February | 2017 | Global Treatment Services Pvt. Ltd.

Heart Failure : Symptoms, causes & Common tests

Feb 14, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEART FAILURE?

Heart failure is different in every patient – the parts of the heart affected and the symptoms can vary widely. For this reason, your doctor may use several different terms for describing your heart failure.

The two main types of heart failure are chronic heart failure and acute heart failure .

Chronic heart failure is more common and symptoms appear slowly over time and worsen gradually.

Acute heart failure develops suddenly and symptoms are initially severe. Acute heart failure either follows a heart attack that has caused damage to an area of your heart or, more frequently, is caused by a sudden lack of ability by the body to compensate for chronic heart failure.

If you develop acute heart failure, it may be severe initially but may only last for a brief time and improve rapidly. It usually requires therapy and administration of medication by injection (intravenously).

There is another type of heart failure: Heart failure of the right ventricle.

Heart failure usually results from damage to the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, which supplies the body with blood. This may be due to muscle injury such as a heart attack or damage to the valves in the left side of the heart.

This causes congestion in the lungs and shortness of breath.
Sometimes, heart failure mainly affects the right ventricle which pumps blood to the lungs. This may be due to muscle injury, such as a heart attack localised to the right ventricle or damage to the valves in the right side of the heart.

This may cause congestion in the liver, intestines and fluid accumulation in the lower limbs.

Heart failure on both sides of the heart may be caused or worsened by irregular heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, which is usually a rapid and irregular heart rate that may prevent proper filling of the ventricles.

SYMPTOMS OF HEART FAILURE:

Heart failure symptoms can vary widely from person to person, depending on the type of heart failure you have. Therefore, you may experience all of the symptoms described here or just a few of them.

In the early stage, you are unlikely to notice any symptoms, but if your heart failure progresses you are likely to experience symptoms, which become more severe.

The main symptoms of heart failure are caused by fluid accumulation or congestion. and poor blood flow to the body. This section will explain these symptoms and provide tips on how to improve them.

SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY FLUID ACCUMULATION OR CONGESTION:

1. Shortness of breath

2. coughing/ wheezing

3. Weight gain

4. Swollen angles

SYMPTOMS RELATED TO THE REDUCED BLOOD FLOW TO PARTS OF THE BODY:

1. Tiredness/ fatigue

2. Dizziness

3. Rapid Heart rate

OTHER SYMPTOMS OF HEART FAILURE :

1. Loss of appetite

2. Need to urinate at night

In addition to the physical symptoms of heart failure, some people can be affected by the seriousness and severity of heart failure and may experience emotional symptoms, such as depression and anxiety.

However many of these symptoms you experience, it is important to monitor them on a daily basis. If you notice something new, or a symptom suddenly gets worse, you should tell your doctor or nurse without delay.

WHAT CAUSES HEART FAILURE?

Heart failure can be caused by current or past medical conditions, which either damage or add extra workload to the heart. If you have (or had) more than one of these conditions your risk of heart failure is substantially increased. Your doctor should be able to tell you what may have caused your heart failure.

This section lists the different conditions that can cause or trigger heart failure, explaining what each condition is and how it can cause heart failure. Simply click on any of the conditions below to learn more.

Some of the more common causes of heart failure include:

Past heart attacks
Coronary artery disease
High blood pressure
Heart valve disease
Heart muscle disease or inflammation of the heart
Congenital heart defects
Lung conditions
Alcohol / drug abuse

Less commonly, someone whose body is compensating well for his/her heart failure may develop symptoms if their heart is temporarily unable to keep up with their body’s needs. Conditions that can trigger this type of heart failure include:

Infection
Kidney disease / poor kidney function
Anaemia
Abnormal heart rhythm
Overactive thyroid gland

If these triggers are treated the heart failure can often get better.

Other conditions, such as diabetes, may aggravate heart failure.

In addition people with heart failure frequently become symptomatic if they stop taking their medicines or do not follow their treatment plan properly.

For some people the cause of their heart failure is unknown, and they don’t have any of the conditions listed above. If you are unsure of the cause of your heart failure you should discuss it with your doctor.

Common tests for Heart failure :

If you suspect you have symptoms of heart failure you should talk to your doctor (normally your primary care physician / GP).

Your doctor will likely perform a thorough examination of your body and will ask you about your symptoms, your medical history and your lifestyle. It is important that you answer any questions as honestly and accurately as possible so that your doctor can make an accurate diagnosis and can work with you to find the best treatment.

If your doctor suspects you have heart failure he or she will probably suggest you have certain tests. These tests will help to show whether your heart is working properly and, if not, where the problem lies.

This section explains the tests your doctor may want you to have and what the test can show. Click on any of the tests to learn more.

The most common tests are:

Medical history and physical examination
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Blood tests
Chest x-ray
Echocardiogram

Additional tests may be able to find out more about your heart failure or identify the cause. These include:

Lung function tests
Exercise testing
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Cardiac catheterisation and angiography
Nuclear medicines techniques
Multi-slice Computer Tomography (MSCT)

As the symptoms presented to the doctor may vary widely between patients you may only receive a few of these tests, and it is very unlikely you will receive all of them. If you have any concerns regarding your tests, you should discuss them with your doctor.

Herniated disk: Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Feb 11, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

A herniated disk refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (disks) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine. A spinal disk is a little like a jelly donut, with a softer center encased within a tougher exterior.

Symptoms of a slipped disk include:

pain and numbness, most commonly on one side of the body.
pain that extends to your arms or legs.
pain that worsens at night or with certain movements.
pain that worsens after standing or sitting.
pain when walking short distances.
unexplained muscle weakness.

Causes:

A slipped disk occurs when the outer ring becomes weak or torn and allows the inner portion to slip out. This can happen with age. Certain motions may also cause a slipped disk. A disk can slip out of place while you are twisting or turning to lift an object. Lifting a very large, heavy object can place great strain on the lower back, resulting in a slipped disk. If you have a very physically demanding job that requires a lot of lifting, you may be at increased risk for slipped disks.

Overweight individuals are also at increased risk for a slipped disk because their disks must support the additional weight. Weak muscles and a sedentary lifestyle may also contribute to the development of a slipped disk.

As you get older, you are more likely to experience a slipped disk. This is because your disks begin to lose some of their protective water content as you age. As a result, they can slip more easily out of place. They are more common in men than women.

Treatments:

Treatments for a slipped disk range from conservative to surgical. The treatment typically depends on the level of discomfort you’re experiencing and how far the disk has slipped out of place.

Most people can relieve slipped disk pain using an exercise program that stretches and strengthens the back and surrounding muscles. A physical therapist may recommend exercises that can strengthen your back while reducing your pain.

Taking over-the-counter pain relievers and avoiding heavy lifting and painful positions can also help.

While it may be tempting to refrain from all physical activity while you’re experiencing the pain or discomfort of a slipped disk, this can lead to muscle weakness and joint stiffness. Instead, try to remain as active as possible through stretching or low-impact activities such as walking.

If your slipped disk pain does not respond to over-the-counter treatments, your doctor may prescribe stronger medications. These include:

muscle relaxers to relieve muscle spasms
narcotics to relieve pain
nerve pain medications like gabapentin or duloxetine

Your doctor may recommend surgery if your symptoms do not subside in six weeks or if your slipped disk is affecting your muscle function. Your surgeon may remove the damaged or protruding portion of the disk without removing the entire disk. This is called a microdiskectomy.

In more severe cases, your doctor may replace the disk with an artificial one or remove the disk and fuse your vertebrae together. This procedure, along with a laminectomy and spinal fusion, adds stability to your spinal column.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex(TSC) : Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Feb 10, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

Tuberous sclerosis or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multi-system genetic disease that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin.

What are the signs and symptoms of tuberous sclerosis?

The symptoms of TS can include:

developmental delays.
seizures.
intellectual disabilities.
an abnormal heart rhythm.
noncancerous tumors of the brain.
calcium deposits on the brain.
noncancerous tumors of the kidneys or heart.
growths around or underneath the fingernails and toenails.

Symptoms usually show up early, shortly after birth. But they can also appear later in life.

Your symptoms depend on how many tumors you have, how big they are, and where they are. When you have TSC, all of that can change throughout your life. Tumors in a kidney can stop it from working like it should. They can also cause bleeding inside your body or high blood pressure.

Tumors in your heart usually happen when you’re young, and they shrink over time. But they can block blood flow or cause problems with your heart rhythm.

Lung tumors can make you short of breath, even after mild exercise. They can also cause a cough or make your lung collapse.

Tumors in your brain could cause:

Seizures, which can be mild at first
Behavior changes, such as temper tantrums, anxiety, or sleep problems
Nausea or headaches
Problems such as autism and developmental delays

Tumors in your eyes can make you see double or give you blurry vision.

In other places in your body, you may have patches of different color skin and dark or light growths that might look like warts.

In your mouth, tuberous sclerosis can weaken the enamel on your teeth or make your gums overgrow.

Causes :

You get TSC because of a problem in your genes. For most people, it’s caused by changes that happened when your cells were first coming together or when you were just an embryo.About a third of people inherit TSC from a parent. If one of your parents has it, you have a 50% chance of getting it.

Treatment:

Your treatment will depend on your particular case. Doctors target the places where the tumors are growing.

If TSC is affecting your kidneys, doctors may be able to block or reduce blood flow to kidney tumors, or give you drugs to help shrink them. You may need surgery to remove the tumors. At some point, you may also need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Varicose Veins: Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Feb 8, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

What are varicose veins?

Varicose veins are twisted, enlarged veins near the surface of the skin. They are most common in the legs and ankles. They usually aren’t serious, but they can sometimes lead to other problems.

What causes varicose veins?

Varicose veins are caused by weakened valves and veins in your legs. Normally, one-way valves in your veins keep blood flowing from your legs up toward your heart. When these valves do not work as they should, blood collects in your legs, and pressure builds up. The veins become weak, large, and twisted.

Varicose veins often run in families. Aging also increases your risk.

Being overweight or pregnant or having a job where you must stand for long periods of time increases pressure on leg veins. This can lead to varicose veins.

What are the symptoms?

Varicose veins look dark blue, swollen, and twisted under the skin. Some people do not have any symptoms. Mild symptoms may include:

More severe symptoms or complications include:

A buildup of fluid and swelling in the leg.
Significant swelling and calf pain after sitting or standing for a long time.
Skin color changes (stasis pigmentation) around the ankles and lower legs.
Dry, stretched, swollen, itching, or scaling skin.
Superficial thrombophlebitis (when a blood clot and inflammation develop in a small vein near the surface of the skin).
Open sores (ulcerations).
Bleeding and/or bruising after a minor injury.

Symptoms of varicose veins may become more severe a few days before and during a woman’s menstrual period.

More severe symptoms or complications include:

A buildup of fluid and swelling in the leg.
Significant swelling and calf pain after sitting or standing for a long time.
Skin color changes (stasis pigmentation) around the ankles and lower legs.
Dry, stretched, swollen, itching, or scaling skin.
Superficial thrombophlebitis (when a blood clot and inflammation develop in a small vein near the surface of the skin).
Open sores (ulcerations).
Bleeding and/or bruising after a minor injury.

Symptoms of varicose veins may become more severe a few days before and during a woman’s menstrual period.

Treatments:

Laser treatment. Laser energy is used to scar and destroy varicose veins. This is called ablation.
- Simple laser therapy is done on small veins close to the skin, such as spider veins. The laser is used outside of your skin.
- Endovenous laser therapy uses a laser fiber inserted into the vein. Laser ablation inside the vein makes the vein close up.
Ligation and stripping. Incisions are made over the varicose veins, and the vein is tied off (ligated) and removed (stripped).
Phlebectomy. Several tiny cuts are made in the skin through which the varicose vein is removed.
Radiofrequency treatment. Radiofrequency energy (instead of laser energy) is used inside a vein to scar and close it off. It can be used to close off a large varicose vein in the leg.
Sclerotherapy. A chemical (sclerosant) is injected into a varicose vein to damage and scar the inside lining of the vein, causing the vein to close. This usually works best for small veins.

Treatment may be needed to remove the damaged veins, treat complications, or correct an underlying problem that is causing the varicose veins. The size of your varicose veins affects your treatment options. Generally, larger varicose veins are treated with ligation and stripping, laser treatment, or radiofrequency treatment. In some cases, a combination of treatments may work best. Smaller varicose veins and spider veins are usually treated with sclerotherapy or laser therapy on your skin.

Some people may want to improve how their legs look, even though their varicose veins are not causing other problems. In these cases, a procedure or surgery may be appropriate-as long as there are no other health problems that make these treatments risky.

All treatment methods-including all types of surgery, sclerotherapy, laser, and radiofrequency ablation-can scar or discolor the skin.

Treatment can be more difficult for deep veins that are damaged or for perforating veins, which connect the deep and superficial veins. These veins may be treated with surgery, radiofrequency ablation, or sclerotherapy, or a combination of these treatments.

Brain Tumor : Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Feb 6, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

Brain Tumor

Symptoms and Signs:

People with a brain tumor may experience the following symptoms or signs. Sometimes, people with a brain tumor do not have any of these changes. Or, the cause of a symptom may be another medical condition that is not a brain tumor.

Symptoms of a brain tumor can be general or specific. A general symptom is caused by the pressure of the tumor on the brain or spinal cord. Specific symptoms are caused when a specific part of the brain is not working well because of the tumor. For many people with a brain tumor, they were diagnosed when they went to the doctor after experiencing a problem, such as a headache or other changes.

General symptoms include:

Headaches, which may be severe and worsen with activity or in the early morning
Seizures. Motor seizures, also called convulsions, are sudden involuntary movements of a person’s muscles. People may experience different types of seizures, including myclonic and tonic-clonic (grand mal). Certain drugs can help prevent or control them. The differences between these types of seizures are listed below:
- Myclonic
  - Single or multiple muscle twitches, jerks, spasms
- Tonic-Clonic (Grand Mal)
  - Loss of consciousness and body tone, followed by twitching and relaxing muscles that are called contractions
  - Loss of control of body functions
  - May be a short 30-second period of no breathing and a person may turn a shade of blue
  - After this type of seizure a person may be sleepy and experience a headache, confusion, weakness, numbness, and sore muscles.
- Sensory
  - Change in sensation, vision, smell, and/or hearing without losing consciousness
- Complex partial
  - May cause a loss of awareness or a partial or total loss of consciousness
  - May be associated with repetitive, unintentional movements, such as twitching
Personality or memory changes
Nausea or vomiting
Fatigue
Drowsiness
Sleep problems
Memory problems
Changes in ability to walk or perform daily activities

Symptoms that may be specific to the location of the tumor include:

Pressure or headache near the tumor
Loss of balance and difficulty with fine motor skills is linked with a tumor in the cerebellum.
Changes in judgment, including loss of initiative, sluggishness, and muscle weakness or paralysis is associated with a tumor in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum.
Partial or complete loss of vision is caused by a tumor in the occipital lobe or temporal lobe of the cerebrum.
Changes in speech, hearing, memory, or emotional state, such as aggressiveness and problems understanding or retrieving words can develop from a tumor in the frontal and temporal lobe of the cerebrum.
Altered perception of touch or pressure, arm or leg weakness on 1 side of the body, or confusion with left and right sides of the body are linked to a tumor in the frontal or parietal lobe of the cerebrum.
Inability to look upward can be caused by a pineal gland tumor.
Lactation, which is the secretion of breast milk and altered menstrual periods in women, and growth in hands and feet in adults are associated with a pituitary tumor.
Difficulty swallowing, facial weakness or numbness, or double vision is a symptom of a tumor in the brain stem.
Vision changes, including loss of part of the vision or double vision can be from a tumor in the temporal lobe, occipital lobe, or brain stem.

If you are concerned about any changes you experience, please talk with your doctor. Your doctor will ask how long and how often you’ve been experiencing the symptom(s), in addition to other questions. This is to help find out the cause of the problem, called a diagnosis.

If a brain tumor is diagnosed, relieving symptoms remains an important part of your care and treatment. This may also be called symptom management, palliative care, or supportive care. Be sure to talk with your health care team about symptoms you experience, including any new symptoms or a change in symptoms.

Treatment:

In brain tumor care, different types of doctors often work together to create a patient’s overall treatment plan that combines different types of treatment. This is called a multidisciplinary team. Cancer care teams also include a variety of other health care professionals, including physician assistants, oncology nurses, social workers, pharmacists, counselors, dietitians, and others.

Descriptions of the most common treatment options for a brain tumor are listed below, including treatments that help manage symptoms. Treatment options and recommendations depend on several factors:

The size, type, and grade of the tumor
Whether the tumor is putting pressure on vital parts of the brain
If the tumor has spread to other parts of the CNS or body
Possible side effects
The patient’s preferences and overall health.

Some types of brain tumors grow rapidly, other tumors grow slowly. Considering all these factors, your doctor will talk with you about how soon treatment should start after diagnosis.

Treatment options include those described below, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Your care plan may also include treatment for symptoms and side effects, an important part of your medical care.

For a low-grade brain tumor, surgery may be the only treatment needed especially if all of the tumor can be removed. If there is visible tumor remaining after surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be used. For higher-grade tumors, treatment usually begins with surgery, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Successfully treating brain tumors can be challenging. The body’s blood-brain barrier normally protects the brain and spinal cord from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream. However, this barrier also keeps out many types of chemotherapy. Surgery can be difficult if the tumor is near a delicate part of the brain or spinal cord. Even when the surgeon can completely remove the original tumor, there may be parts of the tumor remaining that are too small to be seen or removed during surgery. And, radiation therapy can damage healthy tissue.

However, research in the past 20 years has helped to significantly lengthen the lives of people with brain tumors. More refined surgeries, a better understanding of the types of tumors that respond to chemotherapy, and more targeted delivery of radiation therapy have lengthened lives and improved the quality of life for many people diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Otosclerosis : Causes, symptoms & treatments

Feb 4, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

Causes

The cause of otosclerosis is unknown. However, there is some evidence that it may be passed down through families.

People who have otosclerosis have an abnormal sponge-like bone growing in the middle ear. This growth prevents the ear bones from vibrating in response to sound waves. Such vibrations are needed in order for you to hear.

Otosclerosis is the most common cause of middle ear hearing loss in young adults. It typically begins in early to mid-adulthood. It is more common in women than in men. The condition may affect one or both ears.

Risks for this condition include pregnancy and a family history of hearing loss. Caucasians are more likely to develop this condition than people of other races.

Symptoms

Hearing loss (slow at first, but gets worse over time)
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
Vertigo or dizzi

Treatment:

Otosclerosis may slowly get worse. The condition may not need to be treated until you have significant hearing problems.

Medications such as fluoride, calcium, or vitamin D may help to slow the hearing loss, but the benefits have not yet been proved.

A hearing aid may be used to treat the hearing loss. This will not cure or prevent hearing loss from getting worse, but it may help relieve some of the symptoms.

Surgery to remove part of the ear (stapes) and replace it with a prosthesis can cure conductive hearing loss. A total replacement is called a stapedectomy. Sometimes only part of the stapes is removed and a small hole is made in the bottom of it. This is called a stapedotomy. Sometimes a laser is used to help with the surgery.

Oncology- burnout :Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

Feb 3, 2017 Posted by admin Uncategorized 0 comments

Although the practice of oncology can be extremely rewarding, it is also one of the most demanding and stressful areas of medicine. Oncologists are faced with life and death decisions on a daily basis, administer incredibly toxic therapies with narrow therapeutic windows, must keep up with the rapid pace of scientific and treatment advances, and continually walk a fine line between providing palliation and administering treatments that lead to excess toxicity. Personal distress precipitated by such work-related stress may manifest in a variety of ways including depression, anxiety, fatigue, and low mental quality of life. Burnout also seems to be one of the most common manifestations of distress among physicians, with studies suggesting a prevalence of 35% among medical oncologists, 38% among radiation oncologists, and 28% to 36% among surgical oncologists. Substantial evidence suggests that burnout can impact quality of care in a variety of ways and has potentially profound personal implications for physicians including suicidal ideation. In this review, we examine the causes, consequences, and personal ramifications of oncologist burnout and explore the steps oncologists can take to promote personal well-being and professional satisfaction.

If constant stress has you feeling helpless, disillusioned, and completely exhausted, you may be suffering from burnout. When you’re burned out, problems seem insurmountable, everything looks bleak, and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to care—let alone do something about your situation.The unhappiness and detachment that burnout causes can threaten your job, your relationships, and your health. But burnout can be overcome. There are plenty of things you can do to regain your balance and start to feel positive and hopeful again.

What you can do

Put a priority on face-to-face social contact with supportive people
Set a time each day when you completely disconnect from technology
Move your body frequently—don’t sit for more than an hour
Make laughter and play a priority
Reduce your intake of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine
Get all the restful sleep that you need to feel your best

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

The effects of burnout

The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.

Are you on the road to burnout?

You may be on the road to burnout if:

Every day is a bad day.
Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
You’re exhausted all the time.
The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.

Signs and symptoms of burnout

Most of us have days when we feel helpless, overloaded, or unappreciated—when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may have burnout.

Burnout is a gradual process. The signs and symptoms are subtle at first, but they get worse as time goes on. Think of the early symptoms as red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you pay attention and act to reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burn out.

Physical signs and symptoms of burnout

Feeling tired and drained most of the time
Lowered immunity, getting sick a lot

Frequent headaches or muscle pain
Change in appetite or sleep habits

Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout

Sense of failure and self-doubt
Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
Detachment, feeling alone in the world

Loss of motivation
Increasingly cynical and negative outlook
Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment

Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout

Withdrawing from responsibilities
Isolating yourself from others
Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done

Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
Taking out your frustrations on others
Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early

The difference between stress and burnout

Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and psychologically. Stressed people can still imagine, though, that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.

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