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Somebody PLEASE,STOP THE INSANITY
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On NPR,this morning,they had a story on the pricing of tiny medical products that are routinely used in cardiac surgery.IT IS TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS the prices that are paid for these simple items….60 dollars for 3 inch plastic tubing(catheters)….2000…yes 2 thousand dollars for an 1,1/2 mesh basket called a stent.The reporter goes onto say that thousands,upon thousands of these things are thrown in the garbage everyday…i shit you NOT.Want the real kicker ANGIOPLASTY the operation this was invented to use this STUFF.has been deemed,NO BETTER THAN PILL THERAPY for patients with Diabetes.
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MDJune 8, 2009 — For people with diabetes and stable heart disease, drug therapy works just as well as immediate bypass surgery or angioplasty to open clogged arteries, a study suggests.
The results show that such patients were no more likely to die or to have a heart attack or stroke over a five-year period if they took medications to control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels than if they underwent prompt bypass surgery or angioplasty with or without stents.
But for some patients, immediate bypass surgery may cut the risk of heart attacks, the study shows.
Results also suggest that diabetes drugs that lower the body’s resistance to insulin, such as metformin, Avandia, and Actos, work just as well and are just as safe as drugs that increase the amount of insulin in the body.
"This should provide reassurance to patients," since some studies have suggested that drugs like Avandia may be harmful to the heart, says researcher Trevor Orchard, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
The study was presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 69th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The results do not apply to people who get bypass surgery or angioplasty because they are in the midst of a heart attack or whose chest pain or other symptoms suddenly gets worse, doctors stress. For them, prompt intervention to open or bypass clogged arteries is a proven lifesaver.
So the waste and profiteering marches on.
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a 2000 dollar stent
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By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer – Sun Aug 30, 9:50 am ET
BARCELONA, Spain – Working up a sweat may be even better than angioplasty for some heart patients, experts say.
Studies have shown heart patients benefit from exercise, and some have even shown it works better than surgical procedures. At a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology on Sunday, several experts said doctors should focus more on persuading their patients to exercise rather than simply doing angioplasties.
Angioplasty is the top treatment for people having a heart attack or hospitalized with worsening symptoms. It involves using a tiny balloon to flatten a blockage and propping the heart artery open with a mesh tube called a stent. Most angioplasties are done on a nonemergency basis, to relieve chest pain caused by clogged arteries cutting off the heart’s blood supply.
“It’s difficult to convince people to exercise instead of having an angioplasty, but it works,” said Rainer Hambrecht of Klinikum Links der Weser in Bremen, Germany.
Hambrecht published a study in 2004 that found that nearly 90 percent of heart patients who rode bikes regularly were free of heart problems one year after they started their exercise regimen. Among patients who had an angioplasty instead, only 70 percent were problem-free after a year.
Hambrecht is now conducting a similar trial, which he expects to confirm his initial findings: that for some heart patients, exercise is more effective than a surgical procedure.
Other experts agreed that would likely be the case.
An angioplasty “only opens up one vessel blockage,” said Dr. Christopher Cannon, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard University and spokesman for the American College of Cardiology. He was not linked to Hambrecht’s research. “Exercise does a lot more than fixing one little problem.”
Among other benefits, exercise lowers bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol, helps the body process sugar better, improves the lining of the blood vessels and gets rid of waste material faster. Exercise also lowers blood pressure and prevents plaque buildup in the arteries.
Now studies show statens damage arteries
when will people realize you have to take care of
yourself?
some people are predisposed,but lots of omega 3 fatty acids and olive oil,red wine do a good protective job