Know your risk factors for a stroke

Many strokes are preventable!

Unfortunately, having a stroke can happen to anyone. There are several types of strokes, but a stroke creates a condition where your brain cells are deprived of a sufficient blood supply, with sometimes devastating results. Knowing the risk factors for strokes can save your life. In the case of strokes, truly an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Let's take a look:

Some factors are related to lifestyle choices, while others are genetic. There are also medical conditions which may predispose you to suffering a stroke.
Among the lifestyle choices, there are risk factors for stroke that are most preventable. One of the most common is smoking. It's well known that smoking tobacco products contribute to cardiovascular damage. Enough said. Don't smoke. If you do, do your best to quit. Many studies have concluded that excessive use of alcohol and street drugs increase your risk of stroke.

Other lifestyle choices, such as what you eat, may contribute to increased risk factors for strokes. Choosing lean meats, along with plenty of fruits and vegetables, goes a long way to preventing strokes. Regular exercise helps keep your heart and circulation good and healthy.

Your genetics play a role as well. You cannot eliminate this risk factor, but being informed of genetic risk factors for strokes allows you to work with your physician to control conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. Certain ethnic groups, as well as a family history, may predispose you to certain conditions which place you at increased risk. Sickle cell anemia is one condition where adequate blood supply is already compromised, so reducing as many of the other risk factors for strokes is essential.

Patients with heart conditions may well be in the best position to reduce their risk for strokes. High blood pressure, controlled with medications, good dietary choices and exercise, can significantly reduce your risk factors for stroke.
Patients with diabetes often have cardiovascular problems, including HBP and high cholesterol. Diabetics can likewise significantly reduce their risk factors by eating healthy, controlling their weight and exercising regularly.

Age and gender also influence your risk of suffering a stroke. Perhaps due to circulatory problems or lack of exercise, studies show that your risk of stroke is doubled every ten years after reaching 55. Some physicians recommend aspirin, as a preventative of stroke. Discuss this with your own physician. As for gender, it's a fact that men suffer more strokes than women, but women more often die of a stroke than men. If you take birth control pills, are pregnant, or smoke, your risk factors for stroke are greatly increased.

If you've previously suffered a stroke, or a heart attack, you're at greatest risk. This means you'll want to address every risk factor aggressively, to minimize your risk.

Take care of your health. Take it seriously and help prevent a stroke.

Nicotine Detox

Nicotine withdrawal is one of the hardest things that I ever had to go through. Nicotine detox is no joke. At first, you think it will be no big deal. Sure, everyone likes to have a cigarette now and then, but you can resist, can't you? You just need to find something else to do rather than taking smoke breaks.

After a day or two, however, it can get pretty serious. You get moody and irritated. You start eating more or needing to take long walks to deal with the anxiety. By some estimates, even heroin detox is easier than nicotine detox. Whether or not this is true, one fact remains. If you want to quit smoking successfully, you need to detoxify from the nicotine first.

There are several different ways to do this. The most classic one, of course, is the cold turkey quit smoking approach. You simply stop having cigarettes and do not let yourself have another one. There are several different ways to do this, of course. You can do it alone or get help from friends. You can even check yourself into a detox center for a weekend or take a camping trip to an area where you will not be able to get a cigarette.

Some people find this approach harsh to the point of counteractive. They argue that this way of doing nicotine detox tends to fail, causing people to give up on quitting smoking. Many of them prefer to quit smoking slowly, using nicotine patches and gum. This approach has its own pitfalls, of course. You really need to keep track of everything very carefully, and the nicotine detox. takes a lot longer. Rather than having terrible symptoms of nicotine withdrawal for a weekend, you have them for weeks and weeks at a time. Although they are less severe, they last so much longer that some people find it easier to start smoking again.

A lot of folks that I know believe that nicotine detoxification can be aided by other medicines or herbal supplements. Indeed, it seems like there are some kinds of gums and pills that really do work pretty well. They help you to suppress your cravings for cigarettes, making it much less likely that you'll start smoking again. By taking this sort of medication while you are going through withdrawal, you can avoid having to deal with the worst of the cravings. You will still want a cigarette from time to time, but it will be much easier to deal with.

How to Ward off Strokes and Protect your Health

We are all familiar with the potentially devastating effects of suffering a stroke, especially as men get older and go through andropause, but most of us don't have a clue as to stroke causes. All strokes are caused, essentially, by a lack, or excess of blood to the brain cells.

The majority of strokes involve a lack of adequate supply of blood to your brain. These are called ischemic strokes. The remaining 20% of strokes are of the hemorrhagic type, where a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds within the skull.

Here we present a synopsis of the two basic types and stroke causes. Preventing strokes is best accomplished by improving your cardiovascular health. Narrowed arteries, high blood pressure, and a sedentary lifestyle are a recipe for a stroke.

The most common type of stroke is the ischemic stroke. Poor circulation and atherosclerosis results in a greatly reduced flow of blood to your brain. This is ischemia, the most common cause of strokes. When brain cells are deprived of proper blood circulation, brain cells suffer almost immediate damage. This is why it's so important to seek immediate medical help if you've exhibited symptoms of stroke. Permanent damage may thus be averted.

The transient ischemic attack (TIA) might be termed a 'mini-stroke'. This type of stroke is of short duration, lasting only a few minutes, and does not result in permanent brain damage. However, the TIA is a definite indicator of trouble brewing.

Many people suffer this type of stroke, but do not seek medical attention, although this is a major predictor of subsequent, serious strokes. If you've experienced the symptoms of stroke (numbness in your limbs or face, confusion and difficulty coordinating muscles in walking), contact your doctor immediately and get to the hospital. Stroke causes such symptoms and your risk for a major stroke in the future increases by a multiple of ten.

Naturally, reducing the plaque in your arteries can ward off this type of stroke. Your doctor may prescribe a pharmaceutical to do the job. Follow your doctor's advice to combat this narrowing and clogging of the arteries.

The ischemic embolic stroke causes a blood clot to form, which breaks away and finds its way to your brain, where it stops, unable to flow through the smaller brain arteries. This type of stroke causes an irregular heartbeat, referred to as atrial fibrillation. This leads to sluggish blood flow and the subsequent formation of blood clots, making you ripe for a major stroke.

The second type of stroke, the hemorrhagic stroke causes the blood vessels in your brain to bleed. The reasons typically stem from high blood pressure and weak capillaries (aneurisms). Rare stroke causes include certain birth defects, involving fragile blood vessels. Age and genetic factors must also be considered. The hemorrhagic stroke causes sudden ruptures, often characterized by a severe and debilitating headache.

Stroke causes potentially debilitating problems. Take care of your heart!

Testosterone and Women

Review study shows many benefits and few risks with a commonsense approach to testosterone replacement for women.

Although sex drive or libido in women is multi-faceted, it’s often closely tied to testosterone levels, and a new review study from researchers at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, published in the journal Maturitas, shows that testosterone replacement can bring many health benefits and few risks.

Women with low testosterone often have little or no desire to have sex. Using testosterone replacement therapy may seem like an obvious solution, but some doctors and researchers have been concerned that supplemental testosterone may convert to estrogen and thus create an increased risk of breast and uterine (endometrial) cancers. There has also been concern that testosterone replacement may increase a woman’s risk of heart disease, because men have a higher overall risk for heart disease than women do.

Read more

Dr. Atkins Diet Debate

There seems to be a lot of debate about the late Dr. Atkins. His new diet revolution, as he called it, is something that many have used successfully, but there is a raging debate about the long term effects this style of eating might have on the body.

If you ask any of the people who have been on his program for any length of time, they will tell you that they will not eat any other way, and that they are healthier than they have ever been. They also have the blood work to back up that claim. However, that is not enough for some.

The main complaint that many who criticize Dr. Atkins is that the diet is too high in fat to be healthy. On this eating plan, the first two weeks are supposed to be high in fat and very low in carb. That alone would be a problem, but that phase of the diet is something that is only supposed to last for two weeks, or a few more for some people. After that, fats are slowly weaned down and more carbs in the form of vegetables, berries, whole grains, and diary are added. The resulting eating plan for maintaining weight loss is actually not much more fatty than the average ‘low fat’ dieter might try to eat.

That does not stop those who want to say that Dr. Atkins was crazy however, and the debate may never end. Many on the diet report that their health has improved and their doctors are amazed at the amounts of good cholesterol versus bad cholesterol they have in their systems, and how healthy they get over a period of time. Dr. Atkins has repeatedly defended his position, and there are thousands out there that stand up for him whenever they can.

The best way to decide if you think the diet that Dr. Atkins published is good for you or not is to read though his book. Better yet, read though it a few times. Only then can you really understand what the way of eating is all about. There are many out there who don’t get the book and they do their own version of Atkins and wonder why they are failing. It is not a high protein diet as some suggest. It is a balance of protein and fat, along with a select number of healthy carbs.

Dr. Atkins encourages, or rather demands, vegetables be an important part of the plan, along with exercise, and a lot of water. Find out what is going on before making a judgment. You can’t decide until you know all the facts.

Anti Anxiety Medication

If you are feeling anxious and depressed, using the right anti anxiety medication can make a world of difference. The typical anti anxiety drugs work by making you feel chilled out and mellow, something that is pleasant whether you suffer from the symptoms of anxiety or not.

How you use the medicine and what your use it for, however, makes some degree of difference in the results you get. If you take your anti anxiety medication as a recreational drug, you will find it relaxing and enjoyable. If you take it to take the edge off anxiety panic attacks, however, you might not enjoy it as much, but you will get a lot more out of it. It will make you feel calm and rational again, able to face the day and deal with whatever is making you panicky.

One of the most important and famous anti anxiety medications Xanax. This
pill pill has been around for a long time, but it is still quite popular as an anti anxiety drug. They work very quickly, and the effect lasts for a while. Recently, however, there has been a movement towards natural anxiety treatment.

Many people take herbal supplements nowadays to treat anxiety symptoms instead of prescription drugs. Although many of these herbs are not quite as powerful, they do have certain advantages. Most of them are less addictive, and some people believe they are healthier for you. Whether you buy this or not, they are certainly anxiety treatment with looking into.

Of course anti anxiety medication alone isn't enough to treat many symptoms. This is particularly true if you have anxiety and depression together. The problem with some forms of anti anxiety medication as they can actually enhance depression if they are not combined with antidepressants. By making you feel low and mellow, they give you time to brood over whatever is bothering you. That is why it is important not to use anxiety treatments without a doctor's supervision.

Then again, there are ways to treat your anxiety on your own. When I first
started taking anti anxiety medication, I didn't really want to regularly see a doctor. Instead, I started meditating on top of taking anxiety drugs. It took a little while, but eventually the drugs did wonders.

Soon, I was able to cut back on my anti anxiety medication and just treat myself with meditation. I won't say that I never had an anxiety attack again – I've never been able to completely get rid of it – but I did start to really feel better after a couple months. Please make us a binding offer for the following deliveries.

I live a pretty normal life now, because I've been able to take care of my anxiety problems and control them with a combination of drugs and altnerative practices.

Read this if you are Dating Online! New Background Check Website Provides Nationwide Criminal Checks to the Online Dating Industry

SweetheartChecks.com makes it possible for women and men to easily discover if their potential date has a criminal history.

United States of America - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – May 20, 2009 – SweetheartChecks.com was created to assist both women and men in protecting themselves from potentially dangerous situations while using online dating websites. Now consumers can research a person’s criminal history in the United States with complete anonymity, including whether their subject is a registered sex offender.

Cathy Taylor, President of SweetheartChecks.com talks about why she started this new service, “Online dating brings new and higher levels of risk to the world of romance. I think knowing the truth about a person upfront is the best way to protect yourself; especially in these difficult economic times. Some women still want to believe that nothing bad will ever happen to them. I’ve been involved in the background check industry for 30 years now, and I can tell you this idea is naive. People regularly lie about who they really are – especially when their background includes jail time or a sex offender conviction.”

According to Jupiter Research, the U.S. online dating market will reach $932 million in 2011. In 2006, PEW statistics reported over 10 million users who were currently single and seeking romantic partners online. 26% of American adults, approximately 53 million people, say they know someone who has gone on a date with a person they met through a dating website. 57% of internet users surveyed agree that many people who use online dating services lie about their marital status.

Taylor continues, “Trusting someone new always carries risks including meeting at unknown restaurants or darkened movie theaters. Why would anyone put themselves in that situation in this day and age without first checking to see if the person has a criminal history? It just doesn’t make any sense. But there is a part of us, particularly women, who still want to look the other way and hope for the best. A friend of mine is marrying a man she met on Match.com next week, and I had to convince her to run the criminal check because she didn’t want to hear any bad news. Denial is a powerful detractor.”

But online background checks aren’t without controversy. In 2005, Michigan proposed a new bill that would require Internet dating companies to conduct background checks on users. Under the legislation, online dating services would have to warn site members about safe dating practices as well as define the limitations of background checks.

Taylor responds to allegations that online checks aren’t reliable, “The critics are absolutely right. There is no universal database that contains all criminal records for the U.S. I wrote an article about the limitations of online databases awhile back which people can read by going to the articles section of our website. The bottom line is consumers need to know that these checks are not 100% because not all criminal information is available in one database or online. There is human error involved and technology limitations, and because of increasing privacy restrictions, researchers continue to lose access to more identifiers on public records making it harder to get accurate data.

“Keeping that in mind,” Taylor continues, “I am confidant that the SweetheartChecks.com search is the most trustworthy single-source, online criminal database check available on the market today. We will also add additional services in the future as we identity their value as well as determine if they meet our quality standards. One thing we do that other companies don’t, is to educate our users about the limitations of online databases so users can make an informed decision before spending hard-earned money.

We also educate people about public records researching regarding other things such as marital status. We began with this criminal search that includes registered sex offenders so that users can get their feet wet for a nominal fee. All the consumer needs to complete this search is a full name and optionally, a date of birth. We make it so easy and affordable that consumers don’t have to depend on their online matchmaker for criminal checks, and dating websites don’t have to provide services they don’t have any experience in.”