Archive for July, 2007

Heart disease refers to a number of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels.

It is the leading cause of death in women all over the world today.

It occurs when there is a structural or functional abnormality of the heart, which sometimes may result in decelerating the supply of blood to the body.

Several risk factors are associated with heart disease. The more risk factors you have, the more possibility of developing a heart disease.

High blood pressure is a major cause for developing a heart disease. However, high cholesterol can greatly increase your chance of high blood pressure. So, it is important to maintain cholesterol levels to prevent the occurrence of heart disease.

Therefore, stay away from cholesterol and saturated fats that are rich in red meats and dairy products. Also, avoid foods containing high amounts of oils and fats.

On the other hand, you can replace these foods with much healthier alternatives such as fish and chicken. Also, replace the fried foods with baked ones and include more healthy fruits and vegetables into your regular diet. Try to avoid caffeine and salt substances as much as possible.

Miscarriage cause needs to be identified in order to have proper treatment.

However, there are several different miscarriage causes that have been identified.

The most common miscarriage cause is fetal chromosomal abnormalities, which affects more than 50% of all early pregnancies.

The reason for this is may be abnormalities in the egg, sperm or both.

There are two types of chromosomal abnormalities: numerical and structural. The most common chromosomal abnormalities are:

Trisomy: It is a type of chromosomal abnormality where there will be three chromosomes of one type rather than normal pair. This results in an embryo with 47 chromosomes instead of 46 and will either abort, or develop into a baby with congenital abnormalities. It is more common as reproductive age increases and the abnormalities are not very likely to recur.

Monosomy: In this type, you will notice missing of one chromosome. This condition is called Turner’s syndrome where pregnancies will carry on with only one X chromosome.

Polyploidy In this type, one or more additional set of chromosomes is present, which results in the fertilization of an egg with more than one sperm.

Generally, X-rays and Ultrasound examinations can diagnose various conditions within the abdomen and pelvis but they too have certain limitations.

However, there comes certain condition where a most clear picture of the abdomen and pelvis emergence is essential.

Therefore, laparoscopy is best to view the organs of the abdomen and pelvis directly.

Laparoscopy is also referred to as Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) or keyhole surgery.

It is a special kind of surgery that makes use of telescopes to examine the interior parts of the human body.

Actually, the term ‘Laparoscopy‘comes from two Greek words: Lapara and Skopein. Lapara means “the soft parts of the body between the rib margins and hips,” whereas skopein means “to view or examine.”

Earlier, in the beginning, gynecologists used laparoscopy only for the diagnosis of diseases of the ovary and uterus [Laparoscopy for ovarian cancer]. However, in the late 1980s, laparoscopic techniques were introduced in removal of the gallbladder.

And now, the fiber optic instruments and video cameras allow surgical procedures on the smallest of structures and with the help of laparoscopy, a variety of critical conditions can be treated. The most common of them are gallstones, appendicitis, bowel disorders, hernias, etc.

Breast cancer is a cancer of the breast tissue.

Today, it is the most common cancer diagnosed in women.

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women.

One out of eight women will suffer with breast cancer in their lifetime.

In the United States, over two million women are diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately forty thousand women die of breast cancer yearly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, over 1.2 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year.

With great efforts of researchers and medical professionals, several effective breast cancer treatment options are available for you. Today, with the advances in the treatment options, you with breast cancer do not have to lose your breast.

However, these breast cancer treatment options depend upon several factors: size, location, stage and laboratory test reports of your breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a complex disease where your cancer may be in one of five stages. Most of the women today with breast cancer are diagnosed within first three stages where they can lead a long life.

Chlamydia, a general curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by tiny bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is a bacteria-related sexually transmitted disease, which can injure a woman’s reproductive organs.

Also, it’s estimated that annually the rate of chlamydia infection is rising to more than 2.8 million and up to 40% of sexually active women are infected with unaware of its existence.

Today, still there arepeople at risk of this infection and really don’t know what it is even if they heard about it.

It is referred to as a “silent” disease where you do not experience chlamydia symptoms though you are at risk. In some cases, if they do occur, they appear within 1-3 weeks after infection.

As chlamydia is an asymptomatic infection, it often goes undiagnosed unless it directs to major complications and if it is not treated soon enough, then severe damages can takes place to the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and uterus, causing infertility.

In general, the diagnosis for chlamydia is carried out at STI clinics or GUM clinics.

For this, in the past, women were used to test by taking a swab from the cervix with an instrument called a speculum.

Type2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes [Identifying your diabetes type].

Type2 diabetes symptoms vary from woman to woman. Sometimes, it becomes very difficult to recognize type 2 diabetes symptoms.

But when it is recognized, it can lead to early diagnosis and treatment.

However, ignoring these symptoms can lead to serious damage to the organs caused by unchecked or high blood glucose levels. However, in some rare cases, it can lead to coma.

It is important to have regular check-ups although you exhibit few or no symptoms. Remember, in some cases, type2 diabetes is asymptomatic.

The type2 diabetes symptoms may include an increased thirst or dry mouth, hunger even after eating a meal, nausea or vomiting, frequent urination, fatigue or weakness, blurred vision and numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.

Not everyone with type2 diabetes experiences the same symptoms. However, in some cases, the symptoms include recurrent infections of urinary tract, vagina or easily infected scratches on the skin and slow healing of wounds or sores.

Healing fibroids depends up on the size of the fibroid tumors, its symptoms, your age, whether or not you plan for more children, general health and your preference.

Fibroids are common benign growth of the uterus (womb).

The fibroids growth in the uterus may be very small or large [Fibroid type].

The fibroids cause no symptoms if they are very small; thereby healing fibroids is not necessary.

It especially applies if you are nearing menopause stage (an average age of fifty).

However, if the fibroids are small and cause pressure symptoms or heavy bleeding then a regular evaluation is done to determine the changes in the fibroid size.

It is usually done when you plan to become pregnant, as the fibroids can grow and affect the pregnancy, also, if you are nearing your menopause where the fibroids generally reduce in size.

Although fibroids cause no or very little symptoms, it is very important for you to keep consulting your doctor regularly for assessment.

On the other hand, you may also notice certain symptoms, which includes heavy, painful periods, pelvic pain, abnormal bleeding between periods, an increase in the size of the fibroids; or pressure on urinary bladder or on bowel.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is characterized by a group of symptoms related to menstrual periods.

You may experience PMS symptoms anytime after the ovulation that occurs roughly two weeks before the onset of your periods.

However, it disappears as your periods start.

You can notice different changes in your body during the last 3-14 days of your menstrual cycle, which could cause some degree of pain.

There are about 150 PMS symptoms associated with this condition, which often affects physically and emotionally.

The number, type, and severity of PMS symptoms vary from woman to woman. Also, the symptom changes from month to month in the same woman.

Here are some of the most common PMS symptoms:

Fatigue: It is the most common nervous system PMS symptom. With this symptom, you feel tiredness that you can hardly spend the day. Sometimes, you may also experience trouble sleeping at night, called insomnia.

The other symptoms of this type are hypersomnia (sleeping for long time abnormally), anorexia (loss of appetite), lethargy, agitation, change in sex drive, and dizziness.

Tension and irritability: This is a mood-related PMS symptom. With this type of symptom, you may feel very nervous and small irritations appear huge. Often your reaction will be out of proportion to the condition.