Tag Archives: Infographics

Conditions, Infographics, Medicine, Reviews

Infographic: Systemic Arterial Hypertension

Leave a comment

Systemic arterial hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor for all-cause morbidity and mortality worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of their condition, and many others are aware but not treated or inadequately treated, although successful treatment of hypertension reduces the global burden of disease and mortality. The aetiology of hypertension involves the complex interplay of environmental and pathophysiological factors that affect multiple systems, as well as genetic predisposition.

The evaluation of patients with hypertension includes accurate standardized blood pressure (BP) measurement, assessment of the patients’ predicted risk of atherosclerotic CVD and evidence of target-organ damage, and detection of secondary causes of hypertension and presence of comorbidities (such as CVD and kidney disease). Lifestyle changes, including dietary modifications and increased physical activity, are effective in lowering BP and preventing hypertension and its CVD sequelae.

Pharmacological therapy is very effective in lowering BP and in preventing CVD outcomes in most patients; first-line antihypertensive medications include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers and thiazide diuretics.

READ MORE

Medicine, Infographics, Reviews

HEALTH: HOW THE PANDEMIC RESHAPED AMERICAN LIFE

Leave a comment

Wall Street Journal (May 5, 2023) – The alarms sounded in March 2020, and Americans cloistered at home, sheltering from a pandemic killing at times thousands a day. Many people free to work remotely left their big-city lives for suburbs and rural communities. Americans everywhere have settled into more homebound routines for meals and entertainment. Yet even with the deadly crisis fading, the U.S. has yet to recapture the level of happiness enjoyed before the virus SARS-CoV-2 transformed our world.

READ MORE AT WSJ

Infographics, Medicine, Reviews

Bacteria: Helicobacter Pylori Infection Review

Leave a comment

Helicobacter pylori infection causes chronic gastritis, which can progress to severe gastroduodenal pathologies, including peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. H. pylori is usually transmitted in childhood and persists for life if untreated. The infection affects around half of the population in the world but prevalence varies according to location and sanitation standards. H. pylori has unique properties to colonize gastric epithelium in an acidic environment.

The pathophysiology of H. pylori infection is dependent on complex bacterial virulence mechanisms and their interaction with the host immune system and environmental factors, resulting in distinct gastritis phenotypes that determine possible progression to different gastroduodenal pathologies. The causative role of H. pylori infection in gastric cancer development presents the opportunity for preventive screen-and-treat strategies. Invasive, endoscopy-based and non-invasive methods, including breath, stool and serological tests, are used in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection.

Their use depends on the specific individual patient history and local availability. H. pylori treatment consists of a strong acid suppressant in various combinations with antibiotics and/or bismuth. The dramatic increase in resistance to key antibiotics used in H. pylori eradication demands antibiotic susceptibility testing, surveillance of resistance and antibiotic stewardship.

READ MORE

Aging, Infographics, Medicine, Reviews, Women's Health

Infographic: Why Women Have High Risks Of Stroke

Leave a comment

Stroke in U.S. Women by the Numbers

One in 5 women will have a stroke. About 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year.

Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in women. Stroke kills over 90,000 women a year.

Among women, Black Women have the highest prevalence of stroke.

Talk to your health care provider about how to lower your risk and use the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association prevention guidelines:

Stroke risk increases in women who:

  • Are pregnant. Pregnant women are three times more likely to have a stroke as women of the same age.
  • Have preeclampsia. This dangerous condition of high blood pressure during pregnancy doubles stroke risk later in life.
  • Take birth control pills. These can double the risk of stroke, especially in women with high blood pressure.
  • Use hormone replacement therapy. It doesn’t lower it, like once thought.
  • Have migraines with aura and smoke. Strokes are more common in women who have migraines with aura and smoke, compared with other women.
  • Have atrial fibrillation. This quivering or irregular heartbeat can increase stroke risk fivefold. After age 75, it’s more common in women than men.

Stroke risk decreases in women who:

  • Talk to their health care provider to determine safest medication if pregnant with high blood pressure.
  • Discuss with their health care provider low-dose aspirin guidelines starting in the second trimester (week 12) to lower preeclampsia risk.
  • Get their blood pressure checked before taking birth control pills and monitor every six months.
  • Don’t use hormone replacement therapy to prevent stroke if postmenopausal.
  • Quit smoking if they have migraines with aura.
  • Get screened for atrial fibrillation if over age 75.

READ MORE

Infographics, Medicine, Reviews, Uncategorized

Reviews: Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer

Leave a comment

In the past decades the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in people under the age of 50 years has increased, which is referred to as early-onset CRC or young-onset CRC (YO-CRC). YO-CRC is expected to account for 11% of colon cancers and 23% of rectal cancers by 2030. This trend is observed in different parts of the world and in both men and women. In 20% of patients with YO-CRC, a hereditary cancer syndrome is found as the underlying cause; however, in the majority of patients no genetic predisposition is present.

Beginning in the 1950s, major changes in lifestyle such as antibiotic use, low physical activity and obesity have affected the gut microbiome and may be an important factor in YO-CRC development. Owing to a lack of screening, patients with YO-CRC are often diagnosed with advanced-stage disease. Long-term treatment-related complications should be taken into account in these younger patients, making the more traditional sequential approaches of drug therapy not always the most appropriate option.

To better understand the underlying mechanism and define relationships between environmental factors and YO-CRC development, long-term prospective studies are needed with lifestyle data collected from childhood.

Read more

Diet Health, Infographics, Journals, Reviews, Studies

TYPE 2 DIABETES STUDIES: 65% HIGHER DEATH RATES WITH ‘SWEETENED DRINKS’

Leave a comment

The BMJ (Published April 19, 2023) – 

Conclusions: Individual beverages showed divergent associations with all cause mortality and CVD outcomes among adults with type 2 diabetes. Higher intake of SSBs was associated with higher all cause mortality and CVD incidence and mortality, whereas intakes of coffee, tea, plain water, and low fat milk were inversely associated with all cause mortality. These findings emphasize the potential role of healthy choices of beverages in managing the risk of CVD and premature death overall in adults with type 2 diabetes.

READ COMPLETE BMJ RESEARCH STUDY

SHARE THIS:

Infographics, Medicine, Reviews

Infographic: Binge Eating Disorder (BED) Diagnosis

Leave a comment

Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by regular binge eating episodes during which individuals ingest comparably large amounts of food and experience loss of control over their eating behaviour. The worldwide prevalence of BED for the years 2018–2020 is estimated to be 0.6–1.8% in adult women and 0.3–0.7% in adult men. BED is commonly associated with obesity and with somatic and mental health comorbidities. People with BED experience considerable burden and impairments in quality of life, and, at the same time, BED often goes undetected and untreated.

READ MORE

Infographics, Medicine, Reviews, Rx

Antibiotic Resistance: What You Need To Know

Leave a comment

Each year in the US, more than two million individuals become sick with infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and more than 23,000 die as a result of these infections. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.

Antibiotic resistance is a pressing public health issue, and together we can reduce this threat by optimizing antibiotic use and providing the best patient care. All stakeholders can play an important role in improving how antibiotics are used, to ensure that these drugs are available and effective when most needed.

READ MORE

Exercise, Infographics, Medicine, Reviews

Studies: Regular Exercise Prevents Heart Disease

Leave a comment

 Frequent exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Physically active individuals have lower blood pressure, higher insulin sensitivity, and a more favorable plasma lipoprotein profile. Animal models of exercise show that repeated physical activity suppresses atherogenesis and increases the availability of vasodilatory mediators such as nitric oxide.

Exercise has also been found to have beneficial effects on the heart. Acutely, exercise increases cardiac output and blood pressure, but individuals adapted to exercise show lower resting heart rate and cardiac hypertrophy. 

READ MORE