Your Brain & Body Reacting to Meditation

 

courtesy Troy Dunham @ Huffington Post

Deadlier than Heroin and Cocaine Combined

An Estimated 785,000 Americans Will Have Their First Heart Attack This Year

Did you know that men who see female physicians are less likely to fill their prescriptions?

The U.S. wasted $317.4 billion last year treating unnecessary medical complications that could have been avoided if patients had taken their medications as prescribed. That’s more money than the country spent treating diabetes, heart disease and cancer, combined. It’s true – non-adherence is the costliest health condition we face.

NYT: Elderly Patients Have Multiple Challenges

There are more than 733,000 people in American assisted living facilities and more than half the residents are 85 or older.  “Much of the way we practice medicine is looking at disease by disease,” Dr. Boyd said. “We aren’t doing enough thinking about how to add them together and really integrate care.”

 

 

 

New York Times:  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/16/science/disease-overlap-in-elderly.html?ref=science

The Field Guide to Medicare Payment Innovation

“Collectively, the programs outlined in the graphic below support local innovation, establish a “new normal” for Medicare fee-for-service payments, and introduce opportunities to evolve beyond the fee-for-service payment system.”

RARE DISEASE INFOGRAPHIC

Benefit of Immediate Beta-Blocker Therapy on Mortality in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Hirschl, Michael M. MD; Wollmann, Christian G. MD; Erhart, Friedrich MD; Brunner, Walter MD; Pfeffel, Franz MD; Gattermeier, Martin MD; Steger, Friedrich MD; Mayr, Harald MD

Published Ahead-of-Print

Abstract

Objectives: Despite the recommendations to initiate [beta]-blockade to all patients with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, data concerning the timing of the administration of [beta]-blockers are controversially discussed. In view of these controversies, we analyzed the effect of immediate vs. delayed [beta]-blockade on all-cause mortality of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the Lower Austrian Myocardial Infarction Network.

Design: Nonrandomized, prospective observational cohort study.

Setting: Myocardial infarction network including the out-of-hospital emergency services, five primary-care hospitals and a percutaneous coronary intervention-capable hospital in the western part of Lower Austria.

Patients: The data of all patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction defined according to the American Heart Association criteria and treated according to the treatment protocol of the network were consecutively collected. For the purpose of survival analyses, the baseline survival time was set to 48 hours after the first electrocardiogram, and in all patients with recurrent MI within the observational period, only the first MI was regarded.

Interventions: The treatment protocol recommended either the immediate oral administration of 2.5 mg bisoprolol (within 30 min after the first electrocardiogram) or 24 hours after acute myocardial infarction (delayed [beta]-blockade).

Measurements and Main Results: In total, out of the 664 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, 343 (n = 52%) received immediate [beta]-blockade and 321 (48%) received delayed [beta]-blockade. The probability of any death (baseline survival time: 48 hrs after first electrocardiogram; 640 patients) was 19.2% in the delayed treatment group and 10.7% in the immediate treatment group (p = 0.0022). Also the probability of cardiovascular mortality was significantly lower in the immediate [beta]-blocker treatment group (immediate treatment group: 9 (5.2%); delayed treatment group: 30 (13.4%); p = 0.0002). Multivariable Cox regression analysis identified immediate [beta]-blocker therapy to be independently protective against death of any cause (odds ratio: 0.55, p = 0.033).

Conclusion: Immediate [beta]-blocker administration in the emergency setting is associated with a reduction of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and seems to be superior to a delayed [beta]-blockade in our patient cohort.

(C) 2013 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

WHO’S THE FATTEST?

Turkey

Common Sense Regarding CoQ10 and Cardiac Disease

CoQ10 |Coenzyme Q10 | Uses, Side Effects, Safety, and Claims of CoQ10.

SUMMARY

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate dietary supplements in the same way it regulates medicines. A dietary supplement can be sold with limited or no research on how well it works or on its safety.

Always tell your doctor if you are using a dietary supplement or if you are thinking about combining a dietary supplement with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on a dietary supplement. This is especially important for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

When using dietary supplements, keep in mind the following:

• Like conventional medicines, dietary supplements may cause side effects, trigger allergic reactions, or interact with prescription and nonprescription medicines or other supplements you might be taking. A side effect or interaction with another medicine or supplement may make other health conditions worse. Always tell your doctor or pharmacist about all dietary supplements you are taking.
• The way dietary supplements are manufactured may not be standardized. Because of this, how well they work or any side effects they cause may differ among brands or even within different lots of the same brand. The form of supplement that you buy in health food or grocery stores may not be the same as the form used in research.
• Other than for vitamins and minerals, the long-term effects of most dietary supplements are not known.