March 1, 2018 PA’s Opioid Campaign Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf recently took several steps to combat the rising rates of addiction and fatal overdoses sweeping across the state. Because he made a disaster declaration, Wolf is allowed to circumvent legislative approval in order to provide emergent recovery efforts. Considering that a total of 4,362 Pennsylvania residents died from drug overdoses in … Read More »
February 24, 2018 New Stroke Responses The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) issued new treatment guidelines for individuals who experience ischemic strokes. Under the new regulations, certain patients are now eligible to receive not only one but two different medical treatments, both of which could help save lives and reduce the number of common disabilities associated with … Read More »
February 23, 2018 Regulating Opioid Usage A recent report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that as many as one-third of all American adults were prescribed opioids in 2015. However, a National Public Radio (NPR) investigation found that few doctors instruct their patients on how to safely taper off them. With the consequences of opioid abuse ranging from dangerous … Read More »
December 19, 2017 Plastic Surgery Risks Plastic surgery is a growing field with more and more people enlisting doctors to help them achieve a certain look. While these procedures are elective and often do not address a medical issue, it is important to remember that they carry the same risk of complication as any other surgery. If not performed by trained … Read More »
December 6, 2017 What the New Blood Pressure Guidelines Mean for Millions of Americans When it comes to blood pressure levels, people have long been told that aiming for anything below 140/90 is sufficient for avoiding hypertension, or high blood pressure. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) has joined with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for the first time in 14 years to release new blood pressure guidelines, … Read More »
November 29, 2017 Misdiagnosis Leads to Unnecessary Removal of Breasts and Uterus A 36-year-old woman from Oregon recently underwent radical surgery to remove her uterus, ovaries, and both of her breasts after being told she tested positive for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutation. The mutation is linked to an increased risk of uterine, ovarian, and breast cancer. Unfortunately, the woman later discovered that her … Read More »
November 20, 2017 Shingles and the Raised Risk of Heart Attack A new medical study has found that people with shingles are more likely to be at risk for cardiac events, such as a heart attacks or strokes. Recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the study involved more than 519,000 individuals and determined that those with shingles had a marked, higher … Read More »
November 16, 2017 Over One Million Americans Get Sepsis Every Year: What Can We Do About It? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that more than one million Americans develop sepsis every year, and that anywhere from 15 to 30% of them die as a result. Sadly, the number of people who get sepsis is growing, and the NIH expects this number to continue rising in the future. Why are more … Read More »
October 22, 2017 How Dangerous it is to take the Wrong Medication? At least 1.3 million Americans sustain injuries as a result of medication errors, according to data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And, according to a newly published study in the medical journal Clinical Toxicology, the number of medical errors is steadily increasing, putting thousands of people in danger every day. Medication errors can … Read More »
