Most people would benefit from the new cholesterol medications

Posted by Charles Waisbren on September 02, 2015 at 12:00 PM

50% of Americans over 40 years of age should take statins!  Now that most of the cholesterol lowering medications are generic, the cost/benefit ratio is overwhelmingly in favor of people taking statins to achieve more reasonable blood cholesterol levels.  Although there has been some negative publicity regarding these medications, the overwhelming majority of health care experts still strongly support these drugs to decrease the incidence of stroke, heart attack and peripheral artery disease.

Are we over utilizing coronary stenting?

Posted by Charles Waisbren on August 27, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Do we really need that heart stent?  Indeed, we are having many patients undergo heart catheterizations which result in coronary artery stenting of atherosclerotic vessels.  Not only is it very important to assess anatomy with physiology (is the plaque really causing an issue with lack of blood supply to the heart?)  but could medication deal with the issue equally as well as a stent?

Are E cigarettes safer than tobacco cigarettes?

Posted by Charles Waisbren on August 19, 2015 at 12:00 PM

We all know that cigarettes are unhealthy for you.  But are E cigarettes safer for you than tobacco cigarettes?

E-cigarettes have triggered a fierce debate among health experts who share the same goal -- reducing the disease and death caused by tobacco. But they disagree about whether e-cigarettes make the problem better or worse.

The answer is that  E cigarettes do indeed have less of the toxins associated with cigarette smoking for it is "smokeless":  there aren't all those chemicals produced by the combustion of tobacco leaves.  However, E cigarettes obviously have you inhale nicotine which isn't the safest of chemicals to be introducing into your body.  Still, they probably decrease the over all risk of cigarette smoking.

 

1) Aid to Women, or Bottom Line? Advocates Split on Libido Pill

Posted by Charles Waisbren on August 12, 2015 at 12:00 PM

No “home run” here.  This medication is minimally effective.  I think that there would be an infinite amount of controversy and abuse concerns if this drug was actually significantly efficacious in increasing the libido of women.  I think that there are few concerns regrding this matter because this drug just doesn’t pack that much clout.

New cholesterol drug halves risk of heart attack

Posted by Charles Waisbren on August 05, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Now this I find exciting:  A new drug which inhibits the accumulation of cholesterol in our body.  It plummets our serum blood fats (even while on maximum doses of the traditional cholesterol lowering drugs) and consequently dramatically lowers the incidence of stroke and heart attacks.

Three different pharmaceutical companies are going to come out with similar versions of the agent.  It will have to be given subcutaneously (by injection) but only once or twice a month. If I was a young patient with known atherosclerosis and already had a bypass, angioplasty or stroke, I would be first in line to get this treatment.  It will be very expensive and the insurance companies are trying to figure out which type of patient it will be a covered benefit.  

Fad diets may not be all that bad

Posted by Charles Waisbren on July 29, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Fad diets do indeed get a bad rap.  In fact, I feel that what they really do is help "jump start" you on the way to a healthier diet.  Fad diets are like diving into the pool before you start to swim.  Once you get into the water, it is easier to start your strokes.  A fad diet gets us off our usual consumption of excessive foods and initiates a different eating routine.  I vote yes to any and all changes from what has gotten us overweight.

   If drinking protein drinks and eating fruits and vegetables for a couple of weeks is going to jump start your motivation to overhaul your eating regimen, then go for it.

 

Great benefits from early to bed; early to rise

Posted by Charles Waisbren on July 26, 2015 at 3:29 PM

I have been preaching this to my family for years.  There are great benefits from going to bed early and arising early.  You tend to sleep more deeply and for sure you actually get more total hours of restorative sleep without the interruption of that obnoxious alarm. Upon awakening (often when the "non converts" are still sleeping), there is wonderful quiet time to read and have a leisurely breakfast.

Recently, reader Bob asked me about my habit of waking at 4:30 a.m. each day, and asked me to write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an excellent question. Unfortunately, there are none, that I know of.

However, there are a ton of other great benefits.

 

 

Strengthen core to reduce back pain

Posted by Charles Waisbren on July 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Oh, our aching back....  The old body isn't what it used to be.  The answer to why our back hurts lies in our wall mirror: our sagging middle.  With age, abdominal muscles atrophy and hence don't provide the support that they used to.  Our back muscles get overwhelmed by trying to compensate.  As we age, we need to fight back!

So you don’t want to go on high blood pressure pills

Posted by Charles Waisbren on July 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM

The ball is in your court.  Weight loss and sodium restriction are the backbone of nonpharmacologic therapies to treat high blood pressures.  Medications can indeed be avoided but not without lifestyle changes.  Some new alternative approaches to hypertension might have a place in our armamentarium as well.

The most effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis

Posted by Charles Waisbren on July 08, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Yup….  Our old knees ache.  The most effective way to relieve our pain when “push comes to shove” are injections of hyaluronic acid or corticosteroids.  This requires having a needle inserted into our knee joint and being injected with one of these substances.  The good news is that knee injections often are able to relieve our pain for a significant period of time.   The bad news is: who wants to be injected?