Health & Safety

Cardiac Arrest vs. Heart Attack

Many people mistakenly assume cardiac arrest and heart attack are the same thing. However, sudden cardiac arrest is not a heart attack. In fact, there are distinguishable differences between the two that are best explained by detailing what is actually happening when someone is suffering from either one.

What happens during a heart attack?

During a heart attack, blockage occurs in one or more of the heart's arteries. That blockage subsequently prevents the heart from receiving enough oxygen-rich blood. Research indicates that many people with symptoms of a heart attack actually delay seeking treatment for more than two hours.
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The flu vaccine -- Protection from the flu. Peace of mind for you.

As a parent, you do everything you can to protect your children. Buckle them up in the car. Watch them closely when they're in the water. Teach them to look both ways when they cross the street. Warn them not to talk to strangers.
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Don't Wait -- Vaccinate

This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending flu vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older. Even healthy adults 19 through 24 years of age should get vaccinated.
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Asthma, Diabetes, and Other Health Conditions Bring Greater Flu Risks

CDC Urges People with Chronic Health Conditions to Get a Flu Vaccine

If you are one of the millions of Americans with a long-term health condition like asthma, diabetes, stroke, heart or lung disease, this important information about flu applies to you. When combined with your existing health condition, the flu increases your risk of becoming seriously sick, which could result in an unexpected and expensive trip to the hospital -- or even death.
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Leading Signs of Interstitial Cystitis

Interstitial cystitis is a painful condition that affects an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Could you be one of the millions with this ailment and not know it? » Read More

Learning About COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease affects thousands of people each and every year. The condition is largely caused by smoking or prolonged inhalation of lung irritants. There currently is no cure, but there are treatments available that can slow the progression of the disease.

COPD is a term used to categorize many different ailments of the lungs, most especially emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It occurs when there is airway obstruction or simply when a person has trouble breathing.
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Multiple Sclerosis Affects Famous People, Too

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that is unpredictable and can affect any portion of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, brain and optic nerves. MS can manifest in a number of different symptoms, some of which can mimic the symptoms of other diseases. The severity of MS ranges from person to person and symptoms may be as mild as limb numbness or as severe as paralysis or blindness. Thousands of people have MS, and the disease does not discriminate.
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Did You Know?

According to the 2009 National Health Interview Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46 million persons under the age of 65 are uninsured in the United States, an increase of nearly 2.5 million persons from the preceding year. The same survey found that 6.1 million children under the age of 18 were uninsured at the time of interview, which marked a decrease of roughly half a million uninsured children from the year prior. While the number of uninsured children under the age of 18 has decreased dramatically since 1997, the same cannot be said for the overall number of uninsured persons in the United States.
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Whooping cough: Without booster vaccine, pre-teens at risk for lengthy, disruptive illness

Another fitful night. A mom lies awake, listening helplessly as her child coughs and coughs. This mom knows tomorrow will be another day of school and soccer practice missed. For her it means another day of work missed. She wonders wearily when it will end.

This cough is whooping cough, also called the "100-day cough" because of its long duration. And the child? Not an infant, as one might expect, but a pre-teen, 11 years old.
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Getting a flu vaccine is a safe way to prevent serious illness

For millions of people each year, the flu can bring a runny nose, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, fever, chills, and miserable days spent in bed instead of at work or school. However, you may not realize that it's estimated that more than 200,000 people end up in the hospital from flu complications each year. And while unpredictable, the flu can be deadly.
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Signs and Symptoms of Hoarding

Perhaps because of the popular A&E documentary series "Hoarders," more and more people have grown aware of the problem of hoarding in recent years. Though nearly everyone can point to at least one person in their life who never seems to throw anything away, when such behavior becomes compulsive, chances are the person perpetrating the behavior is a hoarder.
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Understanding Premature Labor

Premature labor, which affects 1 in 8 babies every year, occurs when a baby is born prior to the 37th week of gestation. There are certain risk factors that make a woman more susceptible to giving birth prematurely.
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