Mature Life Features

Cecil Scaglione, Editor

Posts Tagged ‘#heart attack

We’ve Been Invited . . .

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. . . to a car show

by our next-door neighbors at Sky Ridge

beginning at 4 p.m. Cinco de Mayo (Friday).

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And don’t forget our weekly indoor bocce at 11 a.m.

in the 2nd floor multi-purpose room.

= = = = =

Men “Bulletproof”

Until First Heart Attack

A major health concern in the fact that many men in their 50s and older haven’t seen a doctor in years. With the aging of the baby boomers, more than 150,000 men a month are turning 50 from coast to coast.

Men also are not conditioned, as women are, to have annual checkups. This means a large segment of the population doesn’t know about or use the health-care system. Things begin to change after about age 45 because of three critical ailments that begin to emerge – joint deterioration, cancer, and the number-one killer around the world – heart disease.

A handful of simple steps has been developed by medical experts to help solve what has become a major health-care problem: men in their late 40s and older who do not visit doctors regularly.

The first move is to have an annual physical exam to screen for general problems, such as stress and anxiety. Then each of the following steps should be taken each year (they can be scheduled with your annual physical): check blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar or glucose level, blood analysis for such disorders a kidney and liver disease and urine analysis, and a stool test for blood.

Men should undergo a prostate-wall and prostate-specific antigen test annually. They also should have at least one thyroid screening and periodic electrocardiograms to check for heart abnormalities after they turn 50. They also should have their lower bowel viewed with a flexible camera to check for polyps that are precursors to cancer.

Written by Cecil Scaglione

May 4, 2023 at 9:00 pm

Posted in Auto, Health

Tagged with ,

The Best Part of Growing Old . . .

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. . . comes after you’ve I’ve seen it all and done it all,

and you have time to remember it all.

Heart Attack Can’t Wait for Donors

You catch someone by surprise and they’re likely to blurt out that you almost gave them a heart attack. If they did suffer an attack, they would be among the more than 800,000 people who are struck by such a sudden attack every year.

The lucky ones are among the more than 300,000 heart transplant patients.

However, almost 400 people died last year because there’s a shortage of organ donors. While the public overwhelmingly supports organ donation – more than 90 percent said they would donate a family member’s organs if that was their wish — slightly more than half the adults have granted permission to have their organs donated after they die.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death, accounting for one out of four fatalities in this nation.

A coronary attack can be silent and unobtrusive or strike like a sledge hammer. One-third of its victims don’t experience any chest pain, leading to misdiagnosis of their problem. Global studies indicate folks with symptoms such as sweating, fainting, vomiting, nausea and shortness of breath are more likely to have their condition misdiagnosed and are three times more likely to die in hospital than patients suffering the tell-tale chest pain.

A myocardial infarction, the high-fallutin’ label for a heart attack, normally occurs when a blood clot or fatty build up in an artery blocks a vessel to the heart. This deprives the organ of the oxygen and nutrients it needs. This leads to a feeling of deep pressure or tightness of the chest.

Any chest discomfort or pain that lasts for more than a few minutes requires immediate medical attention. Less common symptoms include pain or discomfort in the back, neck or jaw, between the shoulder blades, your left shoulder and in one or both arms. Other red flags include shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea, vomiting, a feeling of indigestion, dizziness or light-headedness, sudden fatigue or weakness, and a sense of impending doom.

If any of these last for more than five minutes, call 911.

Written by Cecil Scaglione

October 4, 2022 at 3:00 am

Posted in Aging, Health

Tagged with ,