Life Line Screening Helps Dr. Oz By Providing Thousands of FREE 6 For Life Screening Packages

March 28, 2012

Recently, The  Dr. Oz Show highlighted three key tests that could save your life — waist size, blood pressure and glucose testing for diabetes risk.

Dr. Oz “ambushed” people all over the United States to find people at risk.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard.  High blood pressure, larger waist sizes and elevated glucose are very common risk factors.

Luckily, all are risk factors that can be addressed with the help of your doctor and lifestyle changes. The key is knowledge. You have to know where you stand in order to map out where you are going.

That is where screening comes in.  Life Line Screening was proud to give away our popular 6 For Life screening package (which includes all three tests) to the entire studio audience and then to another 5,000 individuals through an online giveaway.

Thank you, Dr. Oz, for highlighting how important these vital tests are.

To see The Dr. Oz Show segments, visit here:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-health-ambush-pt-1

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-health-ambush-pt-2

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-health-ambush-pt-3

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-health-ambush-pt-4

Friday Roundup: Memory, Carotid Arteries, Hospital Stays for the Elderly, and PAD Under 50 in the News

March 16, 2012

Some articles for the 40 and above crowd. Read Friday Roundup news articles and stay proactive about your health!

Going to school keeps your brain functions fresh

The New York Times reports that more elderly people are heading back to school. Some are doing this based on reports that keeping the brain stimulated may prevent or put off Alzheimer’s. According to the article, working to retain memory keeps the blood, oxygen, and sugar pumping through the brain, and it does in fact help memory.
Read article in full detail at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/business/retirementspecial/retirees-are-using-education-to-exercise-an-aging-brain.html?_r=1

Memory problems might be a sign of carotid artery disease

Patients with substantial carotid-artery stenosis (narrowing) and no history of stroke or transient ischemic attack still suffer consequences of significant cognitive impairments, compared with people without carotid artery disease. Read the article in full detail at: http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/asymptomatic-carotid-disease-impairs-cognitive-function/c9c5a6b617.html

A positive change regarding hospital stays for elderly patients

The Daily Herald reports that hospitals are helping to make sure that elderly patients are leaving as healthy as they entered by getting them up and walking. “We want to preserve their independence,” Dina Lipowich, Northwest Community Hopsital’s head of nursing and geriatrics says in the article. “Gone are the days when we needed to stay in bed to get better.” Read the article in full detail at: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120312/entlife/703129979/

Peripheral arterial disease is not just for the over 50 crowd

An ABCNews.com local affiliate out of Fresno reports that, “While about 1 in 20 people over 50 have PAD, it can strike younger adults as well.” Read this about a 41-year-old with peripheral arterial disease, a disease which the article says has been called, “the most common disease that nobody’s ever heard of,” in full detail at:  http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/health/health_watch&id=8567228

Video: Vitamin D and Bone Health

March 13, 2012

Watch this HealthDay TV video about the importance of vitamin D for good bone health. Also, talk with your doctor about bone health and get regular osteoporosis screenings.

The script can be found below the video box for your convenience.

Joelle

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Here is the script of this video for your convenience:

Vitamin D is often an unsung hero when it comes to bone health, and statistics now show that many Americans seem to be running low on this important supplement. 

Calcium may get more recognition, but vitamin D also plays an important role in bone health.

This vitamin helps your body absorb the calcium in food, and when you don’t have enough vitamin D, your bones may pay the price.

Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics looked at studies which included people who provided blood samples for testing.

About one quarter of people were at risk of having inadequate vitamin D. That means their blood levels were moderately low.

Last year the Institute of Medicine recommended that adults get 600 international units of vitamin D in their diet each day, and bump it up to 800 after the age of 70.

You can get vitamin D from foods including salmon and fortified milk, cereal and orange juice. And your body also makes it after a few minutes of exposure to sunlight.

I’m Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV with the news that doctors are reading: Health news that matters – to you.

Watch more videos like this on Life Line Screening’s YouTube channel.

Friday Roundup: New Colon Cancer Screening Guidelines Released This Week

March 9, 2012

March is U.S. National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and with perfect timing, the new guidelines for colorectal cancer screening from the American College of Physicians (ACP) were published in the March 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

HealthDay News reports that these updated guidelines now focus on individual risk.

For example, the guidelines stress that screening should begin at age 40 or earlier for those persons – the high-risk patients – with inflammatory bowel disease or a personal or family history of colon cancer.

In fact, for those people who have a parent, sibling or child with colon cancer, screening should begin either at age 40 or 10 years before the age at which the relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first.

For all others – the average-risk patients – the recommended age remains at 50.

Then at age 75, screening is only recommended for healthy persons. Those individuals in this age group who have a life expectancy of less than 10 years are more likely to die of causes other than slowly progressing colorectal cancer, and therefore, screening is not recommended.

In addition to age recommendations, the new guidelines also offer more options for patient exams:

• The colonoscopy, where a flexible tube with a small lens and video camera is passed through the length of the colon. This procedure allows the doctor to view the entire colon as well as take biopsies or remove polyps.
• The sigmoidoscopy, where flexible tube called a signmoidoscope and an attached camera are guided through the rectum and the sigmoid colon. Unlike the optical colonoscopy, the scope is passed through only to the transverse colon. Then it is removed. Biopsies can be taken and polyps can be removed with this procedure.
• The stool sample, where the patient must collect their stool as directed for laboratory exam. This colon cancer screening is non-invasive.

The newer form of non-invasive colonoscopy, called CT or virtual, was not recommended, however, due to a limited number of doctors who have expertise in this technology.

What was the purpose of the ACP putting together these recommendations for screening age and testing options? According to Dr. Amir Qaseem, director of clinical policy for the ACP and lead author of the guidelines, the new recommendations aim to: (1) Help physicians provide better care for patients by urging them to gather patient histories and recommend screenings accordingly, and (2) encourage patients to find a test that they’re comfortable with so they’ll be more apt to discuss screenings with their doctor.

Why did the ACP feel this was necessary? As it stands now, only about 60% of adults age 50 and over get regular screenings, even though colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S.

Have you been screened? Talk to your healthcare professional and read how you can get a FIT at-home colon cancer screening test through Life Line Screening at: http://www.lifelinescreeningblog.com/index.php/fit-at-home-colon-cancer-screening-test-offered/.

Read the HealthDay News article in full detail at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_122594.html

Friday Roundup: Keeping Your Child Protected from a Future of Heart Disease

February 24, 2012

How do you feel about the latest news regarding testing children for high cholesterol?

It sounds a bit cruel to draw blood from a young child until you realize that heart disease can start at a young age, especially if it runs in the family. This can lead to a heart attack at an extremely young age, which can be considered even more cruel.

According to a whattoexpect.com (which is part of EveryDay Health) article, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children with risk factors, like obesity or a family history of heart disease, get screened as young as two years old.

“Ideally, you want your toddler’s total cholesterol to be below 170 mg/dL and his LDL cholesterol to be below 110 mg/dL,” the article states.

In order to keep your child healthy, the article suggests regular exercise and a diet that includes lean protein, soy products, whole grains, egg whites, low-fat dairy products, and fresh produce.

Also use canola and olive oils when necessary but avoid frying foods, and buy dressings, orange juices, margarines, yogurts and cereals that are fortified with plant stanols and sterols.

Don’t buy commercially baked goods either, as they are loaded with trans fats. For a special treat, offer dark chocolate or put dark chocolate in homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Learn About Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Click on picture to learn more about familial hypercholesterolemia.

Another type of heart-related disease you should be aware of is an inherited gene-related disease called familial hypercholesterolemia. Patients with this disease have inherited a “bad” gene from their parent(s). While rare, patients with this disease, do not survive past a young age without treatment.

Familial hypercholesterolemia can show symptoms, even in young children, consistent with ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, or aortic stenosis. Or, they can have symptoms similar to tendonitis or arthralgias.

A telltale sign of this disease is skin lesions (nodules) on the hands, elbows, buttocks, knees or tendons. These nodules can be orangish in color

Learn more from the resources section below and talk to your child’s pediatrician about cholesterol screening today.

Resources:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/121298-overview
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/107670