HealthDuties

Heart failure can be defined as the inability of heart to pump enough blood which will meet the bodies demand. Alternately, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) means fluid accumulating in the body. It is more a clinical syndrome than a disease.

Some of the causes of heart failure include: decreased lumen of cardiac arteries, increase in blood pressure, trauma to the heart muscle, malfunctioning of heart valves, iregular heart contraction / Arrhythmia, metabolic disorders like diabetes, inborn errors such as congenital heart disease and substance abuse like alcoholism.

The symptoms of heart failure are:

• unpleasant sensation of breathing
• edema in dependent parts such as legs , foot
• Difficulty performing routine works gets tired easily.
• Fluid collected in abdomen , ascites
• Inappropriate increase in body weight

In the condition of hypothyroidism, there is a low level of thyroid hormone which is the opposite of what is seen in hyperthyroidism.

Since the thyroid hormone plays an important role in growth and development, hypothyroidism affects both of them. Hypothyroidism is not a uncommon disorder and is present in 3-5% of the total population. The causes of hypothyroidism are Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, thyroid destruction, pituitary disease and iodine deficiency.

The symptoms of hypothyroidism are often subtle and may include:

• Tiredness
• Wright gain
• Goiter
• Hoarseness
• Cold temperature intolerance
• Pains and aches
• Muscle stiffness
• Myotonia
• Anemia
• Dry, flaky skin
• Purple lips
• Vitiligo
• Infertility
• Menorrhagia
• Impotence
• Constipation
• Ascites

There are six main symptoms of heart disease. They are: chest pain or discomfort, palpitation, lightheadedness or dizziness, syncope, fatigue or lethargy and breathlessness.

Diagnosing heart disease usually involves any or more of the following test:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG / EKG)
• Stress Testing
• Cardiac Catheterization and Angiography
• Echocardiography
• Cardiac MRI
• Transesophageal electrocardiography (TEE)
• Holter Monitoring
• Radionucliotide scanning

There are no symptoms of HIV infection in most people. Some might experience Acute HIV Syndrome 3-6 weeks after exposure. These flu-like symptoms include fever, headache, nausea, tiredness, diarrhea and enlarged lymph nodes.

It takes approximately 6 weeks for production of antibodies for the standard HIV antibody test results to be considered accurate. The ELIZA test is an HIV antibody test that is very sensitive. The Western Blot is a HIV-specific confirmation test done with ELIZA sometimes. Results take 5-10 days. The OraSure test is a combination of the ELIZA and western blotting tests done on oral swab. A Rapid Test/OraQuick is a pinprick test where preliminary results are available in 30 minutes.

Treating HIV can be done with Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART): Entry Inhibitors, Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (Nucleoside, Non-Nucleoside, Nucleotide), and Protease Inhibitors.

Metabolic Syndrome, or Syndrome X, is made up of a variety of signs and symptoms. The presence of one or more of which increases the patient’s risk of having a serious diseases like coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease or diabetes.

Some of the more common signs and symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome include: obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal lipid profile (low HDL levels, high triglycerides), inability of the body to use insulin or blood sugar properly (i.e. glucose intolerance or insulin resistance), high levels of C-reactive protein in the blood, elevated blood levels of fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor.

There are a handful of risk factors that could lead to Metabolic Syndrome:

• Obesity BMI25; abdominal obesity; apple shaped body
• Race (Asians and Hispanics in particular)
• Age
• Family history of diabetes or gestational diabetes
• Hormonal imbalance
• Physical inactivity

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it a tiresome job for the patient to breath in and out effectively. The airways branch out like an inverted tree with small air sacs (balloon-like) at the end of each branch known as alveoli. Normally they are pliable and springy in nature. It helps in balloon-like inflation & deflation of lung tissue while breathing in and out respectively. COPD causes lungs to lose this elasticity and become flaccid so the amount of air that can go in and out decreases. More mucus secretion, inflamed wall thickening and lost elasticity contribute to this inefficiency.

Smoking is the main and most common cause of COPD while inhaling other types of irritant substances like: pollutants, chemicals, metals or dust also leads to the condition.

The very first symptom is often coughing sputum. Bronchitis is one part of the disease resulting in thickened and inflamed walls with mucus production. Coughing is the outcome. Emphysema is another part involving the collapse of the alveoli which affects the process of gas exchange. It results in dropped blood O2 levels and then CO2 is raised causing acidosis.

The exact cause and mechanism of endometriosis is unknown. There are several theories that have been suggested but not yet proven. These include: metaplasia, hereditary, disturbances of the immune system and environmental toxins.

There are a variety of signs and symptoms of endometriosis. The most common of which is pain that is both severe and weakening, felt at any time but especially during or after sex and located in the bowel or lower back.

Another sign of endometriosis is called a “frozen pelvis.” This is an aberration of internal organs and structures in the pelvis due to scar tissue formation and adhesions leading to fusion of the organs. More symptoms are:

• Infertility
• GI disturbances
• Irregular bleeding during menstruation
• Tiredness

Hyperthyroidism is a condition where high levels of the thyroid hormone are present in the blood due to overproduction of the thyroid gland. This results in an increased level of metabolic activity in the body.

Some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism include: Increased heart beat, weight loss, heat intolerability, tremors, anorexia, dyspnoea, palpitations, hyper-relexia, muscular weakness, alopecia, amenorrhea, loss of libido, fatigue, gynaecomastia and increased thirst.

In more than 90% of the cases, the cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves’ disease along with a multinodular goiter or autonomously functioning thyroid nodule. Around 1 in 500 pregnant women may have high levels of thyroid hormone. Hyperthyroidism may affect a woman’s ability to become pregnant.

Diagnosis can be done easily with a blood test indicating high levels of T3 and T4 and/or an unusually low level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). A radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) scan may also be done.

There is no cure to Graves’ disease though for hyperthyroidism there are treatments available including:

• Anti-thyroid drugs
• Radio-active iodine, also known as radio-iodine 131

These substances help reduce the amount of thyroid hormone secreted by the thyroid gland.