Stents and Chest Pain Described

February 12, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diseases, News and Info 

Stents, small metal scaffolding devices placed inside blood vessels round the heart, are employed treat conditions that result when arteries grow to be narrow or blocked.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton underwent a procedure to put two stents in a of his coronary arteries Thursday after experiencing chest “discomfort,” his foundation said.

A stent is incredibly able at reducing chest pain and treating heart disease, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association.

In 2004, Clinton underwent a quadruple bypass operation to free four blocked arteries. For somebody who has a history of heart related illnesses, heart attack may be the first concern, Yancy said.

Putting two stents in a single coronary artery suggests the problem was that one of several bypass grafts completely closed, and doctors needed to fix his regular artery within the heart, said Dr. Michael Lee, assistant clinical professor on the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Another possibility is the bypass graft itself was blocked, but this would have required just one stent, he said.

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Pigeon Breast

February 11, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diseases 

Pectus carinatum describes a protrusion with the chest over the sternum, often called giving the individual a bird-like appearance.

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Pectus carinatum may occur being a solitary abnormality or in association with other genetic disorders or syndromes. The condition causes the sternum to protrude, using a narrow depression across the sides from the chest. This increases the chest a bowed-out appearance much like that of a pigeon.

Individuals with pectus carinatum generally develop normal hearts and lungs, however the deformity may prevent these from functioning optimally. There is some evidence that pectus carinatum may prevent complete expiration of air in the lungs in children. These teenagers might have a decline in stamina, even when they don’t recognize it.

Aside from the possible physiologic consequences, pectus deformities can have a significant psychologic impact. Some children live happily with pectus carinatum. For others, though, the form of the chest can lower their self-image and self-confidence and disrupt their connections with others.
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Real Life Sleeping Beauty

February 10, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Diseases, Mental Health 

A 15-year old British girl named Louisa Ball is a real life sleeping beauty. She has sleeping beauty syndrome that causes her to sleep for days at a time. The real name for this kind of syndrome is Kleine-Levin Syndrome. It strikes teenagers but eventually disappears by itself. No one really knows where it originates from or the way to treat it.

People with this syndrome will live normally for a while. Then unexpectedly, the lapse into sleep for days or weeks at a time. Louisa’s longest period of sleep is for 13 days. No amount of shaking, proding, or prying can wake her up when she’s in one of these simple episodes.

Doctors think it depends that this syndrome is placed off by a viral illness, however they aren’t completely sure. At this point, there only appears to be about 1000 victims of Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Experts say that this Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is unrelated to Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is really a lifetime illness that’s always for you. Sleeping Beauty Syndrome not just turns itself on and off, it eventually disappears.

Some might think this could be an excellent thing to own. Justification to sleep often. Some even accuse these folks of faking. However, this kind of is often a real and serious illness. They lose plenty of their lives and also have their lives interrupted during these bouts of sleeping. Hopefully there will be more research done on this strange and mysterious illness.

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