Why Thin Heart Attack Survivors Have Higher Mortality Risk
A report says that lean people have an increased risk of death five years after a heart attack, but there’s a flaw in this report.
So if you’re plus size, don’t rejoice just yet.
Plus size or not, you may be stunned to learn about the findings that were presented at the ESC Congress 2013 by French researchers, that lean heart attack survivors (along with very obese and those with disproportionately big bellies) are at increased risk of mortality five years out.
The term “lean” is misleadingly used in the French study. Perhaps “skinny-fat” should have been used instead.
Heart Attack Mortality Risk in Skinny-Fat Survivors vs. Lean Survivors
The paper states that both lean subjects and very obese ones had an increased risk of death after five years.
In addition, high waist girth, severe obesity and also underweight were associated with the biggest risk of death in those who’d had a heart attack.
These results are based on BMI (body mass index) calculations as well as waist circumference.
The paper had actually used the term “underweight,” not just “lean.”
To fitness professionals, the term “lean” is NOT the same as “underweight,” “slender,” “thin” or “skinny.”
In fact, a man who stands 5-9 and weighs 220 pounds could actually be very lean!
And a woman who wears a size 6 can actually have excess visceral fat (fat around the vital organs including the heart)!
The Problem with BMI
BMI is a value that results from a calculation involving one’s height and weight. Period.
BMI does not reveal body composition. It’s quite fair for me to wonder, then, if those “lean” heart attack survivors with that increased mortality risk had the so-called skinny-fat bodies.
A skinny-fat person appears “lean,” slender, lanky or thin in terms of size, but their body composition tells a different story.
Shutterstock/Sorn340 Images
If a personal trainer were to take a caliper skin-fold reading of a skinny-fat person to determine body fat percentage, the result would likely be a number in the “acceptable” range.
But according to the American Council on Exercise, the “acceptable” range for women is 25 to 31 percent, and for men it’s 18-24 percent.
If a person who appears slim, lanky or underweight has a body fat percentage in these ranges (gender considering), they will appear soft or flabby, despite being able to wear a size 6 or 8 dress or a slim-fit suit.
What body fat percentage would indicate “lean,” in the true sense of the word, according to ACE?
For women, 14-20 percent, and for men, 6-13 percent. Though a person who’s literally starved (such as from anorexia nervosa) will have an exceedingly low body fat percentage, they’ll also have an exceedingly low amount of muscle.
A lean person who works out and eats healthy, however, will have plentiful muscle mass while having low body fat. They are healthy-fit lean, not skinny-fat.
This is why BMI is worthless to athletes, especially physique specialists and bodybuilders. Their BMIs are often in the “overweight” range, yet their body fat percentages are very low.
I’d love to know what the body fat percentages and muscle volume levels were of those “lean” heart attack survivors in Professor Simon’s study.
Another striking point to consider is just how “lean” or “underweight” those smaller study subjects were, AND if maybe they had underlying medical conditions (which could shorten lifespan) that somehow caused the underweight.
I do not believe these heart attack survivors’ body compositions were comparable to those of athletes and physique specialists, even though dress-size-wise or suit-size wise, they can be interchangeable with athletes and physique enthusiasts.
If BMI is so misleading, why is it used in heart attack research?
Because it’s super easy! Often, research involves investigating and tracking up to hundreds of thousands of people.
Imagine the hairy logistics involved in getting a skin-fold reading on every one of them!
On the other hand, to get the BMI, all the researchers need do is get the patient’s height and weight from medical records. How easy is that?
When medical researchers use the word “lean,” consider the possibility that what they’re referring to is dress or suit size rather than body composition.
Having higher levels of body fat, even if the person has a slender frame, increases risk of health ailments including cardiac-related.
Hopefully, you now know why thinner heart attack survivors were found to have an increased risk of five-year mortality.
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: Shutterstock/pickingpok
Sources: sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130901154034.htm and acefitness.org/acefit/healthy_living_tools_content.aspx?id=2
Depressed over Retirement? Thinking of Suicide?
If you’re depressed over retirement and thinking of ending it all, here’s what happened to a 68-year-old, newly retired man who considered suicide.
He’s a relative of mine and I’ll call him Raymond. When he was around 68, he retired.
In a personal journal that was discovered many years later, he described the days as being empty because he no longer had to get up at a certain time every morning and report somewhere.
He moved out West with his wife to live out his retirement.
Instead of being ecstatic over freedom, Raymond felt doomed and thought of “ending it all.”
This revelation in the journal stunned relatives, as nothing wrenching had been going on in his life at that time.
His wife was all he could ever want in a wife. He now had more time with her. But he had written something to the effect of:
“I’m 68 now. My life consists of nothing but my history. I’ve done everything. There is nothing left to live for. No point in going on.”
Are you newly retired or about to retire, and have similar feelings?
“Transitions in life are always a stressful time full of adjustment,” says Rupali Chadha, MD, former chief of medical staff at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, CA.
“Risk factors for suicide in general are age (a spike in teens and in the elderly), male gender, white ethnicity, recent loss, lack of social connectivity, death of a spouse or child and financial stressors to name a few.
“We can see that retirement may come at a later age and lead to more social isolation, a lack of feeling of purpose.
“The best ways to handle transitions is to be prepared and have a network. Family, friends, church, a community center and have activities attached to these things.
“If you lose complete ability to feel pleasure and start having thoughts of suicide, see an MD psychiatrist as soon as possible, or at least your MD internist!”
What happened to Raymond?
Raymond’s key comment was, “My life consists of nothing but my history.”
By the time Raymond was 91, those depressed feelings over retirement had become 23 years old. What had happened during those 23 years?
By the time he was 91, his past 23 years had become a rich history that, at age 68, he believed was an empty future.
The history he’s had over the past 23 years is the future at age 68 he couldn’t conceive.
This is depression.
At age 68, he had only one grandchild. “My life is only my history.”
But new history was created in the years since Raymond’s retirement. This includes:
– A grandchild becoming one of the highest ranked junior golfers in the U.S.
– A grandchild graduating from medical school
– 13 grandchildren total
– Memorable experiences with the grandkids, including watching the golfer at his tournaments and watching a granddaughter play in volleyball tournaments
– Many trips with his wife, including to Las Vegas, Hawaii, Disneyland, the mountains and to his kids’ homes
– Nine memorable years with a dog he acquired in his late 70s
– Heavy involvement in bridge clubs and bowling leagues
– And so much more
Retirement Doesn’t Have to Mean Depression
Shutterstock/wavebreakmedia
It’s WORK that causes depression, anxiety and all sorts of sicknesses.
Study after study about work shows that the workplace increases the risk of all sorts of maladies including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Work is associated with obesity, hearing loss, mood disturbances, relationship problems and high blood pressure.
- You’ve certainly heard of workplace bullying. To date, there is NO such thing as retirement-place bullying.
- You’ve heard of workplace hostility. Ever hear of retirement-place hostility?
Who gets headaches while on the golf course or fun day trip? Plenty of people get headaches on the job.
Go to any workplace setting where there are large amounts of people confined to the indoors.
Don’t be surprised if one out of two have a bottle of aspirin in their desks. There’s a reason for that.
In addition to general psychiatry, Dr. Chadha is also a forensic psychiatrist who treats the brain conditions of the criminally insane and serves as an expert witness in trials. She has a passion for fitness plus how the body, mind and spirit come together to build a healthy individual.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Shutterstock/fizkes
Right Side Pain after Gallbladder Surgery: Causes
There are several causes of pain in the right side following gallbladder surgery.
“Postcholecystectomy syndrome (PCS) is a complex of heterogeneous symptoms including persistent abdominal pain and dyspepsia that recur and persist after cholecystectomy,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
Dyspepsia refers to heartburn.
“PCS is defined as ‘early’ if it occurs in the postoperative period and ‘late’ if it occurs months or years after surgery.”
Causes of Right Side Pain after Your Gallbladder Removal
“The symptoms of pain and dyspepsia referred to as PCS can be caused by a wide spectrum of conditions, both biliary and extra-biliary,” says Dr. Alashari.
“Extra” in this context means unrelated to the gallbladder.
“About half of the patients with PCS are found to have biliary, pancreatic or gastrointestinal disorders, while the remaining patients have extra-intestinal disease.”
Biliary causes of postcholecystectomy syndrome include:
“Early PCS can be due to biliary injury, retained cystic duct or common bile duct stones.
“Late PCS can be due to recurrent CBD stones, bile duct strictures, an inflamed cystic duct or gallbladder remnant, papillary stenosis or biliary dyskinesia.
“Biliary dyskinesia refers to motor forms of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.”
Extra-biliary causes of postcholecystectomy syndrome include:
“Gastrointestinal causes such as irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatitis, pancreatic tumors, pancreas divisum, hepatitis, peptic ulcer disease, mesenteric ischemia, diverticulitis or esophageal diseases.
“Extra-intestinal causes such as intercostal neuritis, wound neuroma, coronary artery disease, or psychosomatic disorders.”
If you have not had your gallbladder removed or don’t have gallbladder disease, but are experiencing right side abdominal pain, this has many possible causes, as you can see, and the list here is not complete.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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.
Do Gallstones Always Cause Sharp Pain or Can It Be Dull?
“Yes, patients can have dull pain if the symptoms are secondary to gallstones,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
Dr. Alashari continues, “Symptomatic gallstones is often referred to as biliary colic. Often when it is dull it will mainly be in the right upper quadrant but it will also radiate to the epigastric area as well as the tip of the scapula.
“Usually, if the pain fails to subside and becomes sharp in nature, then cholecystitis may be developing.”
Sometimes there is no pain.
“The majority of people who have gallstones do not have symptoms; their stones remain ‘silent,’” says Dr. Alashari.
“Silent gallstones are often found on an ultrasound or CT scan done for other reasons.
“Silent stones do not need to be treated since the first symptoms of gallstones are usually mild and there are risks involved in removing the gallbladder.
“If you have silent gallstones, you should be aware of the initial symptoms of gallstone disease because you may need treatment if you develop symptoms.”
The most common symptom of gallstones is pain, also called biliary pain. And as you’ve already read, it can be sharp or dull.
“It causes attacks of abdominal pain, often located in the right upper belly just under the lower ribs. You may also feel nausea and vomiting, and pain in the right shoulder or back.”
No Stones but Still Pain
“A similar presentation occurs in the absence of stones if there is dysfunction of the gallbladder.
“This is known as biliary dyskinesia.
“This is due to incomplete emptying of the gallbladder in response to eating.
“This may cause dull pain in the right upper quadrant as well.”
There is no straightforward known cause of biliary dyskinesia, but it’s been linked to chronic acid reflux, IBS, obesity, hormonal changes, stress and a history of gallstones.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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: Shutterstock/Everyonephoto Studio
Do Teens Get Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms?
“Abdominal aortic aneurysms are extremely rare in teenagers and adolescents,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
Dr. Alashari explains that if an abdominal aortic aneurysm is present in a teenager, it “may be associated with inflammation or a genetic connective tissue disorder.
“Genetic disorders that are associated with abnormalities of the aorta include Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.”
If your concerned about the health of your teenager, an abdominal aortic aneurysm should rank very low on your list—in fact, it shouldn’t even be on the list, assuming that your teen has not been diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder.
What should rank high on the list is instilling in your teenager safe driving habits and a very strong aversion to smoking and drinking.
“Ultrasound screening studies have shown that 4 to 8 percent of older men have an occult AAA,” says Dr. Alashari.
“However, AAAs found on screening are generally small; those measuring ≥5.5 cm or greater are found in only 0.4 to 0.6 percent of those screened.
“Abdominal aortic aneurysm occurs four to six times more commonly in men than women.
“Because the incidence of AAA rises sharply in individuals over 60 years of age, the future prevalence of AAA could increase substantially in association with the aging population.”
The repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm via catheter rather than open abdominal surgery is becoming more common.
And by the way, if you are still worried about your teenager’s health, encourage him … or her … to take up strength training.
It does wonders for the body AND mind and does a great job of deflecting the temptation to smoke, drink or try illicit drugs — which are all damaging to blood vessels.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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 credit: Intermedichbo at Serbian Wikipedia
How Long Diarrhea Lasts after Gallbladder Removal
Removal of the gallbladder can cause diarrhea, for sure — and it may take a long time to go away.
Following gallbladder removal, the diarrhea that may occur can take weeks to months to go away, says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“Diarrhea following cholecystectomy has been reported in 5 to 12 percent of patients,” he says.
The diarrhea will “resolve or significantly improve over the course of weeks to months.”
What causes diarrhea after gallbladder removal?
Dr. Alashari explains, “The diarrhea is related to excessive bile acids entering the colon.
“In the absence of a gallbladder, bile drains directly and more continuously into the small bowel, which may overcome the terminal ileum’s reabsorptive capacity.
“The increased bile acids in the colon lead to diarrhea (cholerheic diarrhea).
Treatment for diarrhea following gallbladder removal?
“Patients often respond to treatment with bile-acid binding resins such as cholestyramine,: says Dr. Alashari.
“Cholestyramine doses of up to 4 g daily have been suggested for the treatment of chronic diarrhea, though it is reasonable to start patients on a lower dose (e.g., 2 g once or twice daily) and titrate to a higher dose as needed.”
What You Should Know About Gallstone Pain
Gallstones can be the size of a tiny grain of sand to that of a golf ball. You can have one “stone” or several at the same time.
The pain isn’t always on one’s upper right abdomen. It can also occur in the upper central part of the abdomen.
It may also be between the shoulder blades or in the right shoulder.
The duration of the pain may be several minutes to a few hours.
Risk Factors for Gallstones
• Being a woman
• Over the age of 40
• Obesity, even moderate overweight
• Rapid weight loss
• Sedentary or inactive lifestyle
• Pregnancy (current)
• Diet high in fats and “bad” cholesterol
• Diet that is low in fiber
• Oral birth control
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Family history of gallstones
And here are two more to take note of:
As you can see, ome of these risk factors are dictated by choice.
You can get to work at making the lifestyle changes that will lower your risk of ever having to have your gallbladder removed — and suffering the possible subsequent diarrhea.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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: Shutterstock/Julia Apanasenko
How Do Gallstones Cause Pain?
A doctor explains how gallstones cause pain…
Gallstone pain, or biliary colic, is often characterized by intense discomfort. The pain typically manifests in the upper right abdomen, just beneath the rib cage.
It may also radiate to the back or the right shoulder blade, sometimes causing referred pain in these areas.
The sensation is usually sharp or cramp-like and can be severe, coming in waves or episodes that may last from several minutes to a few hours.
“Biliary colic usually happens when the gallbladder contracts in response to a fatty meal,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“This compresses the stones, blocking the opening. As the gallbladder relaxes several hours after the meal, the pain subsides. In some people, the pain happens without having eaten anything.”
Pain from Gallstones Is Not a Singular Event
“Once you have a first attack of biliary colic, there is a good chance you will have more symptoms in the future,” continues Dr. Alashari.
“Such recurrent symptoms are usually more severe and occasionally associated with complications.
“A complication of gallstones that can be associated with sharp pain rather than dull pain is acute cholecystitis.
“Acute cholecystitis refers to inflammation of the gallbladder.
“This happens when there is a complete blockage of the gallbladder, caused by a gallstone.
“Unlike biliary colic, which resolves within a few hours, pain is constant with acute cholecystitis and fever is common.”
Severe nausea, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin) may also come with cholecystitis.
More on Gallstone Pain
Gallstones can be the size of a grain of sand to that of a ping pong ball. You may have one or several at the same time.
The pain isn’t always on the upper right abdomen. It can also be in the upper central abdomen.
The pain may also be between your shoulder blades or in your right shoulder.
There may be nausea or vomiting if the pain has been triggered by a large fatty or greasy meal.
Episodes of the pain can vary, coming and going intermittently.
Risk Factors for Developing Gallstones
• Being female
• Being over the age of 40
• Being overweight
• Fast weight loss
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Pregnancy
• A diet high in fats and “bad” cholesterol
• A diet low in fiber
• Diabetes
• Liver disease
• Hormone replacement therapy or oral birth control pills
• Native American or Hispanic
• Family history of gallstones
As you can see, some of these risk factors are modifiable.
You should get to work at making the lifestyle changes that will lower your risk of getting a gallstone for the first time or for a repeat time.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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
Can Gallstone Pain Be Only Mild?
Many people want to know if gallstone pain can be only mild, or is it always sharp and severe?
“Biliary colic is associated with right upper quadrant pain,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“It is due to transient obstruction of the cystic duct which drains the gallbladder.
“In the setting of complete obstruction, inflammation can occur (the development of cholecystitis), which is associated with a more severe, sharp pain.”
So if the obstruction is not complete, or only mild, then the pain may be only mild.
More on Biliary Colic Pain
This pain can be steady or of a come-and-go nature, caused by something blocking the flow of bile, a liquid that aids in fat digestion.
Bile is stored in the gallbladder. The presence of food in the stomach triggers bile to pass from the gallbladder through the common bile duct and cystic duct. It goes into the small intestine and mixes with the food contents.
The most common cause of biliary colic is gallstones when they block either duct.
This obstruction spurs the muscle cells in the bile duct to aggressively contract in an attempt to move the blocking stone — hence the pain. A little obstruction means mild discomfort. It may be an ache or even just a pressure sensation.
A complete obstruction will cause sharp severe pain.
Gallbladder-related pain isn’t always due to gallstones. A narrowing of the bile duct can also cause a blockage. A tumor, too, can result in an obstruction.
The image modality of choice to see what’s going on when gallstones are suspected is the ultrasound.
Risk Factors for Gallstones
An ultrasound shows a gallstone. Nevit Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0/creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/Wikimedia Commons
Though heredity and getting older are a few risk factors, others are modifiable.
• Cut back on fatty meals. Reduce the amount of “bad” fats, such as those found in baked goods. Replace donuts with nuts.
• If you’re obese, work on losing weight.
• Bear in mind that hormone replacement therapy can also raise the risk of gallstones, whose pain, by the way, may extend to the right shoulder blade.
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
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.
Top 5 Natural Treatments for Your Constipation
Actually, the No. 1 doctor-recommended treatment for constipation is so effective that it counts as ALL of the top five.
Constipation stinks (no pun intended). It hurts and in some cases can feel as though a brick is stuck halfway in and halfway out of your anus.
It may also require a trip to the ER so that a doctor or physician’s assistant can — with their fingers — try to pull out as much of the impacted fecal material as possible.
Usually an enema (inserted into the anus) is given to assist with the removal.
It takes about 15 minutes to begin working, and the result is a lot of liquid smelly diarrhea that seems to keep coming and coming.
But even if your constipation doesn’t get this bad, it’s still a pain to have.
You Don’t Have to Suffer from Constipation: Natural Treatment
“The top five natural treatments for constipation should ALL be powder fiber,” says Sander R. Binderow, MD, FACS, FASCRS, with Atlanta Colon & Rectal Surgery.
“Fiber is the only natural product that is not a laxative, because even naturally-occurring laxatives are laxatives and will eventually stop working when a person gets older.
“Laxatives also tend to draw fluid into your bowels from your body in an unnatural way.
“Fiber draws fluid into the bowel in a natural way and keeps water in the gastrointestinal tract that needs to be there.”
The water is what prevents stools from becoming too hard to comfortably push out, requiring straining.
Dr. Binderow also explains, “Another solution to constipation is to drink lots of water and fluids, so combining that with a natural powder fiber supplement should help regulate your system.
“The fiber will cause a bit of gas when you first start taking it, but that will stop within the first month or so.”
Finally, to help prevent constipation, don’t be sedentary.
Get lots of movement throughout the day. Don’t sit excessively.
Dr. Binderow performs minimally invasive, robotic and laparoscopic surgery for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, colon cancer and other colorectal conditions. Adept at routine procedures, he also sees patients with complex, atypical maladies.
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: Freepik.com
Black Specks in Stools: Doctor Says Don’t Worry
“Usually a black speck in your stool is related to what you are eating – for example, coffee or pepper,” says Sander R. Binderow, MD.
Will bleeding or blood cause black specks in stools?
“A drop of blood in the stool will not present as a black speck – more so [it will] just cause an overall black stool or red depending on where in the intestines or colon the blood is absorbed,” explains Dr. Binderow, who’s with Atlanta Colon & Rectal Surgery.
If you’re worried about black specks in your BMs, you should realize that what you’re seeing may not even be black specks in the first place.
First of all, just how close are you inspecting your BMs?
What you’re seeing may be tiny pieces of a dark green food that got passed through, such as spinach.
When food particles do not fully break down in the digestive tract, they may pass through the intestines relatively intact, and their appearance can become noticeable in your stool.
This can particularly be true for foods with strong colors or those that are rich in pigments, such as blueberries, blackberries or certain types of vegetables – like spinach.
So remember: Undigested particles of food, when mixed with your poops, can appear as very dark or even black specks.
You should be able to prove this by taking some of the fecal matter, placing it on a white paper plate and then viewing it under a magnifying glass, in good lighting.
Between the magnification and the lighting, you should be able to see the true color of the “black specks,” e.g., very dark green, very dark purple.
Dr. Binderow adds, “Specks or spots in the stool do not need to be a cause for concern.”
Colon Cancer
And they certainly do not indicate the possibility of colon cancer, either.
Every patient should get a screening colonoscopy beginning at age 45, and even earlier if they’re at higher-than-average risk.
Colonoscopy. Source: Cancer Research UK
“If patients are reading too much into symptoms before colonoscopy, they could convince themselves they have any of a myriad of medical conditions.
“Rather than worry about symptoms and black specks or coloring of the stool, they should get a colonoscopy or non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test, like Cologuard, to diagnose and eliminate causes of discoloration in the stool.”
This home test, which is non-invasive, uses the latest advancements in DNA technology as it applies to bowel movement samples.
Altered DNA from abnormal cells in the sample can be detected, and this DNA may be associated with colon cancer.
