Treating Pneumonia in the Elderly with Heart Failure
Here’s what you need to know about treatment if your elderly family member is diagnosed with pneumonia but has pre-existing heart failure.
Pre-existing heart failure poses a significant risk of higher mortality when such patients acquire pneumonia. (more…)
Why Chronic Heart Failure Patients Should Exercise the Legs
Exercised legs are very important for chronic heart failure patients.
Don’t assume that legs don’t matter just because they’re far from the heart. (more…)
Should Patient with Acute Heart Failure Receive IV Fluids?
If a doctor didn’t order IV fluids for a patient with acute decompensated heart failure, this was probably a very smart move…
even though it would seem—from an intuitive standpoint—that IV fluids would be beneficial. (more…)
How Much Weight Gain Can Cause Future Heart Failure?
Gaining weight over time can put you at risk for future heart failure.
The “fat acceptance” subset of the body positive movement needs to understand this.
Chronic heart failure should never be an “accepted” disease.
Weight Gain over Time, not Weight Loss, Is Tied to Heart Failure
A study took a look at 1,262 adults with a mean age of 44, and 36 percent of them were obese.
The study (Journal of the American Heart Association, July 2017) revealed that even small amounts of weight gain over time are associated with heart failure.
Weight LOSS over a period of time is not correlated to heart failure.
With study results such as these, how can anyone in the bopo movement believe that being overweight isn’t an independent risk factor for heart problems?
The Study and Its Results
• The adults were followed for seven years.
• At the study’s beginning, the participants were free of heart disease and factors that would put them at high risk for heart disease.
• At the start, and then seven years later, they had MRIs of their hearts and several body fat measurements.
• Weight gain of even five percent meant an increased likelihood of thickening and enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle—a harbinger of future heart failure.
• A small weight gain also meant a higher chance of having very mild reductions in the heart’s pumping action.
• A small weight gain also meant a greater chance of change in heart muscle function and appearance – even after variables were adjusted for, such as high blood pressure, smoking, drinking and diabetes.
• Subjects who had lost weight were more likely to have decreases in heart muscle thickness.
• Body weight at the start of the study had no meaningful relevance to any of the heart changes down the road.
• A limitation of the study was its small size. The study authors affirm that the results do not mean that everyone who gains weight after middle age will get heart failure.
But why take a chance?
How to Stave off Weight Gain in Middle Age
I used to be a personal trainer and worked with many middle aged clients who did not want to keep gaining weight.
Though some cited aesthetic reasons, some also cited heart health as a motivation to prevent weight gain.
Strength training is imperative for preventing weight gain. It’s crucial to retain and even add some lean muscle, since muscle is the body’s metabolic furnace.
“Excess” skeletal muscle is far better for the heart and overall health than is excess visceral fat — the kind that engulfs the organs, including the heart.
Adding lean muscle mass through strength training will go a long way at preventing weight gain in middle age, and it’s never too early to start a strength training program.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
Source: sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170719173722.htm How Much Weight Gain Can Cause Future Heart Failure?
Heart Failure Deaths vs. Death from Cancer
It’s odd that with all the people so afraid of dying from cancer, these same individuals often don’t give heart failure a second thought.
Though getting the “big C” may scare the daylights out of you, have you ever asked yourself what you’ve been doing lately to help prevent developing chronic or acute heart failure? (more…)
Why You Twitch After Prostate Cancer Surgery
Following prostate cancer surgery, a man may experience twitching down there, or what seems like a kind of twitching within or near his manhood.
This not only can be quite annoying to some patients, but it may also bring about worry in some individuals.
They may worry about nerve damage or permanent dysfunction in the organ.
“Many men have bladder spasms after surgery,” says Jonathan W. Simons, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, David H. Koch Chair.
“These can feel like sudden and intense cramping pains in your lower abdomen and penis,” continues Dr. Simons.
Just what is a twitch anyways?
The descriptor of “twitching” doesn’t always mean the same thing to different patients.
It can be a sudden jerking feeling of the penis, or it could feel like there’s a work squirming beneath its skin in one small area.
But Dr. Simons says that yes, a man may experience a twitching sensation in the organ following surgery for prostate cancer.
Dr. Simons explains, “This can be normal as a healing takes place. It’s important that a patient stay in close touch with their urologist and advance practice nurse involved in the repost so they can be reassured of normal healing responses versus something that needs to be seen in the clinic.”
Any skeletal muscle in the body has the potential to randomly twitch, or twitch in response to fatigue or strain.
There are muscles in the penis. Surgery involving this organ can certainly stress the muscle fibers and cause benign twitching.
Signs of Prostate Cancer
• Erectile dysfunction
• Reduced ejaculation volume
• Frequent feeling of the need to urinate
• Trouble controlling urination or a weak stream
• Appearance of blood in the urine or semen
• Rectal pressure or pain
If you have any of these symptoms, this is not normal. Do not delay in seeing your doctor.
Dr. Simons is an internationally recognized physician-scientist, oncologist and acclaimed investigator in translational prostate cancer research. Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
Source: clinicalcenter.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/prostate_cancer.pdf twitching penis
Spinal Stenosis: Why Back Extension Exercise Is Not Safe
It seems that the logical treatment for spinal stenosis is to repeatedly extend the back throughout the day or do sustained back extension exercises to “force” the lumbar region into a more upright position. (more…)
Inside Knee Pain During Deadlift: Possible Causes, Solutions
“There are several possible causes for medial knee pain when deadlifting,” says Dr. Tom Carpenter, corrective exercise specialist, certified personal trainer and chiropractor, inventor of Stand Corrected™, a portable harness-like stretching tool that helps alleviate back, neck and shoulder pain. (more…)
Shoulder Pop When Bring Bar Down in the Bench Press: Causes
Causes and solutions for shoulder popping when you bring the bar down when bench pressing.
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Bringing the bar down in the bench press can put more stress on the shoulder than the act of pushing up the bar.
For some people, lowering the bar when bench pressing makes their shoulder pop.
“The shoulder popping could be the result of muscle or tendon imbalance and tightness, or poor form,” says Dr. Tom Carpenter, corrective exercise specialist, certified personal trainer and chiropractor, inventor of Stand Corrected™, a portable harness-like stretching tool that helps alleviate back, neck and shoulder pain.
Dr. Carpenter continues, “It’s important to mention that bench pressing is not a simple exercise. Proper form is essential for maintaining healthy shoulder joint mechanics as well as avoiding inflammation and injury.
“Also, a pre-workout warmup including full range of motion stretching and functional exercises is very important.
“Some examples of functional exercises could be pushups and external rotation rotator cuff exercises, either with cables or dumbbells.
“This helps to prevent the head of the humerus [bone in upper arm] from impinging on the glenoid fossa [located in the shoulder joint] when lifting by strengthening the rotator cuff.
“There are things that can be done to reduce or avoid shoulder ‘popping’ when performing a bench press.
“Only let the bar come within 2-3 inches of your chest, not all the way to the chest. Widen the grip on the bar, but not too far, and try to avoid flaring the elbows.”
There will always be those who’ll feel that stopping the bar at the two or three inch position from their chest is cheating or incomplete range of motion.
But if you bring the bar down to within two to three inches of your chest, are your arms still pretty bent, as in, there’s less than a 90 degree angle formed by your upper and lower arm at the elbow?
If your arm span is a lot longer than your height, and you have a trim torso, your arms will be VERY bent by the time the bar touches your chest. This puts a lot of stress on the shoulder joint.
If you stop the bar at three inches above your chest, your arms may very well be just as bent as the next guy who brings the bar in contact with his chest – because HIS arm span is equal to his height rather than exceeds it!
Or maybe his arms aren’t as bent because he has a thick barrel shaped chest, which naturally cuts short the range of motion.
So don’t feel that you’re cheating or missing something by bringing the bar two or three inches short of chest contact.
Another Cause of a Popping Shoulder During the Bench Press
“Many times, the popping can be the result of an over-tight pectoralis minor muscle or tendon,” says Dr. Carpenter.
“You can help it relax by tightening the muscles between the shoulder blades (rhomboids) as you lower the bar.
“This engages something call reciprocal inhibition. By contracting a prime mover, it causes the antagonist muscle, in this case the pec minor, to neurologically relax. This reduces the pull on the shoulder.
“If the popping begins to become painful, either stop bench pressing for a few weeks or reduce the load by 40-60 percent.
“If the pain continues, have your shoulder checked by your health care professional.”
Photo credit: Aleesia Forni
Based upon 30+ years of experience, Dr. Carpenter’s practice approach reflects his belief that restoring optimum health and function will enable his patients to enjoy a much greater amount of vitality and wellness. Chiropractic care is true health care, not sick care!
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Barbie Now Has a Realistic Body, but Her FACE Is Unrealistic!
