The results of a study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine show that for patients with several blockages in their coronary arteries, mortality rates are lower when they undergo bypass grafting rather than having the new generation of drug-eluting stents inserted.

Dr. Edward L Hannan, at the State University of New York, Rensselaer, and colleagues compared outcomes of nearly 10,000 patients with multiple coronary lesions who were treated with drug-eluting stents and almost 7,500 similar patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

After making adjustments for the presence of other illnesses, the chances of dying within 18 months were approximately 25 percent lower with the coronary bypass operation than with insertion of drug-eluting stents. Estimated rates of heart attacks and the need for another procedure also favored bypass grafting rather than stenting.

The results “affirm that coronary artery bypass grafting remains the standard of care” for patients who require clearance of multiple coronary blockages, writes Dr. Joseph P. Carrozza, Jr., from Harvard Medical School, in an editorial.

“However, stents may be an alternative for patients at high risk for surgical complications or when an informed patient chooses a less invasive option.”

And someone with chronic bronchitis and even those with asthma can get asthmatic bronchitis.

It is also usual for asthmatic bronchitis patients to show signs and symptoms of chronic bronchitis and whatever prior treatments may have been taken to treat asthma will turn out ineffective and airways will continue to stay clogged and mucus will still gather in them.

Diagnosis

Even physical examinations undertaken in a clinic can fail to establish the proper diagnosis based solely on the symptoms of asthmatic bronchitis, because there are common symptoms for a number of conditions including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and also asthmatic bronchitis that can lead to confusion when diagnosing.

Therefore, the best means of diagnosing the problem would be through testing in the laboratory and also by carefully making physical examinations.

• Asthmatic bronchitis is also likely to occur amongst patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
• In addition, the disease is also caused due to being exposed to irritants that are outside of the body rather than because of internal viruses and also bacteria.
• Sometimes, extreme cases of respiratory problems that occur during childhood coupled with a poor immune system and also hyperactivity affecting the respiratory tract is other factors that cause an onset of asthmatic bronchitis.
• And smokers that have a chronic bronchial condition can be at risk of developing this disease and the usual symptoms of such a condition include coughing, breathlessness, wheezing and also feeling discomfort in the chest when trying to breathe.

Since this disease does cause respiratory tract obstructions, it follows that any treatment given to the patient should be effective in freeing the airways from the blockage within, and to also combat internally the bacteria that may have caused the problem in the first place.

The treatment recommended most often is known as bronchodilators which are effective in making clogged airways become decongested and gets rid of the mucus.

Asthmatic bronchitis can also lead to grave complications that are known as pulmonary bacterial infections which will require a prolonged and on going treatment regime, and if you suffer from such a malady, you should make it a point to keep away from irritants such as smoke from cigarettes, chemical, pollutants, dust and also alcohol vapors.

Viral bronchitis may be caused by a number of different factors, and is quite common among the general public.  Viral bronchitis is similar to regular bronchitis conditions but there are a few very significant differences as well.

• One of the most noticeable differences is that viral bronchitis is usually accompanied by a fever, whereas other types are not.
• Also, little to no mucus or phlegm is coughed up from the lungs in the beginning, whereas with bacterial forms of bronchitis this is one of the most major and noticeable symptoms.

In most normal/healthy people, both bacterial and viral bronchitis will usually get better with simple home treatment, however if your condition is especially serious or has been left untreated for quite some time, then your doctor may have to recommend more severe methods of treatment.

The Risk Factors:

• Although there is no way to prevent yourself from bronchitis in general, there are certain risk factors that are involved, which you should try to avoid in order to prevent as best as possible your body from developing the condition.

• You generally have a higher risk of developing bronchitis if you have had a recent illness or viral respiratory infection, or if you have chronic lung problems.

• You are at much higher risk if you are a smoker, and it is also important to realize that if you smoke and you do end up developing bronchitis, it will be much harder for your body to fight off the disease and you will have a much lengthier recovery time as well.

• The best thing you can do then is try to maintain as healthy a lifestyle as you possibly can, and quit any unhealthy habits that you may have, namely smoking and excessive drinking.  Again you will not be able to prevent yourself from ever getting bronchitis 100%, but you will be guarding yourself against it as best as possible and making yourself healthier in general at the same time.

Fats are the most misunderstood of all the food groups. For decades we have been given information about the safety and dangers of fats that has turned out to be simply false.

There are three types of fats naturally found in foods, namely saturated fats, unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature and are, with a couple of exceptions, from animal sources. Saturated fats include butter, lard, animal fats, coconut oil and palm oil. We have been told that saturated fats cause heart disease and contribute to block arteries. This is not true. Our ancestors consumed saturated fats almost exclusively and their rate of heart disease, per capita, was far, far lower than today.

Unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats are generally liquid at room temperature and come from vegetable sources. There are the fats we have been told are the best for us, yet it has been long established that when unsaturated fats are heated or exposed to the air, they oxidize rapidly and form compounds called free radicals. The free radical that causes early heart disease comes almost exclusively from oxidized unsaturated fats. Margarines, shortening and other man-made type fats are the worst of all as these are known as trans fats.

Trans Fats come from liquid unsaturated oils, which have been chemically altered to become solid at room temperature. Trans fats are one of the most deadly forms of fat in the modern diet, responsible for heart disease and many other health problems.

Monounsaturated fats, the best of which is olive oil, are the best fats to consume on a regular basis. Mediterranean countries have used olive oil for thousands of years and in spite of the fact that they have a much higher fat diet than we do, their incidence of heart disease is a fraction of ours — due to the consumption of monounsaturated fats such as olive oil.

Monounsaturated fats protect the heart and cardiovascular system, help to raise HDL and lower the bad LDL cholesterol. An ideal diet of fats would contain moderate amounts of saturated fats, high amounts of monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and almost no unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

About the speaker: Dr. K. Steven Whiting is the founder of The Institute of Nutritional Science, with offices in the Netherlands, US and UK. Dr. Whiting is an Orthomolecular Nutritionist. His degrees include a Masters in Psychology as well as a Doctorate in Biochemistry earned at International Universities. His commitment and dedication within the nutrition field has led him into extensive research into such chronic conditions as Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Osteoporosis, Prostrate problems, Immune System to name but a few. His website is: http://healthyinformation.com

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