The CDC says that September is National Cholesterol Education Month, and who am I to argue?  So here is a dollop of education about cholesterol.

• High cholesterol is a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.  Other risk factors include
  • smoking,
  • age,
  • high blood pressure,
  • diabetes and
  • having a first-degree relative who had a heart a...

The healthcare reform debate has generated much heat but very little light.  (And it’s also getting a lot of coverage, so there’s very little else to report about this week.) I wrote a couple of months ago my opinion of two simple (but unpopular) steps that would make high-quality healthcare affordable to virtually everyone: abolishing the employer tax deduction for health insurance, and slowly p...

Our office just received our first batch of influenza vaccines, so it’s time for the annual flu shot post. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against novel H1N1 (swine) flu.  Availability of the swine flu vaccine is still at least a couple of months away, and I’ll write about it in more detail when it becomes available. This year the CDC is recommending flu vaccination fo...

One of my goals for these posts is to use individual studies to point out the broader trends they suggest.  This week I want to focus on our increasing understanding of the value of exercise after illness or injury.  A generation ago a heart attack meant weeks of bed rest in the hospital followed by strict instructions from the doctor to take it easy.  The weakened heart couldn’t take much exertio...

Osteoporosis, the demineralization and weakening of bones, is common in older patients.  A potentially incapacitating consequence of osteoporosis is a vertebral fracture, in which one of the vertebrae in the spine collapses and breaks under the weight it’s carrying.  Like other broken bones, this is frequently very painful.  Sometimes the fractured vertebra heals and the pain resolves after some t...

H1N1, the flu previously known as swine, is still in the news, but this week for a good reason. Most of us still have little to worry about.  The CDC estimates that over a million Americans have been sick with H1N1 flu as of July 24.  The vast majority of illnesses were mild and resolved without incident, many without any treatment.   As of that same date there have been 5,011 hospitalizations an...

The news is still flooded with stories about Swine Flu, which will continue to demand the attention of public health officials, but probably doesn’t need much more attention from the public. Meanwhile summertime brings mosquitoes which bring West Nile Virus.  West Nile Virus is transmitted to people by mosquito bites.  Most infected people have a very mild illness, but some develop encephalitis (...

Prolonged immobility has long been known to increase the risk of blood clots forming in veins in the legs (the medical term for which is deep venous thrombosis).  Blood clots in the legs can be quite painful and debilitating but they can also travel to the lungs which can be life threatening.  So doctors use medicines or inflatable leg squeezing devices to prevent blood clots in hospitalized patie...

A Recipe for Reform << Back to Part I:  How Insurance Works << Back to Part II:  How Medical Insurance Was Broken << Back to Part III:  Medicare

More

I’ll post the last part of The Healthcare Meltdown later this week, but meanwhile a quick post that deserves your attention. What’s worse than a product that has never been shown to have any benefit whatsoever?  A product that has never been shown to have any benefit whatsoever and has serious side-effects. Last week the FDA warned that Zicam zinc-containing nasal cold-remedies have been implica...