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Anyone who has taken C.P.R. training knows how difficult and tiring the procedure can be … even when practicing on a dummy under ideal circumstances. In an emergency and under stress a lot of people who received classroom training for C.P.R. admitted they just couldn’t cope.

Gradually the rules of C.P.R were relaxed a bit from the clear airway, breathing, compression cycle to just start pumping on the chest regardless of your training. Feedback from people who had used C.P.R in real life do or die situations told the professionals that some were reluctant to breathe into a stranger’s mouth whom might be in cardiac arrest.

Time is of the essence when someone goes into arrest outside of  hospital, and those who do not get any help have about a 95% chance of dying.

That reluctance to do C.P.R could be costing lives reasoned the experts so they started telling their C.P.R classes to just do chest compressions in an emergency. Data from those episodes now indicate that not only is the simpler chest compression method effective, but that it is actually better than the C.P.R routine because it gets blood flowing to the heart and brain quicker.

The 30 seconds or so that was being taken before at the beginning to check the air way and to breathe into the victim’s mouth has now been found to be very very critical to the outcome, and that the time is better spent on doing chest compressions on the middle of the chest.

A person in cardiac arrest has about a 15% chance of survival if they get chest compressions right away … and better than a 50% chance if they get support from an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) shortly after the chest compressions get started.

A lot of the heart health agencies in the world have started telling  people today to skip the breathing cycle for suspected cardiac cases and to start chest compressions at a rate of about 100 per minute as quick as they can, and to make a 911 call for assistance. The odds of survival increase fourfold when compressions are started immediately.

For infants and children who have stopped breathing and are unlikely to be having a heart attack, normal C.P.R is still being recommended but there will be changes in the training that C.P.R classes receive.

The recommendations for chest compressions also emphasize that the rescue person should not be afraid to press too hard and possibly risk breaking the victim’s ribs. Better broken ribs than a dead patient is the thinking.

The quality of the chest compressions and their effectiveness is directly related to the amount of pressure applied. In an adult, the chest should be compressed about 2 inches and in a younger person about 1.5 inches.

Did you also know that there are revival techniques you can use on your dog or favorite pet if they stop breathing?

The European Medicine Agency (EMA) has been investigating reports that suggested there may be a connection between the Pandemrix vaccine used in 2009 for H1N1 influenza protection and the higher incidences of Narcolepsy that followed.

The agency said they have not found any linkage yet …  but that it is a complex situation and they need another 3 to 6 months to examine the possibilities.

A person suffering from Narcolepsy can fall asleep at any time with no warning, so it has far more implications than a regular sleep disorder where a person may have trouble getting sufficient sleep and becomes too tired to function. Narcolepsy is a chronic problem with the brain that displays an inability to control normal sleep and awake cycles.

The European Medicine Agency (EMA) has had over 80 reports submitted to it from various European countries where the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix made by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has been used since 2009. The reports were submitted by health care professionals who suggested there might be a link to the vaccine for their patients ranging in age from 4 to 52.

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) issued a statement saying, “The committee concluded that the available evidence was insufficient to determine whether there is any link between Pandemrix and reports of Narcolepsy, and that further studies were necessary to fully understand this issue”.

In a person suffering from Narcolepsy the REM sleep or deep sleep cycle that occurs in most people after they’ve been asleep for a period of time, happens all of a sudden. They go from a fully conscious state into a deep REM sleep in a matter of seconds. It can last for a few minutes to an hour or more.

It is a very dangerous and debilitating form of sleep because the person could be driving a car or operating a machine and just nod off. There’s even cases where people have fallen to sleep while having sex. Not all women that have had that happen would likely agree though that their partner was Narcoleptic.

Narcolepsy consists of more things than just a person falling to sleep involuntarily. They can experience muscle weakness while awake. A condition called cataplexy, which can also be an indicator for an upcoming sleep attack. They can experience nightmares while falling to sleep … even muscle paralysis.

The disease is hard to diagnose and the patient must undergo testing at a sleep clinic to examine their sleep cycles and REM sleep patterns. There is no cure. Changes in lifestyle and certain medications can relieve or reduce symptoms in some people depending on the severity.

For the first time a study has attached a dollar figure to what obese workers cost industry in terms of lost productivity, medical costs, and absenteeism on an annual basis.

The analysis done by Duke-National University of Singapore has estimated the cost at a staggering  $74 billion … or enough money to hire another 1.8 million workers a year based on the average industrial wage of $42,000 paid in the U.S.

Their calculations concluded that the average per capita cost for a man with a BMI over 40 was $15,500 per year, and for a woman with the same BMI almost $17,000. A person of normal weight costs the employer about $10,000.

The study also made one very important observation and that is that the loss in employee productivity actually exceeds the employer’s health care costs.

It has not been known till now exactly how much obese related health problems were affecting the workplace. The study also made no mention about how much the obese public sector worker was costing the taxpayer … but with an average salary now much higher than private industry, the per capita costs for them must also be higher than these.

The study suggested that with these high costs now identified that employers might want to consider the benefits of getting their employees involved in weight management and other wellness type programs.

If you are an overweight employee and want to impress your employer with your leadership skills and ability to take control of the situation, then you may want to take a look at this weight management program and find out how it can help you.

A 5 year study done by the Arizona Department of Health Services has concluded that simple is best when it comes to keeping cardiac arrest patients alive until professional help arrives.

Bystanders witnessing an adult  going into cardiac arrest should start doing chest compressions immediately if an automated  defibrillulator isn’t available. Mouth to mouth breathing as taught in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) practice has been found not to be as effective as just chest pumps.

CPR is still recommended for young children who have quit breathing, because the problem is far more likely to be respiratory than cardiac related.

In addition CPR is more complicated for people to apply and has a perceived health risk associated with it due to mouth to  mouth contact with a stranger. Only  about a third of cardiac arrest patients receive CPR and the health risk is thought to be a big reason why.

Over 90% of people that go into cardiac arrest outside a hospital don’t survive. In 2008 a modified form of CPR started to be taught that consisted of just rapid chest compressions at a rate of about 100 per minute. This technique has been found to be more effective than the old CPR because it is much easier for people to do … and therefore there are more people to do it.

The mouth to mouth CPR method has been found to reduce the flow of blood to the heart when compared to chest pumping because the chest compressions get interrupted with the breathing into the mouth. The critical thing is to keep the heart muscle alive by getting oxygenated blood to it and the chest pumps alone keep the blood flowing and gets enough air into the lungs to  make this happen.

The study found that cardiac arrest patients receiving only chest compressions had about a 5% better survival rate than those receiving CPR with mouth to mouth breathing.

Breast cancer kills about  50,000 women each year in the U.S. It is diagnosed in more than 175,000 each year. The American Cancer Society claims there is no sure fire way to prevent the disease but advises that early detection through an array of diagnostic tools, drugs, and surgery can reduce the risk.

A 10 year study by the Curie Institute in Paris France shows that obese or overweight women were at 50 percent greater risk than those with a normal body weight of  contracting contralateral breast cancer. Furthermore being overweight can contribute to the formation of other types of cancers in breast cancer survivors.

Another study from the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam analyzed breast cancer data gathered over a 10 year period and concluded that a body weight greater than 72 kilograms (about 183 lbs) doubled the risk in postmenopausal women.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index higher than 25kg/m2 but lower than 30kg/m.

Other studies have previously concluded that a sensible low fat diet containing a lot of omega 3 fats, vitamin D,  and a low intake of omega 6 fats  contributes greatly to the prevention of the disease.

The safety of drop side cribs has become an issue many times in the last few years when poorly maintained or damaged cribs of this kind have been blamed for an infant’s death.

In the last 2 years over 1.5 million drop side cribs have been recalled in Canada due to safety concerns. Failures in the hardware or other damage to the crib can cause the side to partially detach in such a way that a space between the mattress and side is created.  Infants can become trapped in the space and suffocate.

In the last few years there has been a lot of reports of accidents and injuries due to this style of crib in both Canada and the United States. Only one death in Canada has been blamed on the crib while the U.S. has recorded 32 deaths.

So far, Health Canada is only in what they call a consultation process that could led to an outright ban that would mean no more sales of this type of crib and no second hand sales either in places like Ebay or Craigslist.

Most retailers have already stopped selling the product in Canada. If banned, the crib would be amongst only a very small number of children’s products to have been banned by Health Canada. The others being baby walkers, toys that contain lead, arsenic, mercury or other heavy metals, and toys that exceed a noise limit greater than 100 decibels.

hysterectomy

3 to 5% of women under the age of 40 get endometrial cancer which affects the lining of the womb. If they undergo a hysterectomy they will lose their fertility and be unable to have children … of which this group still haven’t.

Italian researchers think that by installing an IUD in these women that secretes a progestin hormone, early stage cancers can be controlled long enough for the women to have children.

A hysterectomy for this type of cancer is usually  the prescribed procedure but the IUD offers the women a viable alternative and a way to buy more time to have a  family.

The European Society for Medical Oncology published the study online in its monthly journal, Annals of Oncology.

Dr. Angeles Alvarez Secord, an associate professor at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center in Durham, N.C. said “It’s a very important trial. I’ve been using [the IUD] clinically for several years now for this purpose in patients who desire future fertility and some patients who cannot undergo surgery or who are at high risk for surgical complications. It’s a fantastic alternative to treat patients with these diseases, and this study will help doctors when they discuss [treatment options] with patients.”

Yet another report says the better off you are economically. the less likely you are to have long term health problems, and you are also more likely to live longer. In fact, the report says a person of means will live about 3 years longer than a person without so much.

The report to be issued by Catholic Health Australia has determined that your socio-economic background has more to do with your wellness than all other physical things like cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and smoking do put together.

Yes even skin color doesn’t cut it in their report as a cause of premature decease when compared to how well you can afford to live. 65% of people living on low incomes have long term health problems as opposed to only 15% of those with high incomes.

Lower income people are more likely to be obese, smoke, and in the case of young men drink too much alcohol. The report also links the non completion of high school as a future indicator of cardiovascular disease.

The report recommends that government do more intervention at an early stage with social and welfare programs to change these outcomes.

The last Sunday in September since year 2000 has been promoted as World Heart Day.

80% of premature deaths world-wide are caused by Cardiovascular disease. There are a large list of factors in our modern day lives that contribute to the problem. We don’t eat healthy and we don’t move enough or exercise. Smoking and too much booze are two more risk factors.

Conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, stress, and a family history of heart problems are all negatives working against us.

Heart disease is largely preventable. Eating natural foods like fruits and vegetables is a good dietary step. Too much salt is not recommended either and one should monitor their weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Wild North Pacific salmon is a very good source of protein and has the right level  of Omega3 for your body without any Mercury contamination. Grass fed beef is another recommended source of protein that has the right LDL/HDL cholesterol balance and not the excessive hormones and chemicals that feed lot beef has.

A handful of nuts like almonds, and walnuts, and seeds such as sunflower seeds make for good snacks and provide the body with the right kind of fats and nutrition.

Exercise is also an important ingredient to an overall healthy heart plan. Interval training requires only a few minutes of effort two or three times a week and is now considered to be one of the best ways to attain a good level of fitness.

On Thursday, some of the new health care plan rules kicked into law, but college health plans are unaffected … at least for this year. The new rules don’t apply to the college plans this year because they came into effect on September 23  after the college plans for this school year had already been negotiated with the students. What about after this year?

It is not clear whether the college plans will continue as they were or whether new rules will apply to them as well. The new rules are that insurance companies must spend at least 80% of their revenue on patient costs and provide coverage to adult children under the age of 26.

Critics claim that the college plans don’t provide very good health care coverage to students. The irony is that the plans are cheap because students tend to be more healthy than older adults … and insurance companies make a lot of money from them.

The major insurance companies all troll for college business. That includes companies like United Healthcare and Aetna Inc. A 2009 study done in Massachusetts showed profit margins on student programs to be 10% compared to 2% for other plans.

One of the biggest things a student and parents should look at before enrolling in a college is its health plan because the insurance companies say it is the school and not them that set the policy specs. There’s usually a booklet available that outlines the features of the school plan and what benefits it offers.

Parents should compare the school plan to what the costs and benefits are to keeping the child on their private plan.

The battle as to whether school plans fall within the description of a group plan or not, as defined by the new health plan rules, seems to be the tipping point as to whether the college plans will have to follow the  new rules or not.