Common causes of sleep apnea:
Sleep apena is a major cause of snoring. It can be caused because of allergies, obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) etc. In children sleep, apnea can also be caused by tonsil. Since the tonsil size of children less than 7 years of age tends to be bigger than adult individuals, it causes snoring related problem. Swollen tonsils not only obstruct air but creates other health related problems as well.

Symptoms of sleep apnea during the day and night:

Loud snore
Snorts, gasps, pauses during sleep
Heavy sweat during sleep
Social and behavioural problems
Failure to get up in the morning
A nasal voice
Easily irritated, cranky and aggressive
Relief measure:
The first thing a that a doctor does is a physical exam followed by observing the symptoms of a kid. Primary snorting can be addressed by physical exercise, counselling and breathing exercise. Problems related to apnea are addressed through medicine, counselling, and exercise. Certain dietary restrictions also needed to be followed during this time. However, apena is completely treatable within a certain time frame.

Mouth Breathing - What Can Cause It?

In addition to pumping blood to various organs, the heart also has its own blood supply, through which it receives its oxygen and nutrient supply. In patients with coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis, there is a narrowing of the blood vessels which reduces the amount of blood flow to the target organs, including the heart. 

When this happens in the heart, there is chest pain due to overexertion of the heart muscles. There could be two patterns to this chest pain. With regular exertion like exercise, there would be chest pain, and most patients are familiar with this pattern.

This is known as angina pectoris or stable angina. In some people or in some instances, chest pain occurs which is sudden and not of a predictable pattern. It could be related to extreme exertion or stress. This is known as unstable angina and can lead to heart attack and be life-threatening.

Stable angina or angina pectoris has a stable, predictable pattern which most patients get familiar with over a period of time and learn to manage. Read on to know more about the signs and symptoms and management techniques.

Signs and symptoms: Stable angina usually occurs after a round of physical exertion. The patient feels a feeling of tightness in the chest which feels like the chest being squeezed. The pain can gradually spread to the shoulder, arms and even the neck. The pain can also be induced by eating, exposure to cold, emotional stress. It lasts for about 15 minutes and is relieved by rest and sublingual nitroglycerin. The pain intensity does not change with position or coughing. In addition, the patient may also experience shortness of breath, fatigue, profuse sweating, nausea, and dizziness.
The patient may be able to detect signs on further testing including ECG, echocardiography and stress testing. Features like cardiomegaly, altered ejection fraction would be detected based on the severity of the disease.

Treatment: Immediate treatment to relieve the pain includes resting and sublingual nitroglycerin. On an ongoing basis, the treatment would include 3 approaches   lifestyle changes, medications, and surgery.

Lifestyle changes: Regular exercise, smoking cessation, reduced fat intake, reduced alcohol consumption, weight loss, and stress management are some lifestyle changes to be made to improve symptoms.
Medications: A number of medications would be used depending on patient s symptoms. Aspirin to prevent clotting, medications to control blood pressure and cholesterol and diabetes.
Surgery: In patients with advanced coronary artery disease, revascularization methods may be required, which includes angioplasty and coronary bypass.
In a person with known risk factors, it is advisable to have regular checkups so that the disease progression can be controlled and symptoms managed with minimal intervention.

Predictable Chest Pain Pattern - What Does It Indicate?

Cholesterol is either ingested in the food (about 25% ) we eat and some of it is produced by our body (remaining 75%). Cholesterol is needed by the body to produce steroid hormones and bile acids. It is an aspect that is required by the body and if in too much quantity, the same can cause havoc in the body. The best is to maintain the right balance of cholesterol in our diet. The same requires lifestyle and dietary modifications.

The first step in creating your low cholesterol diet plan is to eliminate foods high in saturated fat and bad cholesterol.

Low cholesterol foods diet mainly includes:

1. High-Fiber Diet- Soluble fiber reduces bad cholesterol. Good food sources are oatmeal, fruits and vegetables.

2. Cooking oil- Fats makes about 30 % of your days intake. A combination of oils works the best. Foods rich in saturated fats are butter, ghee, cream, and cheese. These need to be taken in moderation or avoided. Avoid fried foods. Not more than 10% of total calories should be from Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) and the remaining should be from Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA). The best sources of PUFA are plant based oils, sunflower, corn, soybean, cottonseed and safflower. MUFA are found in the largest amounts in olive, canola, mustard, almond and peanut oils.

3. Avoid Trans fats- Read labels carefully and do not reuse oil used for frying.

4. Go lean- Choose lean meat and fish. Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods high in omega 3 help you lower down the risk of cardiovascular disease. Tuna and salmon are a good source of omega-3 to name a few.

5. Eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables- This will help ensure that your body meets all the vitamins and nutrient requirement. Fruits and vegetables are relatively low in calories. Apples and pears are known for soluble fiber, which reduces bad cholesterol levels. It is best that you eat good quantities of the same.

6. Include low-fat dairy products- avoid ghee, cheese, cream, paneer and butter. Opt for lighter and healthier options.

7. Exercise well - Exercise at least 30 mins per day. Workout will help you burn extra fat resulting in lowering cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol - How To Manage It?

Language plays a very important role in our everyday life. Language disorders are common in neurological practices. A stroke directly affects one s brain and can cause neurological problems.

The consequences of neurological stroke language disorders are alexia, aphasia, alexia, acalculia, and agraphia. A large number of deaths worldwide are caused due to stroke. A severe stroke may impair a patient for life and cause communication disorders. The brain refuses to function properly after a stroke, thus accurate description and recognition become a challenging task.

Understanding the types of language disorders post-stroke

Stroke can severely damage a certain portion of your brain and hamper its proper functioning. One of the most common symptoms following a stroke is language loss. There can be different types of language loss, partial or even complete. Below are the types:

Aphasia

It means complete loss of language functioning. The patient s verbal communication is impaired and it results in difficulty in understanding both written and spoken language, repetition, naming, comprehension and other abnormalities. The blood vessels of the brain are affected causing its dysfunction. One-third of patients in the acute phase undergo this condition.

Alexia

A disconnection syndrome caused due to brain damage or trauma affects the patient s reading ability. It is also known as visual aphasia, text blindness, or word blindness. It is very different from dyslexia.

Agraphia

It is the inability to write unlike in the past. The motor control that allows you to write is disrupted and the patient writes wrong spellings or imaginary words and confuses the meanings.

Acalculia

This is also an acquired syndrome in case of which the patient cannot perform any mathematical calculations. Simple addition, subtraction, numbers and columns are a difficult task and go beyond understanding.

Language recovery

The process of recovery is difficult, slow and does not guarantee results. The severity of language impairment needs to be considered before going for therapy. Rehabilitation is necessary to avoid any depression or frustration in the patient.

Communication is essential. If a patient is suffering from aphasia, begin with simple words like  yes  or  no , hand gestures and nodding to address the basic needs.

Be patient and try to connect with the person emotionally.

Return to the daily routine. The homely environment can be beneficial and make sure you have an everyday list of words to learn or write.

The patient must be active and repeat words until you have the perfect pronunciation.

Keep a notepad handy. For patients who cannot talk and has difficulty in talking can write and express their feelings.

It is very important to stay stimulated. Motivation from friends and family relieves anxiety and can help the patient recover quickly. No two affected person goes through the same process, that s why understand and approach accordingly.

Early therapy is effective and patients may respond very well in groups and a safe environment. Visit the doctor at regular intervals to test your improvements, reflexes and language skills. Post-stroke, the patient s well-being should be a priority.

Know More About Neurological Stroke Language Disorders!

Strokes occur when blood to the brain gets interrupted or reduced. When this occurs, brain cells begin to die as they don't get enough nutrients and oxygen. Such life-threatening episodes can strike you anytime.


Many myths surround this medical condition:


Myth 1: Women don't suffer from strokes
The opposite is true. It is women who suffer strokes more often than men. This is because women tend to live longer than men whose longevity gets affected by heart disease. Since they live longer than men, they tend to be more vulnerable to strokes.


Myth 2: Strokes aren't easy to recognise
Strokes can be easily diagnosed through the face, arm, Speech and Time test (FAST). If you suffer from slurred speech, facial droop or numbness on one side of the body, you're said to suffer from a stroke.


Myth 3: Strokes are a form of heart attack
Although strokes and heart attacks are closely related, they are not the same. In strokes, blood supply to the brain gets interrupted; on the other hand, in heart attacks, blood supply to the heart gets severely affected.


Myth 4: Only older people suffer from strokes
This isn't true young people can experience strokes as well. About a quarter of stroke cases are reported by people aged 65 and below. More importantly, irrespective of the age group, the warning signs are the same; it is only in response that differences can be found between younger and older people.


Myth 5: Strokes can't be prevented
Through changes in your lifestyle, strokes can easily be prevented. You can reduce your chances of getting a stroke by having a balanced diet, exercising, keeping an optimum body weight and limiting alcohol consumption as well as quitting smoking. Moreover, up to 80% stroke cases can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle.


Stroke - Debunking Myths About it 

Egg yolk and cholesterol - is there a link?

Although egg is considered one of the most nutritious foods, people with high cholesterol avoid its consumption as they believe that eggs may increase cholesterol and risk heart diseases.

Is there a link between egg yolk and cholesterol?

Egg yolk is rich in dietary cholesterol. One large egg contains 185 milligrams of cholesterol. People with normal cholesterol levels require about 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol and people with high cholesterol need 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol from food.

Dietary cholesterol has the minimum impact on blood cholesterol as compared to saturated and trans fats which contain bad cholesterol. Hence dietary cholesterol present in egg yolk has minimal or no effects on increasing your cholesterol levels.

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Egg Yolk and Cholesterol - Is There Really a Link?

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