If the blood flow between left ventricle and aorta is obstructed, it is known as Aortic Stenosis.
Aortic stenosis can occur in newborn, infants, children and adolescents. It is more common among boys than in girls.
Mild cases of this disorder do not need treatment. However, if a child has a severe case of aortic stenosis, then it requires treatment.

Aortic stenosis: Causes-

Blockage in the valve, mainly in the form of bicuspid valve stenosis (Aortic valve stenosis)
Muscular/fibrinous obstruction beneath the aortic valve (Subaortic stenosis)
Narrowing above the aortic valve in aorta itself (Supravalvular aortic stenosis)
Aortic valves regulate blood flow to the body parts. When aortic valve opens, it allows blood to go forward then it closed down so that blood will not come back to left ventricle.
However, if there is a problem with the aortic valve, it cannot open entirely and that restricts the passage of blood. The heart has to work extra hard to ensure that the entire volume of blood flow through the faulty valve.

Sometimes babies are born with deformed aortic valve in the form of bicuspid aortic valve that is prone for obstruction as compared to normal trileaflet aortic valve.

Aortic Stenosis: Symptoms-

Symptoms due to aortic stenos is depends on age of the child and its severity.
If occurs in newborn babies, it is generally severe in intensity and babies are generally in shock like state due to low cardiac output.
Infants are generally tired easily during feeding.
Children show signs of easy fatigue, chest pain, loss of consciousness and in late stages with shortness of breath.
Diagnosis of Aortic Stenosis-

Pre-natal testing like a fetal echocardiogram can reveal aortic stenosis if moderate to severe in intensity. That is why as soon as the baby is born, treatment is initiated.
Even if the child was not born with a problematic valve, this condition can arise a few years later.
For diagnosing this disease pediatric echocardiogram by pediatric cardiologist needs to be done from the chest of the child
Treatment of Aortic Stenosis-

If aortic stenosis is mild to moderate in intensity then we need to do follow-up of the child at regular intervals.
However, in severe aortic stenosis, treatment needs to be done
In valvular aortic stenosis, treatment of choice is by doing ballooning of aortic valve (Balloon aortic valvuloplasty, BAV) in any age group.

Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty - This is not open-heart surgery. It is done in cardiac cath lab under fluoroscopic guidance by using vessels in thigh. We cross the valve with wire and catheters and we inflate a balloon across the stenosed aortic valve.

Open heart surgery: In subvalvular and supravalvular aortic stenosis, treatment is by open heart surgery.

Valve Replacement - An artificial valve or a donor valve is surgically attached at aortic valve location when valve is not amenable for ballooning. It is generally done in adolescent or adult patients.
Parents need to be alert and attentive to any physical discomfort that their child is suffering because that could be a symptom of aortic stenosis. The right treatment at the right time is necessary whenever required.

Aortic Stenosis - All You Must Know About It!

Achalasia is a serious disorder of the esophagus in which your nerves and muscles fail to work properly. This disorder causes problems in your body such as chest pain, difficulty to swallow food and excessive coughing. 

You will also face problems in breathing in case the food enters in to the lungs. There is a valve in your lower esophageal splinter, which closes the esophagus from your stomach. If you have problems like achalasia then perhaps your lower esophageal splinter fails to open while swallowing food it can lead to accumulation of food in esophagus. In this condition the nerves in your body gets damaged and hence cause health complications.

You are at risk of achalasia when you are middle aged, but it can also occur during childhood. Auto immune disorder often places you at risk for achalasia.

Symptoms of achalasia:
The major symptom of achalasia is dysphagia in which you face problems while swallowing food. You may feel that the food is struck in your esophagus which causes choking and problems when you breathe. There may be other symptoms of achalasia which includes:
1. Loss of weight
2. Heart burn
3. Discomfort or pain while you eat food
4. Chest pain
5. Risk of esophagus cancer

Treatment for achalasia:
Esophageal manometry is a technique your doctor may use, if he suspects achalasia when the symptoms include difficulty while you eat and swallow foods. A tube measures the muscular activity in your stomach and reports about the functioning of your esophagus. Another way to diagnose is through X- ray of the esophagus or endoscopy.

The treatment for achalasia generally starts with oral medications. Sphincter nitrates and calcium blockers often help to relax the muscles. Botox can also help to relax your sphincter and help you swallow food.
Esophagomyotomy also helps to treat achalasia in which your doctor can use an incision to access the sphincter and also alter it to enable better flow into the stomach. It s a generally successful procedure, but sometimes can cause gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) which causes heart burn and would require intensive care. Sometimes surgery can also help to give relief but it can also cause acid reflux, respiratory problems, tearing of esophagus along with other serious complications.

Laparoscopic surgery is a simple and effective way of treating this problem .The tight lower esophageal sphincter is released to make way for easy passage of food.The patient recovers in one day and is discharged home following this operation.

Achalasia - Symptoms + Treatment

Cancer is the most dangerous disease noticeable throughout the world. The most common type of cancer that affects men is prostate cancer. Prostate is a small exocrine gland situated directly below the bladder and in front of the rectum. This is gland is approximately in size of a walnut and plays an important role in production of a milky fluid during orgasm of sex in which the semen travels. During the climax stage of the prostate gland is forced to push the fluid and remove the semen out of the reproductive structures.

Prostate gland is a slow progressive disease which makes many males left unidentified even the presence of prostate cancer even until they die. 6 out of 100 male over the age of 60 are getting prostate cancer. Though prostate cancer can be cured at a better rate when compared to other type of cancer it is always best to stay protected. Prevention is always better than cure. Here are few tips to keep your prostate healthy.

Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer-

During the early stages of prostate cancer there are usually no symptoms. Most men at this stage find out they have prostate cancer after a routine check up or blood test. When symptoms do exist, they are usually one or more of the following:

The patient urinates more often

The patient gets up at night more often to urinate

He may find it hard to start urinating

He may find it hard to keep urinating once he has started

There may be blood in the urine

Urination might be painful

Ejaculation may be painful (less common)

Achieving or maintaining an erection may be difficult (less common).

If the prostate cancer is advanced the following symptoms are also possible:

Bone pain, often in the spine (vertebrae), pelvis, or ribs

The proximal part of the femur can be painful

Leg weakness

Urinary incontinence

Fecal incontinence

Ways to have a healthy prostate  

Diet and weight   the most important factor is the diet to maintain a healthy weight. Avoid fatty food items and take fats from vegetables than from animals. Avoid dairy products and increase the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Exercise   have a regular practise of doing exercise at least for 30mins a day. This really helps you to keep your body fit.

Be precautious   if you have a family history of prostate cancer or if you feel you are at high risk of getting prostate cancer talk with your doctor about it and take preventive drugs as per the doctor s advice.

Red foods   research shows that men who consume red foods like watermelon, tomato and other red fruits are at lower risk of getting prostate cancer as they contain a powerful antioxidant called lycopene

Caffeine   three to four cups of coffee per day reduces your risk of getting prostate cancer.

Stop smoking   if you are at high risk of getting prostate cancer it is best advised to quit smoking and alcohol.

Prostate Cancer - What To Expect

7 anti-beauty habits that kill your looks the most!

You might be spending a lot to add to your beauty. But there are many bad habits which affect your beauty. Here is the list of the most common terrible habits which might be damaging your skin and health.

1. Squeezing pimples: when you pop a pimple, clogged pore is burst open releasing bacteria. These bacteria come in contact with your rest of the skin and increase the acne. Moreover, habit of squeezing pimples may also leave scars and pock marks. The best way to get rid of pimples is to use medicated/ antibacterial soap and let it heal itself.

2. Licking/ chewing your lips: chewing your lips make them even drier and chapped. It makes you to lick and chew your lips more often. Excessive lip biting also results into bleeding and infection. To avoid this, get yourself a good lip balm and apply regularly to moisturize and protect your lips.

3. Nail biting: nail biting result in ugly hands, fingers and nails due to cuticle biting. It can also result in infections of nails, mouth, finger and dental problems affecting your smile too. Work upon triggers to prevent these issues by yoga, manicure etc.

4. Smoking: smoking affects your skin making it dry and rough. It decreases the blood flow to the skin and damages your collagen and elastic which result into saggy and loose skin. Quit smoking.

5. Sleeping with makeup on: make up clog your skin pores and oil glands, making it difficult to breathe and prone to acne. To avoid this, spare sometime before going to sleep to cleanse your makeup and moisturize the skin well.

6. Ignoring the sunscreen: ignoring sunscreen in summer is exposing your skin to uv rays. Uv rays cause wrinkles and dry your skin giving you the older look. To protect your skin from uv rays, use sunscreen before half n hour of going out.

7. Inadequate sleep: inadequate sleep releases the stress hormone in the body. It also ages your skin by decreasing collagen from skin. Hence try getting enough sleep.

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7 Anti-Beauty Habits That Kill Your Looks the Most!

We have for ages seen our parents and our grandparents reach out for a piece of jaggery at the end of every meal. Jaggery is healthier compared to refined sugar because of its deposition of phytochemicals and other important minerals. While many people do not choose jaggery because of its no-so-good-appearance, it is perhaps more sensible to consume it considering the host of health benefits it offers.

Here is a list of benefits that can be extracted from the consumption of jaggery.

Skin benefits: Jaggery nourishes the skin in the true sense of the word. Owing to the numerous amount of mineral and vitamin, it can eliminate common skin problems such as pimples and acne. It can negate dark spots, wrinkles delay the common signs of aging.
Digestive benefits: Jaggery plays a huge role in ensuring smooth digestion. It stimulates secretion of digestive enzyme. It, therefore, makes it easy for the body to quicken the process of digestion. It can also help to stabilize the bowl movement by keeping common digestion related disorders such as constipation, intestinal worms, indigestion at bay.
Blood: Jaggery does a great job in purifying the blood. It acts as a cleansing agent by filtering the blood from the toxic agents. It also keeps the hemoglobin count normal and help the body refrain from blood-related disorders such as anemia. Since the quantity of iron content in jaggery is plentiful, it successfully helps the body to stay healthy and negate deadly diseases. Furthermore, jaggery can help women to stay away from complicated menstrual related disorders, beat weakness and fatigue.
Weight loss: Jaggery s rich potassium content helps the body balance the electrolyte, build muscles and improve the metabolism of the body. Potassium also helps in managing water retention in the body. Both the factors coupled together helps in weight loss and beat fatigue, obese etc.
Blood pressure: The sodium and potassium content of jaggery helps the body maintain an effective adequate acidic level. This ensures that the blood pressure remains in the balance and the body refrains from undue blood pressure related disorders.
Antioxidants: Jaggery contains selenium, the latter is a rich source of antioxidants which can help the body to fight the free radicals and keep it at bay. The antioxidants also help the body to stay away from other ailments.
Respiratory health: Jaggery is a great source of food that can effectively fight various respiratory problems of the body. It can fight diseases such as bronchitis and asthma.
Body temperature: Jaggery helps to keep a normal body temperature. This is extremely beneficial for patients suffering from asthma since maintaining a steady body temperature is sacrosanct for patients suffering from this disease.

Jaggery (Gur) - 8 Amazing Reasons Why You Must Eat It!

Menorrhagia is a condition that is marked by heavy menstrual bleeding during the monthly menstrual cycles. Most women have a unique bleeding pattern during that time of the month with the flow going up and down over the first few days. Yet, for many women, the bleeding becomes consistently heavy during all the days of the period, during which the period itself may get extended by a few days. If this pattern continues to occurs, one must get it checked out by a doctor at the earliest. Here are a few ways in which this condition may be treated.

Factors considered during treatment

Before the treatment starts, and during the diagnosis stage, the doctor will take a look at a number of factors so that the correct form of treatment may be prescribed to the patient. To begin with, the doctor will take a complete medical history of the patient, including the family history to ascertain whether or not there may be a genetic problem at play. Further, the future childbearing plans of the patient will also be taken into consideration in such cases so that the treatment method does not hinder such plans. Also, the doctor will also try and understand the effect of the symptoms of this condition before prescribing any particular medication and surgery.

Medication

Iron supplements and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines will be prescribed for the patient to bring down the level of inflammation and restore the production of blood, which will make up for the rapidly flowing blood from the body. This will also prevent the risk of anemia. Oral contraceptives, tranexamic acid, oral progesterone and hormonal therapy can also help in such cases.

Dilation and curettage

This procedure is also known as D&C, and it basically helps in dilation or opening up of the cervix so that the doctor may suction the tissue from the uterine lining. This tissue is usually known to bring about excessive bleeding.

Uterine artery embolisation

This is a procedure which shrinks any existing fibroids that may be the cause behind excessive bleeding. In this procedure, the uterine arteries are blocked and the blood supply to the same is cut off so that the fibroids do not get a chance to grow and cause unnecessary pressure that may lead to excessive bleeding.

Hysterectomy

This is a surgical procedure that removes the cervix as well as the uterus, and is usually the last resort followed by most doctors. In such cases, the doctor will first ascertain whether or not you plan to have any children in the future. Additionally, the ovaries may also be removed if the condition has spread too much to be contained sufficiently.

Ways to Treat Menorrhagia

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