Heart disease, diagnosing

Anticoagulants are substances that can prevent blood from clotting and, hence, are of therapeutic use in cases where a high risk of coagulation is diagnosed. They are often administered to patients with coronary heart disease and to patients who have experienced a heart attack or... 

Iodine is an essential nutrient element required for thyroid gland. It is added to salt and to animal feeds for the prevention of goiter. In medicine it is used as a therapeutic reagent for the treatment of various thyroid-related diseases. It also is used as an antiseptic. Radioactive isotopes of iodine are used for treating thyroid cancer, heart diseases including tachycardia, and as a tracer for diagnosing certain diseases. 

Prevention of heart failure through identification and management of risk factors in the preclinical phase of the disease is a priority. The concept of primary prevention has significant impact on the development of heart failure. It is estimated that the risk factors of hypertension, myocardial infarction, and diabetes contribute to 80% of the heart failure diagnosed in the United States [21]. More... 

The diet pill combination posed another risk. The Mayo Clinic announced that 24 patients who used the combination were diagnosed with valvular heart disease. In these cases, the condition caused leakiness (regurgitation) in the valves, according to an FDA report. 

Until the advent of neuroleptic drugs, it was observed that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia lived normal life spans, unless subjected to the violent and unhealthy environments of state mental hospitals (Breg-gin, 1991c). Since the advent of neuroleptics, almost every patient in the Western world diagnosed with schizophrenia ends up being afflicted with a variety of neurological disorders induced by neuroleptics as well as the risk of many other serious disorders, such as stroke, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. 

Her previous medical history includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for fO years, last admission to hospital was two weeks ago ischaemic heart disease since 1995, myocardial infarction 4 years ago osteoporosis diagnosed 3 years ago hypertension diagnosed 9 years ago and pulmonary embolism two months ago. 

Measurement of AST is also useful in diagnosing heart disease or damage. The level of AST elevation in the serum is directly proportional to the number of cells damaged, as well as to the time following injury at which the AST assay was performed. Following injury, AST... 

Because ADRs are more likely to occur in the very young and the elderly, lower drug dosages may be indicated at these two extremes of the human life span. The elderly are more likely to have diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, dementia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and osteoporosis and may also have adverse nutritional reactions. Deficiencies in liver and kidney function can result in marked delay of drug detoxification and elimination. Constant review of established diagnoses and treatments is important to minimize the number of drugs administered, and care must be taken to determine whether other nutritional supplements and herbal products are being incorporated into self-treatment. 

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory s calutrons operate as needed to maintain an appropriate inventory of enriched stable isotopes. Many of these isotopes, such as strontium-88, thallium-203, and zinc-68, are required to produce other isotopes used to help diagnose cancer and heart disease and provide cancer therapy. Only one bank of calutrons is expected to operate during fiscal years 1998 through 2000. 

Bogdanich W. Risk Factor Inaccuracy in Testing Cholesterol Hampers War on Heart Disease—Some Diagnoses Are Skewed by Glitches Such as Use of Ill-calibrated Lab Gear—Missing the Mark by 100 Percent. The WaU Street Journal, February 3, 1987. 

Figure 5.49 Example of the usefulness of VCG to diagnose associated necrosis. The loop presents double-eight morphology (see Figure 5.48C(2)) in the horizontal plane that is abnormal and suggests the presence of associated necrosis in a patient with ischaemic heart disease. The ECG does not suggest evident signs of necrosis, as the QRS is practically normal, although the presence of r > 1 mm in V1 and symmetric T wave in I, VL and V5 is not usually seen in isolated LBBB.

Heart failure affects an estimated 4.9 million Americans, and approximately 400,000 new case are diagnosed each year (see Chap. 14). Cardiac transplant candidates typically are patients with end-stage heart failure who have New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV symptoms despite maximal medical management and have an expected 1 -year mortality risk of 25% or greater without a transplant. Idiopathic cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease account for heart failure in almost 90% heart transplant recipients. Other less common etiologies include valvular disease (4%), retransplantation for graft atherosclerosis or dysfunction (2%), and congenital heart disease (1.5%). 

Rheumatic heart disease, which is relatively rare in Western countries today, is characterized by damaged (scarred and deformed) heart valves. It is always a result of rheumatic fever, which is an infection caused by group A p-hemolytic streptococci. Children aged 5 to 15 are the usual victims. This is a preventable condition, if the initial attack of rheumatic fever is correctly diagnosed and treated. Treatment and prevention of a relapse is carried out by long-term (years) administration of penicillin G, V, or erythromycin (if allergic) and occasionally sulfonamides. 

The use of LDH and CPK levels alone can also lead to a misdiagnosis because these enzymes are produced by many tissues. How can a cUnidan diagnose heart disease with confidence when the elevated serum enzyme levels could indicate coexisting disease in another tissue The physidan is able to make such a decision because of the presence of isoenzymes, which provide diagnostic accuracy because they reveal the tissue of origin. 

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