Fibromyalgia: Life Expectancy and Mortality Rate

Fibromyalgia itself does not increase the rate of mortality, but a recent study found that accidental deaths and suicide risk increased for fibromyalgia patients.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and reported by Doctors Lounge, aimed to find out whether or not fibromyalgia patients had an increased risk for mortality. Over the course of 35 years, the researchers followed about 8,200 fibromyalgia patients and compared their death rates to that of around 10,000 osteoarthritis control patients. The rates were nearly the same.

Doctors Lounge explains the results in detail:

The researchers found that there were 539 deaths with an overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 0.90. Among the 1,665 clinic patients, the SMR was 0.92. There was no increased risk of mortality seen among patients with fibromyalgia compared with those who had osteoarthritis.

When comparing the data to the general US population, they found an increased risk of suicide (an odds ratio of 3.31) and accidental death (odds ratio of 1.45).

Adrienne Dellwo at the About.com Fibromyalgia blog notes that accidental deaths may seem like a strange occurrence among fibromyalgia patients, but are not surprising in light of some of the disease’s symptoms.

Dellwo says:

We tend to be clumsy, and our cognitive dysfunction (fibro fog) may make it dangerous for us to drive. Also, accidental overdose can happen due to forgetfulness, desperation or both.

Causes of Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure is also referred to as CHF. It is a condition the heart is unable to effectively pump oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. This inadequacy can be fatal and needs to be diagnosed in time…

The human body is as complex in functionality as it is simple to understand. The anatomy works on the synchronized and co-ordinated functions that are carried out by vital organs like the heart, brain and kidneys, a few power components of a larger design. The main function of the human heart is to receive impure blood or blood deprived of a healthy oxygen content and purify the same. This organ also bears the responsibility of re-pumping the purified blood to the rest of the body. The left and right chambers within the heart take care of the process. The blood is supplied to and from the heart through the arteries and veins. This process is one the most primary needs of the body.

Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure relates to a heart disease in which the heart is unable to carry out this basic function. There are a number of causes of the condition, but the primary among them is the occurrence of diseases that:

Tend to weaken the muscles of the heart as in the case of a cardiac arrest or myocarditis

Demand for a greater oxygenated blood supply, much more than the heart is capable of handling

Result in the stiffening of the muscles in and around the heart as in the case of hemochromatosis

The heart is a complex organ in function, but a simple one in design. The right and left atrium function as the upper chambers, while the left and right ventricles function as the lower ones. These muscular chambers synchronize movements to function like a pump. The blood is pushed on as the muscles contract. This systole movement purifies the blood and sends the oxygenated blood supply to the vital organs of the body.

Frequent Hot Flashes Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Hot flashes: they’re annoying and sometimes downright unbearable. No one loves the dizziness, anxiety, or nausea that comes with going through menopause.

But what if those hot flashes meant you had a lower risk of breast cancer? That may be the case, according to a study recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

Researchers at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center assessed information from 2,000 women aged 55 to 74, with half of the women having previously been diagnosed with breast cancer. All women were interviewed about various aspects of their medical histories, including how severe their menopause symptoms were, use of hormone replacement therapy, family cancer history, and more.

When the information was analyzed, the researchers found that women who had frequent, heavy hot flashes were half as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Daily Mirror suggests that the reduced risk may be related to the fact that women prone to frequent hot flashes also have 40% less of the sex hormone estradiol, a form of estrogen.

Still, the National Health Service in the UK cautions that while the link found in the study “appears plausible,” more research needs to be done to confirm the association, and to quantify how effective the link may be.

And just because a woman suffers hot flashes, that doesn’t mean she is immune to breast cancer — not by a long shot.

The About.com Blog for breast cancer also notes:

5 Simple Activities to Get Healthy and Have Fun

Do you groan when you think of trying to lose weight and exercise? Most of us do! Unfortunately, for so many the very idea of losing weight breeds negative thoughts and feelings. You may even feel as if it’s an impossible challenge.

After all, who wants to think of climbing onto those machines in the gym for 30 minutes to take off the pounds? Or even worse, doing sit-ups at home. Yuck!

If losing weight has become a drag, you need to rethink your strategy.

You’ll be glad to discover that you don’t need to go to the gym to lose weight and get the body you want! Here are five simple activities that will help you get healthy while having a blast.

Play group sports

One great idea for losing weight the fun way is to play group sports. Next time, instead of dragging yourself to the gym and those dreaded machines, check out the recreation center in your area.

Start playing soccer, softball, volleyball, or basketball. With these activities, you’ll be burning off the calories while enjoying yourself at the same time!

Try a group exercise class, such as yoga, reaction cycling, or aerobics. I go to the 6am reaction cycling class almost every morning because I’m motivated by the instructor, and I love the energy it gives me.

Go for a walk with your friends

Another great way to get active and improve your health is to start walking with friends. Meet during the week to take a brisk walk together, either in the morning before your day begins, during lunch, or in the evening after work.

Schedule your walk into your day as social time. While you’re walking, take time to catch up and chat with each other. This way it feels more like a social experience instead of exercise.

How To Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle When You’re Too Busy To Care

There are times in all of our lives when we are just swamped. If you ever get stressed out at work or overloaded with responsibility when you get home, keeping up with a healthy diet is often a very hard thing to do.

Eating right takes discipline and planning – two things that are in short supply when we are caught up in the hectic rat race of our daily lives. If you don’t think you have the will power to keep up with a healthy lifestyle when the going gets stressful, here are some tips that may help you out.

Plan Your Meals Ahead

I know this takes time and forethought, but if you can actually schedule your meals ahead of time, you will be much less tempted to swing by a fast food restaurant when your hunger kicks in. Pack a lunch from home or plan out your dinners at the start of the week. The decision of what to eat will have already been decided so you won’t be forced to make a choice at the end of a crazy workday.

Of course, this can’t be done when you’re in the middle of a double shift and all of your responsibilities are demanding your attention at once, but if you can plan this out before your life hits the fan, you’ll have one less thing to worry about.

Hide Healthy Snacks at Work

At my office, I have a can of lightly salted cashews on constant standby. When I’m stressed and tempted to run to the vending machines, grabbing a small handful of cashews is a much better alternative. They are natural and actually good for you since they are a good source of protein and unsaturated fat (the good kind). Other options I’d recommend are dried fruit (like raisins), low butter popcorn, or some fresh veggies.

Disc Makes a World of Difference

BLOOMINGTON, ILL. — When Dave Moravec of Normal, Ill. ruptured a disc and pinched a nerve in his neck while golfing, all he wanted was pain relief. He got relief. That relief came by participating in a national study of a new artificial cervical disc that makes his experience even more special.

“I think it’s kind of cool,” the 45-year-old computer business development manager, husband and father said of participating in the nationwide study of the Prestige Cervical Disc.

Because of the five-year study’s success, Prestige recently became the first artificial cervical disc approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use nationwide.

“It’s awesome,” Moravec said. “I’m excited for anyone who’s going to have the procedure.

“My life is the better for it.”

Central Illinois Neuroscience Foundation (CINF) in Bloomington was among 32 sites across the country selected to participate in the study, called a clinical trial. Twenty of the 541 patients in the study had their surgeries performed by CINF neurosurgeons — Drs. Ann Stroink, Keith Kattner or Emilio Nardone — at BroMenn Regional Medical Center in Normal.

Moravec was among the 20 patients.

“We expected it (the FDA approval) because we knew it was a good product,” Stroink said.

“I knew it was going to be approved after I started to put it in because I saw how well my patients were doing,” said Kattner, who performed most of the Prestige procedures locally, including Moravec’s.

The neurosurgeons are optimistic that the new cervical disc procedure will be approved for use soon at BroMenn and at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington.

How to Lose Weight by Eating More

The reason diets don’t work is because we associate pain with food deprivation. Diet equals hunger, and hunger is pain. How could anyone succeed on a diet when pain is the result? Luckily, there is another way. After losing 40 pounds, I can testify that it works. The trick: Eat More!

The problem with dieting is the restriction. Eat less fat. Cut out carbs. Restrict calories. Only eat cabbage soup. Yuck. Do these diets work? Maybe sometimes, but at what cost? When we restrict our diet, the body’s metabolism adjusts to starvation mode. The metabolism thinks that it’s starving, and becomes better at storing fat. This is why people gain even more weight when they come off a diet. They have effectively trained themselves to retain more fat.

Instead of depriving yourself only to gain more weight, you can choose to lose weight and keep it off by eating more, and you still get to eat what you enjoy. Here’s how it works:

Think of your body as a gas tank. It can only hold so much. You are permitted to fill your tank with as much of whatever you like after you fill it with a few essentials to make sure it runs properly.

Fill your tank with 70% water rich foods like fruits and vegetables.

It’s too complicated to count all your food during the day, so look at each meal individually. Always fill your plate with a proportion of about three-quarters vegetables to whatever else you want to eat. Eat delicious, sweet fruits instead of deserts made of processed sugar. For breakfast, choose to fill your omelets with spinach. We are made almost entirely of water, so gift yourself the gift of eating as much water rich foods as you like.

A Wedding Weight Loss Plan That Works

I recently read a friend’s blog about bride-fattening farms―where young girls in Africa are tortuously forced to overeat in order to gain weight to please their future husbands. (There are 12-year-olds weighing 175 pounds!) In the U.S., we have obsessions about bridal body image, too. But we work to lose weight—not gain it—for that big day. And our sad extreme, instead of obesity, is called brideorexia.

More than 70% of engaged women want to lose weight, according to a Cornell University study. And 40% of them tried unhealthy strategies like skipping meals, making themselves throw up, or smoking. On average, engaged women who want to lose weight set a goal of 23 pounds. But, on average, they lose eight. And, most brides in the Cornell study were within a healthy BMI range to begin with.

Is that a failure? I don’t think any bride should walk down the aisle feeling anything less than fabulous, no matter what the scale says.

Istockphoto

So how do you go about losing weight before your wedding, while making sure you look and feel great, too? It’s a no-brainer: Find a sensible, healthy diet you can follow. Try our Feel Great Weight plan, check out our Diet Guide, or use this Wedding-Ready Work Out. I put out some informal calls to experts in the wedding business—people who’ve seen the best and worst—for their stories and advice.

Though they all had different stories, the experts were unanimous about one thing—it’s not a good idea to order a dress smaller than your current size. Taking in a dress is much easier than to letting it out.

FDA Warns of Bone Fracture with Heartburn Drugs

Federal health regulators are warning doctors and patients that popular heartburn drugs like Nexium and Prilosec may have some serious side effects. They could affect bone density and even cause bone fractures when used for more than a year.

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday several studies have shown increased risk of hip, wrist and spine fractures in patients using drugs that block stomach acid. The agency said a half-dozen studies tracked fractures in patients older than 50 when the drugs were used between one and 12 years.

The agency says the association between the drugs and bone fractions is still not understood and it plans to investigate further.

The drugs are known as proton pump inhibitors and include both prescription drugs like AstraZeneca’s Nexium and Takeda’s Prevacid as well as over-the-counter medicines like Prilosec OTC, which is made by Procter & Gamble.

Combined U.S. sales for the drugs totaled $13.6 billion last year, according to data tracker IMS Health. The drugs were the third best-selling group of prescription drugs in the U.S.

The FDA says all the drugs will carry new warning labels about the potential risk.

“Health care professionals should consider whether a lower dose or shorter duration of therapy would adequately treat the patient’s condition,” said FDA’s Joyce Korvick in a statement.

Ways to Stay Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

I bet you’ve all heard the saying, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” While many people debate the amount of sleep we need, it’s clear that getting enough sleep is only a portion of the battle and it’s also clear that some people simply need less sleep to function.

Regardless, I’d bet that there are people getting 9 hours of sleep each night and then waking up just so they can begin their daily routine of habits that nullify the effects of such great sleep. So, what’s the point? All of that sleep goes to waste! On the flipside, there are people only getting 6 hours of sleep that understand how to employ habits that will reinforce the benefits that sleep brings – subsequently they need less.

While we all understand the importance of sleep, let’s reinforce it a little so we can maximize our energy, our money, and our brains. With that, put down the potato chips and turn off the Tivo. Let’s get a little deeper into how we can really take a step towards health, wealth and wisdom.

Get Regular Exercise

Healthy: This is a bit of a no-brainer; exercise keeps you fit, helps you to keep your weight at the right level, and boosts your immune system. It’s also great for your mental health – doctors often advise regular exercise as a way of treating mild to moderate depression.

Wealthy: Staying fit means you’re less likely to get ill and need to pay for expensive medical care. Also (and I don’t think this is a good thing), “attractive applicants have a better chance of getting jobs, and of receiving higher salaries.” (from Mirror, mirror – A summary of research findings on body image).