatigue, palpitation, or dyspnoea.
  • Class Ⅳ: Unable to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms at rest. If any physical activity is undertaken, discomfort is increased.

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

Bees, wasps, and hornets can quickly take the fun out of summer activities, especially if an allergy makes an insect encounter a potentially life-threatening event. It’s best to “bee” prepared for whatever buzzes your way.”

Insect allergy expert David B.K. Golden, MD,Guest on MedicineNet.com (when the doctor bring the knowledge to you).