Lifestyles stats indicate that there is a 60-65 percent chance that you are a female who is reading this article.  Please read it, know it and take it to HEART.

Research indicates that women often experience new or different physical symptoms a month or more before experiencing heart attacks. Among 515 women studied, 95 percent said they knew their symptoms were different more than a month before experiencing their heart attack or Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). The symptoms most commonly reported were unusual fatigue (70.6 percent), sleep disturbance (47.8 percent), and shortness of breath (42.1 percent) Indigestion (39 percent), Anxiety (35 percent).

Surprisingly, fewer than 30 percent even reported having chest pain or discomfort prior to their heart attacks, and 43 percent reported to have no chest pain during any phase of the attack. Most doctors, however, continue to consider chest pain as the most important heart attack symptom in both women and men.

Women’s symptoms are just not as predictable as men’s.  It is important not to miss the earliest possible opportunity to prevent or ease AMI, which is the number one cause of death in both women and men.

Studies show the major symptoms during the female heart attack include     pressure, fullness or a squeezing pain in the center of the chest, which may spread to the neck, shoulder or jaw; chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath; fatigue. Some symptoms can even mimic a gastrointestinal illness.

Often when chest pains or other symptoms occur, most women are reluctant to call 911. Women often worry about being embarrassed if they’re not having a heart attack after all. But embarrassment will pass without causing long-term damage; a heart attack may not. Women react different and women experience different…in matters of the heart.

A path to better health and fitness is just west of Highway 77 in North Denton. North Lakes Rec Center, one of the City’five recreation centers, offers activities to area residents of all ages. Seniors in particular may want to look into the center’s SilverSneakers® fitness program.

SilverSneakers® is a nationwide program provided for free to those who are hold a policy with a participating health insurance company. Senior residents who are not in an accepted health plan may participate by purchasing a membership through the recreation center. By participating in this popular program, seniors of all physical levels are sharing the fitness benefits.

In the program’s Yoga Stretch class on Mondays and Fridays from 11:15 a.m. to noon, popular yoga moves are modified to fit all fitness levels. In a sunny room with a large mirror, participants begin in chairs and progress to standing positions. In the class, participants focus on breathing techniques, balance, coordination, strength building, and relaxation.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m., the program offers a muscular strength and range of movement class (MSROM) and usually has participants of varied fitness levels and varied ages in the class. This class works to the beat of music and begins with an aerobic warm-up and stretching before moving into a resistance bands workout. Light-weight balls and hand weights follow, closing with sitting relaxation. MSROM is a large class, often numbering almost 40 people, and participants enjoy some lively social interactions, including a monthly pot luck luncheon where folks share their healthiest recipes and stories.

“I am really amazed and excited by the improvement in participants’ abilities after even a short time using our techniques,” says instructor Beverly Wollaston. Participants have shared wonderful reports of doctors reducing their medications, golfers lowering handicaps, and even losing the dependency of walking/stabilizing aides. Memory improvement, weight loss, diet awareness, and muscle toning are some other noted improvements.

To stay healthy and fit, check out all of the senior programs offered through City of Denton Parks and Recreation. For more information, please call 940-349-PARK (7275) or visit www.dentonparks.com.

Lace up those shoes, stretch those muscles and be part of a community fight…it’s Relay time again!

The 16th annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life is on April 16-17th from 3:00 pm – 6:00 am at UNT’s Fouts Field.  It’s a “celebration of life” that brings the community together in a unified effort to fight cancer and symbolizes the battle cancer patients face after they are diagnosed with the disease.  The group is dedicated to saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, and advocacy.

Relay For Life is a fun-filled, overnight event that mobilizes the community to celebrate survivors and remember loved ones. Teams gather to participate and raise funds for the American Cancer Society’s research, education, advocacy and patient service programs.

“Cancer does not stop at nighttime, so we’re not going to stop at nighttime either,” said Kendra Williams, Relay For Life of Denton Chair. “We hope the community will join us in this fight.”

What we are in need of:
Relay Teams – families, co-workers, friends and youth groups
Sponsorships – businesses are a vital part of this event
Volunteers – get involved and make this event part of your fight

We want to honor survivors. Come be part of the survivor activities, and be honored for the courage of your battle as well as pass the torch of hope on to others battling cancer.  Cancer does not discriminate – it affects everyone. Fight back against the disease that has attacked a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, friend or even yourself. This is why we Relay!!!

It is about a community taking up the fight, contact Kendra 940-565-7052

Don’t Ignore Your Foot Problems

Peripheral Neuropathy is one of the common side effects of diabetes which can cause a loss of sensation in the extremities to feel pain, heat, and cold in a diabetic person. It is important for a diabetic person to take care of foot related injuries and wear specially designed shoes for diabetics.

Diabetic foot problems have become common throughout the world today. Diabetics are at risk of developing many different foot problems. Ordinary foot problems can become painful and can lead to serious complications. Minor injuries can easily become major infections among diabetics so it is always advised not to avoid your foot problems.

Diabetes and foot pain are very closely related, and foot pain can be taken as the warning sign of diabetes.  Diabetes can limit blood supply to your feet and cause a loss of feeling. Proper foot care with wearing diabetic shoes is essential for a diabetic person, as wounds to the feet may take much longer to heal.  Therefore, it is important to prevent them in the first place. So a diabetic person is always advised to do a routine self-inspection of each foot.

Diabetic shoes are designed in such a way so as to provide complete support to the feet while also helping in improving the circulation and blood flow. Choosing and wearing proper fit diabetic shoes, complete with custom insoles, can prevent the feet from injuries and further irritation. By wearing diabetic shoes on a regular basis, you can make sure that your feet won’t have complications in the future. Diabetic footwear plays an important role in helping your feet, even if you are taking good care of your health and getting your sugar levels checked regularly.

A healthy diet, exercise, proper foot care, and medication on a regular basis can help a diabetic person live a healthy, happy and fit lifestyle. Please contact North Texas Foot and Ankle Specialists for more information on our line of diabetic shoes.

Living the Anti-Cancer Lifestyle

In our industrialized America, one of three people will develop cancer in their lifetime. One of four will die from cancer. The statistics have not changed in over 50 years due to our natural defenses being weakened by our lifestyle choices.

One definite concern is the role of sugar. Cancer cells feed on sugar. Sugar is not a carcinogen, like tobacco that creates cancer; however, it does help cancer grow. A good analogy is how radioactive sugar is injected into patients during P.E.T. scans to show where cancer cells accumulate.

In the 1800’s, in the U.S., one consumed 12 pounds of refined sugar per person per year. On average today, 154 pounds of sugar per person is eaten. The more sugar one eats raises their risk for especially breast, pancreatic, colon, stomach, and endometrial cancer.

Neuroscientist, David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD was diagnosed with brain cancer at 31 years of age. Even after the standard medical treatment of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, his cancer returned at 37. This prompted him to seek passionately ways to fight cancer. His book “Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life” has sold millions. He also help found Doctors Without Borders. From his research, I would like to share with you how to lower your risks for cancer.

Daily decide to make good choices with regards to food. It is a journey. Consume “low glycemic index foods” that are lower in sugar. (See the ada.org and glycemicindex.org websites). Ideally, choose foods that are more natural versus anything in a package. Add oregeno, garlic, onion, thyme, mint, and basil that are phytochemicals that destroy cancer cells. Green Tea and turmeric (yellow curry) are the most potent antioxidants. The cabbage family (broccoli, brussel sprouts, and spinach) are “Power House Foods” that eliminate toxins.

Transfat oils double the growth of breast cancer cells. Avoid all oils unless they are olive or canola oil. Omega 3 is essentially a good oil. If a person consumes fish two times a week, their risk of colon cancer is reduced by 70%.

Furthermore, exercise is a great way of lowering risks of cancer. It releases endorphins for stress control, and toxins for stronger immunities. Most of us like to think we are “active”, but not according to the American Heart Association. A good measurable tool is a pedometer. If when you get home from work, you have not walked 10,000 steps, then it is time to get moving.

Toxic chemicals in our environment cannot always be avoided. However, Bisphenol-A is one that is found in plastics that enhances estrogens and promotes the growth of existing cancer in the prostate, breast, and uterus. Choose to heat foods in metal on the stove or in a glass dish in the microwave, not in plastics. Avoid leaving your water bottles outside or in the car in the sun.

Most importantly, maintain good support systems. We move, in the U.S., every 5 years on average. This weakens our community support thru family and friends. When cancer strikes, we need a strong social network to keep our cortisol stress hormones maintained. John Lennon said “life is what happens when you are making other plans”. Plan on being close to loved ones before crisis hits.

Internal support is just as important. In America, every person over 50 has cancer cells in their body as per Dr. Servan-Schreiber. Inflammation and/or a weakened immune system must exist for those cells to fully develop into cancer tumors. Our body’s immune system constantly detects and should destroy cancer cells. Good nutrition, vitamin supplementation, quality sleep, exercise, and minimal poor reactions to stress reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune response. Joyce Meyer’s book “Battlefield of the Mind” gives insight to mental attitude while overcoming stressful situations. “The Mood Cure” by Julia Ross is another book about stress related to nutrition.

Proactively, see your healthcare provider for an Annual Exam. The American Cancer Society directs national guidelines for quality care. Men past 40 need a P.S.A. level checked for their prostate. Women require Pap smears past 21, and Mammograms past 40. Colonoscopies are due after 50. Chest X-rays are due after one has smoked or been exposed to smoke for 20 years. All of these tests may be required sooner depending on family and personal history. These tests could save your life.

Bottom line is that you have a choice. Make daily decisions beginning today that will build your natural defenses. By fighting away cancer, you will decrease inflammation and strengthen your immune state which will also fight diabetes, high blood pressure, alzheimers, arthritis, etc. This will all lead to an overall better quality of life. Call today to set up time for an Annual Exam.

by Troy Hurst DC, DAAPM

Expensive medical tests like CT scans and MRIs help doctors better diagnose disease. But recent studies are showing other low-tech tests that may help a doctor diagnose complex diseases, and predict risks according to the New York Times.  Sometimes common objects can be used by doctors to give preliminary information about a variety of conditions. They cost practically nothing, while other options like CT scans and MRIs can be very expensive.

Highlighted in recent studies is the potential usefulness of many everyday tools to help estimate risk and assess symptoms for heart patients and those with other medical conditions.

• The tape measure:  A waist size over 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women indicates a higher risk for diabetes.

It is also proving helpful as a test for sleep apnea. One of the warning signs for risk of sleep apnea can be a neck circumference of 17 inches or more for men and 16 inches or more for women.

• The bathroom scale: A weight gain of just a few pounds is a signal that heart-failure patients are retaining fluid and are at risk for hospital admission. Doctors and nurses ask heart-failure patients to weigh themselves every day.

• The paper clip: A bent paper clip can be used instead of calipers to assess nerve impairment in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. A patient should be able to feel both ends of the paper clip when they are pressed into a finger.

Michael Marks, an orthopedic surgeon with Coastal Orthopaedics at Norwalk Hospital, CT, reports in a study that before an X-ray, he tapes paper clips along, for instance, patients’ spines or legs, where they say they are feeling pain.  The image of the clip on the X-ray can help him focus on where they hurt. He reflects that is works nicely and is also very inexpensive.

• A handshake:  At no cost, a firm handshake can help indicate that a patient is healthy enough to make it through heart surgery.  A weak grip can warn of possible complications.  Heart surgeons regularly consider frailty, among other factors, when evaluating an elderly patient for surgery, but it is typically a subjective assessment based on what doctors call an “eyeball test.” How easy is it for a patient to get out of a chair when called from the waiting room or get up on an exam table?

Cardiologists and heart surgeons are seeing growing numbers of elderly patients with heart disease who are candidates for coronary artery bypass surgery or who have poor-functioning heart valves that need repair/replacement. Recent studies show that such patients benefit overall from surgery, but they are also in a group who suffer the most deaths or major events in result.

• A stop watch:  Testing how long it takes an elderly heart-surgery candidate to walk 15 feet also helps predict surgical risk. More than half of patients who undergo open-heart surgery in the U.S. are at least 65 years old and the 80’s and 90’s age group is rapidly growing. Studies have shown that timing how long it takes an elderly patient to walk about 15 feet, significantly improves a doctor’s ability to predict whether the patient will be able to handle the stress and rigor of surgery.

The test for what is called “gait speed” is emerging in geriatric research as a validated measure of frailty in elderly people and a predictor of physical and cognitive health. But it hasn’t been tried previously in heart-surgery patients, says Jonathan Afilalo, a cardiologist at Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, and lead author of the study.

“The beauty of it is the simplicity,” says Joseph C. Cleveland Jr., a heart surgeon at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. “It’s adding some important knowledge to what is there now. It will be embraced by a lot of people.” Dr. Cleveland, although not involved with the study, wrote an accompanying editorial.

In the 131-patient study, slow walkers, those who took longer than six seconds to cross the five-meter line, were about three times as likely to die or suffer such complications as stroke or kidney failure.  They were also twice as likely to have prolonged hospital stay or be discharged to a long care nursing facility after open-heart surgery, as those who covered the same distance in less than six seconds.

Doctors did caution that the findings don’t necessarily suggest surgery being ruled out for the slower walkers. But, they say it could help give patients a more accurate estimate of their surgical risk. And in some cases, it could guide doctors to consider less invasive treatment strategies or perhaps guide patients to decide to choose the less aggressive procedures. Seventy-six years old was the average patient age of the study.

As healthcare cost continually rise, doctors are looking for practical, as well as inexpensive ways, to determine their patient’s risks and needs.  Studies like these are introducing them to many new, and sometimes old tests to get the results needed.