Hair could predict heart attacks and other conditions

Your hair could be hiding a clue to an impending heart attack according to an article from AARP Magazine. The article outlines an Israeli-Canadian study that took place in 2010 and found high levels of a stress hormone in hair follicles could be a significant predictor of heart attack. In a sense, the study found corresponding evidence between chronic stress and heart disease.

Before the study was conducted in 2010, doctors could only rely on subjective questionnaires to assess a patient’s stress level and its link to heart disease. This study presented a measurable sign of chronic stress by tracing cortisol, which shows up in the hair shaft.

Gideon Koren, a toxicologist at the University of Western Ontario, was one of the study’s authors. He said that measuring cortisol levels in the hair can show how long a person has been stressed. Measuring cortisol through urine and saliva is also possible, but it only shows stress at the moment instead of over long periods time.

Koren told AARP Magazine, “Hair grows about one centimeter [a fraction of an inch] a month, so if we take a hair sample six centimeters [2.6 inches] long, we can measure the cortisol level and determine stress levels for the past six months.” He added that this was a critical realization, because it’s chronic stress that kills.

An article from Science Daily in 2011 mentions an updated version of measuring cortisol in hair that could be used to study its affects on a variety of diseases such as depression, diabetes and heart disease.

This article defines cortisol as a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Its primary function is to help maintain body metabolism. When the body is put under stress, either psychological or physical, cortisol levels increase to allow the body to respond to the situation.

In this study, researchers found hair cortisol levels correlated positively with waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference. In other words, people with higher cortisol levels showed higher abdominal obesity.

The reason examining hair could be used as a noninvasive benchmark of cortisol levels in the body is because there was no significant difference in cortisol due to gender, hair color, frequency of shampooing or by hair products. There was, however, a decrease in cortisol levels in hair that was dyed or bleached that was borderline significant, according to the study.

In the end, studying cortisol in the hair could become a screening tool to identify individuals at high risk of common conditions.

Physicians Choice Private Duty currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa” provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of the available care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. All Physicians Choice Private Duty services are directed by registered nurses or social workers with no long-term contracts. Contact us today for help with your senior care needs.

“Physicians Choice Private Duty solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit https://private-duty.pchhc.com/services/“

Real Stories: The many forms of assisted living

Todays post features real-life stories of how Physicians Choice Private Duty helped an elderly person and their loved ones through a tough decision-making process that ensured each persons individual care needs were met. Names have been changed to respect privacy.

Mabel

After many frustrating weeks, Mabel, a retired nurse with significant heart failure, dreamed of returning home from a local assisted living facility. By working with her son and daughter Physicians Choice Private Duty was able to help. Even though Mabel’s well-being required significant in-home care, medication management and financial restructuring, a plan set in place to make it happen. She is now living her dream, safe, and in her own home.

Walt

A frontal lobe atrophy diagnosis sent Walt into an assisted living environment. His family wanted the best for him, even though he was often physically and emotionally abusive towards them. Physicians Choice Private Duty assessed the needs of Walt and the family. In the end we were able to provide Walt with independence through transporting him to and from supervised outings. Walt was well-taken care of and so was his family, who could keep their respectful distance if needed.

Anne and Ed

When Anne’s husband, Ed, was sent to skilled care, it soon became obvious that she could not properly care for herself. Even though finances were an issue, Physicians Choice Private Duty was able to assist them. For Anne, we found low-income senior housing with some in-home care as well as transportation to see Ed, who remained in the skilled care facility long term.

Physicians Choice Private Duty currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of the available care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. All Physicians Choice Private Duty services are directed by registered nurses or social workers with no long-term contracts. Contact us today for help with your senior care needs.

“Physicians Choice Private Duty solves the problems families face in finding home health care providers they can trust. Providers who will focus on strategies that keep parents in their homes. To learn more about our health care services, visit https://private-duty.pchhc.com/services/.”

Books to help kids understand Alzheimer’s

If you’re struggling to explain to a child how Alzheimer’s is affecting their grandma or grandpa, you’re not alone. And there are a number of children’s books that tackle the disease.

In fact, three doctoral students at Washington University who were analyzing the way that children’s books describe the disease found 33 titles published for 4- to 12-year-olds from 1988 to 2009, as reported in The New York Times. Their findings were recently published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.

Erin Y. Sakai, the lead author of the study, told The New York Times. “Storybooks about a difficult disease like Alzheimer’s can be a gentle way to introduce it to young children. [Books] can also guide parents with their discussions.”

Sakai said that in general the books did a good job of portraying the cognitive aspects of the disease such as memory problems and poor judgement, but represented other elements less-so.

Areas that Sakai would have liked to have seen covered more were symptoms such as wandering, sleep disturbances and depression. She told the newspaper that she found only around a third depicted anger or irritability, and even fewer showed limitations in functioning like the inability to drive, feed oneself or walk, not to mention the diagnostic process and the fact that the disease is incurable and progressively gets worse until death — the aspects which are often the hardest for family members to deal with.

An abstract from the analysis states, “Clinical presentations are diverse among characters with AD, and no single book presents a comprehensive depiction of the cognitive, behavioral, affective, and functional symptoms of the disease. In fact, the prevalence of some symptoms in this population of storybook characters diverges substantially from epidemiological reports.”

Additionally, the paper states that books designed to familiarize children about AD should be comprehensive and accurate.

Paula Span, a columnist for The New York Times, brings up a valid counterpoint. Storybooks about the disease must also have an interesting story (to capture the attention of young children), something that’s often difficult to do when also cramming in facts about the realities of a disease.

Although the study didn’t rate any of the books — and despite the fact that Sakai declined to comment on which books among the 33 were the best at offering a comprehensive portrait of Alzheimer’s — Span and children’s book reviewer Marjorie Ingall offered their expertise on the subject at hand.

The top mentions from the article:

1. “The Memory Box“
2. “Still My Grandma“
3. “Pop“
4. “Curveball: The Year I lost My Grip“

Numerous other books on Alzheimer’s for children can be found with a quick search.

Caring for a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s is never an easy process, that’s why having the entire family — including young children — understand what the disease entails is important. Are there any books for children about Alzheimer’s that you have found particularly good? Let us know in the comments.

Physicians Choice Private Duty  currently serving Omaha, Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa” provides seniors and their families a complete understanding of the available care options and helps families maneuver through the challenges of the system. All Physicians Choice Private Duty services are directed by registered nurses or social workers with no long-term contracts. Contact us today for help with your senior care needs.

“Physicians Choice Private Duty solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit https://private-duty.pchhc.com/services/“

Helping Your Parent Age: Protecting from scammers

Nearly 7.3 million seniors — nearly 20 percent of all Americans 65 and older — have been scammed. This news comes according to estimates from a study by the Investor Protection Trust. An article at the Huffington Post states that MetLife Inc. estimated the yearly loss to victims of these scams to be $2.9 billion.

The article also brings up a deceptive tactic that these swindlers are using to gain an air of legitimacy. They’re taking to hiring courier services to deliver documents, which require a signature from the victim. As an added bonus to the scammer, this practice also limits the time that potential victims will have to read the documents somewhat. Since most couriers work on a per job basis they are under time constraints that they might convey to those being scammed. Subsequently, the courier becomes an unwilling participant in the scam while performing his or her job.

AARP The Magazine has an entire section titled Scams and Fraud, which is dedicated to articles about scams that target the elderly. The Huffington Post also offers readers advice on preventing the top five scams targeted to the elderly:

The Nigerian Prince Scam

• Scam: The con artist sends a letter or email with an offer that would pay significantly to the victim. There are many stories used, but the most well-known is that the person sending the correspondence is the son of a deposed African dictator who has access to an untold fortune, but needs money to get out of prison. After a payment has been made, more will be requested with the con artist stating that problems have arisen.
• What to do: Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office or U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant here.

The Craigslist Scam

• Scam: Craiglist is used to advertise the selling of items at ridiculously cheap prices. A meeting is set up with the victim in a remote location where they are then robbed.
• What to do: A detective interviewed for the story told the Huffington Post, “good places to meet are local police stations or malls. Criminals are less likely to conduct crimes or illegal activity in public areas where lots of people are present.” It’s good advice to follow.

The Prize Scam

• Scam: The victim is told that they’ve won something, but they must send in money for handling or postage prior to it being awarded.
• What to do: It’s almost impossible to get your money back if you’ve been cheated over the phone. Before you purchase anything or give credit card information over the phone, make sure you are buying from a credible company. Ask for a written offer and wait for it until you buy. If you’re not familiar with a company, check it out with the Better Business Bureau or other consumer protection agency.

“Physicians Choice Private Duty solves the problems families face in finding home health care providers they can trust. Providers who will focus on strategies that keep parents in their homes. To learn more about our health care services, visit https://private-duty.pchhc.com/services/.“

Snoring can be a predictor of potentially deadly disorder

NFL legend Reggie White died in his sleep at the early age of 43. Although the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on White said a “fatal cardiac arrhythmia” was the cause of death there may have been another contributing factor: sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which a person has one or more cessations in breathing, or otherwise shallow breaths, while sleeping. These pauses can last a few seconds to minutes at a time and may occur 30 or more times per hour. When breathing resumes there is sometimes a loud snort or choking sound. Sleep apnea is normally chronic in nature and disrupts sleep causing one to move from deep sleep into light sleep.

Since sleep apnea occurs during sleep, it is often undiagnosed although there is a clear sign that can indicate the disease: snoring while sleeping.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused when the airway becomes blocked. Air that squeezes past this obstruction can cause snoring. Obstructive sleep apnea is most often found in those who are overweight but can also occur in young children as the result of swollen tonsil tissue.

AARP The Magazine offers other signs to look out for:

1. Exhaustion. Daytime exhaustion is another often overlooked indicator of sleep apnea. If you’re getting eight to nine hours of sleep a night and still feel sluggish all day, sleep apnea could be a factor.
2. High blood pressure. When your body is constantly deprived of oxygen in the night it goes into fight or flight mode raising blood pressure. Over time your blood pressure doesn’t decline, staying constantly elevated and leading to hypertension.
3. Frequent urination during the night. According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, frequent nighttime urination affects nearly 65 percent of adults between the ages of 55 and 84. While this behavior, known as nocturia, can be the result of aging, it can also be a hint to sleep apnea. The fight or flight response activated by lack of oxygen can also trigger a feeling of fullness in the bladder.
4. Waking with a headache. Sleep apnea deprives the brain of oxygen resulting in pain. The Archives of Internal Medicine published a study that suggests as sleep apnea becomes more frequent and severe that these headaches will worsen.
5. Overweight or obese. Weight is a factor. Up to 67 percent of people diagnosed with sleep apnea are overweight. Excess fat blocks the airways. Losing weight may help improve sleep apnea, but may not correct it.

If you have an aging loved one who’s quality of life is diminished due to recent diagnosis of sleep apnea, consult a senior care provider, such as Physicians Choice Private Duty, serving Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding areas.

“Physicians Choice Private Duty solves the challenges families face in caring for aging parents, with a focus on strategies that keep them in their homes. To learn more about our solutions, visit us today..“