Silent Heart Attack
October 2, 2008
Crushing chest pain isn’t part of all heart attacks. Some are much more subtle. One in four people who have had a heart attack say they didn’t have any symptoms. Even so these silent attacks can damage your heart. Among those who face the greatest chance of a silent heart attack are people who have diabetes.
The subtle symptoms of a silent heart attack may include: discomfort in parts of the upper body such as in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach, shortness of breath, a cold sweat and feeling light headed. People who do not notice chest discomfort may not have intense pain. Instead, they may feel an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing or fullness. Or the pain may go away and come back.
If you think you might be having a heart attack, call 911 right away for an evaluation and treatment. People who have a silent heart attack usually learn about it later during a routine test. If your doctor suspects you’ve had a silent heart attack, test can confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment to lower your risk of another heart attack often begins with lifestyles changes that include a healthy diet, exercise, physical examination etc. Your doctor will work with you to control conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Medications that improve blood flow to the heart and reduce the heart’s workload also may be needed.
Healthy Vision Month: Extending the Discussion on Type II Diabetes related blindness.
May 21, 2008
The team here at Baiganchoka.com would like extend the discussion on acquired adult Type 11 diabetes related blindness due to undiagnosed/uncontrolled blood sugars coupled with undiagnosed/uncontrolled blood pressure in light the Message for Healthy Vision Month 2008 from Health Minister of Guyana, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. Read more
2008 Indo-Caribbean Women’s Empowerment Summit
May 18, 2008
By Suzanne Persard
Resilience. Strength. Change. These are just a few of the words that echoed throughout Richmond Hill Library on April 26, 2008 at the second-annual 2008 Indo-Caribbean Women’s Empowerment Summit. The event was co-sponsored by Sakhi for South Asian Women and the budding Indo-Caribbean Women’s Group. Four generations of women gathered to participate in a series of discussions and workshops addressing issues affecting Indo-Caribbean women, particularly engaging in conversations about institutionalization of the patriarchy and domestic violence. Read more
Caribbean Women and Present Health Concerns
May 16, 2008
The health of immigrant populations has been of great concern for many years. For the purpose this Blog, let us for a while focus on the health of the Caribbean immigrant populations, and get a little more specific with women’s health.
Caribbean immigrants make up 10% if the total incoming immigrants in the US. (Vital and Health Statistics. 369: March 1st 2006) .Many of the women who emigrate from the English speaking Caribbean countries are in the US with their, spouses and children, or alone as illegal immigrants, Immigration and assimilation to a different culture and way of life is an extremely difficult process and especially so for our women. It is a well known fact that even though white women are more likely to have breast cancer, more black women die of breast cancer, simply because more are diagnosed at a more advanced stage of disease with poor prognosis. According to the Cancer Awareness Network (Center for Immigrant Health) from the NYU School Of Medicine, invasive cervical cancer is usually diagnosed in more advanced stages, in Haitian and English speaking Caribbean women than in US born black women. Read more
Angioplasties, Drug Therapies and Loving Your Heart
April 4, 2008
Clinical trials such as OAT and COURAGE published a few years back seem to provide contradictory results to the general consensus at the time of publication that angioplasties provide better survival rates long term. Read more
Anti Drug Commercial (1987 TTT)
April 3, 2008
Here’s an old anti drug commercial by BWIA. Pretty scary stuff! Read more
Does Circumcision Reduce HIV Contraction?
March 31, 2008
In March 2007 the WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) stated that male circumcision is an effective intervention for HIV prevention, but also stated that male circumcision only provides partial protection and should not replace other interventions to prevent the hete rosexual transmission of HIV. Read more
Childhood Obesity in The U.S
March 30, 2008
The problem of childhood obesity in the U.S has grown considerably in recent years. Unhealthy weight gains, due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. Read more
Western Ideals and Female Body Image
March 27, 2008
Women in the U.S, U.K and greater western countries aspire to have a thin and ideal body, placing excessive importance on the ideal that being skinny is sexy and experiencing trepidation of being fat. Women value their experiences and emotions on body image and their eating habits. However, in the Caribbean, a curvy woman is regarded as sexy and healthy. Read more
First Mitral Valve Replacement in Guyana (video)
March 26, 2008
How many Guyanese and Trinidadians have come to the U.S. for surgery? Almost everyone is trying to. Before either countries had neither the skill nor the ability to perform such operations like “mitral valve replacement”. Things are changing. Read more
Misinformed Individuals Writing for the Guyana Chronicle
March 16, 2008
The following article was published on March 12th 2008 in the Guyana Chronicle. My response to this is: How does something so uninformative published in a national print. I am beginning to conclude that the editors don’t mind retards writing for the print. This type of writing diminishes the little respect that the Guyana Chronicle still harbors. Read more
Abortion Rights in Guyana
March 14, 2008
The National Assembly of Guyana passed The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill on 4th May 1995. Guyana became the first county in South America to have liberal abortion laws. The Guyana Medical Association issued a televise news release supporting the new law and providing public information and discouraging women from relying on the “red and black” capsules [ampicillin], folk medicines or herbal mixtures as methods of inducing abortion. Read more
My comments “Those record-breaking heart surgeries.” Uninformed Reporters and Ignorant Reporting
March 12, 2008
As I read this article in the Guyana chronicle, I noticed the lack of pertinent information that is due to uninformed reporters who are bent on producing incomplete pictures when subjects such as health and in particular heart surgeries get published in the paper. Read more
My comments on Guyana’s Ministry of Health New sponsor-a-child drive for Children with Diabetes
March 2, 2008
Since childhood diabetes is a precursor to so many other health related conditions including heart disease and possibly some types of cancer, it is heartening to see that steps are being taken to address the issue. Read more
Guyana: Walking Towards a Cure Amidst the Turmoil
March 2, 2008
Guyana Chronicle Sunday March 2nd 2008 reported a public walk lead by Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy and soldiers of the Guyana Defense Force HIV Workplace Program on March 1st 2008 was a great success in the goal towards an HIV/AIDS free Guyana. Ramsammy when asked said “Let it be written, said and seen, that the Guyana Defense Force has taken leadership in the fight against HIV…” Read more