Are you stressed out? Is your head throbbing, and you just don’t feel right? Worried you’re having a stroke? You’re probably not.
Anxiety, migraines, blood sugar changes, and lots of other things can make you feel weak and funny -- and they’re much more likely.
But to see a doctor right away if any of these suddenly happen to you (warning signs):
A terrible headache, worse than you’ve ever had before
Weakness on one side of your body
Trouble walking, talking, or understanding things
Vision loss in one or both eyes
What Else It Could Be
Take a deep breath and try not to worry if you’re feeling off. A lot of things can mimic stroke symptoms.
Stress is one of them. “Everybody’s body deals with it differently,” an American professor says. He’s treated people who’ve had changes in their vision and speech that were actually caused by stress and anxiety.
Or, it could be:
Migraine headaches. Migraines can look like a stroke. They can affect your vision and make you feel weak. If you have migraines, you have a higher risk of having a stroke, so watch your symptoms closely.
High blood pressure. If your blood pressure is high, it can cause headaches, feelings of weakness, and vision problems. It’s also a major risk factor for stroke. For most people, normal blood pressure is a top number of 120 or less and a bottom number of 80 or less.
Anxiety. It could make you feel numb around the mouth or fingertips.
Changes in blood sugar. Too little or too much can cause vision problems, especially if you have diabetes and aren’t taking your medication, like insulin, or if you took too much. It could also cause you to feel confused, similar to a stroke.
Stroke Symptoms to Watch For
An easy way to recognize the warning signs of stroke is to think F.A.S.T.
Watch Now
F - Face. Can you, or the person having the symptoms, smile Does one side of the face droop
A - Arms. Can you, or the person having the symptoms, raise both arms Does one drift downward
S - Speech. Can you, or the person having the symptoms, repeat a single phase Is the speech slurred or strange
T - Time. If you see any of these symptoms, see a doctor immediately.
Sleep makes a powerful regulatory influence on immune functions.
Owing to the fast living rhythm and working pressures, the number of people being subjected to the decrease in hours of sleep has been growing increasingly. Research has shown that sleep reduction or deprivation will cause the susceptibility to infection and makes us more prone to get cold and other disease related to immunity.
Sleep loss effect the ability to fight infection when the body is subjected to illness such as fevers. It is generally said that fevers inclined to rise at night. Why? The reason is that human body will get a better fever response during sleep. Hence, obviously, if you are not sleeping, you do not have the ability to eliminate the infection.
Sleep can boost the formation of immunological memory. Sleep deprivation causes the generation of inflammatory cytokine which will contribute to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorder. Numerous researches have indicated that chronic sleep loss (e.g. 4h per night) would increase the concentration of C-reactive protein which is the sign of inflammation. In other words, people suffering from sleep deprivation are prone to have a persistent low-grade systemic inflammation. On the other hand, John Park, a pulmonologist specializing in sleep medicine, indicates that the immune response to vaccination will be decreased while susceptibility to infections will be enhanced. For instance, 6 days of sleep reduction can weaken the immune response to vaccination against influenza.
What is worse, if human body sleep a night for less than six hours, the mortality rate might increase. Therefore adequate sleep guarantees the defense and stabilization of immune system. Researches manifest that keeping seven to eight hours of sleep a night have the best survival. Here are some sleep hygiene tips you can consider:
- Avoiding coffee and smoking before bed.
- Develop good sleep habits, keep the stable biological clock such as sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
- Master some relaxation behavioral therapy techniques.
Simultaneously, for people who cannot get adequate sleep, a relatively weaker immunity could make you be more likely to infection. Hence, boosting immune system is also quite significant. It is indispensable to cultivate good living habits, such as drinking plenty of water, eating fruit and vegetables. Healthcare products are also the good choice for you to enhance immunity, such as cordyceps, propolis, pollen granule, cen forte, etc.
Let’s regard better sleep quality as a powerful guarantee of immunity enhancement!
Reference
Susan Zafarlotfi, PhD, clinical director, Institute for Sleep and Wake Disorders, Hackensack University Medical Center, N.J.
Having a baby at a later age has been linked to increased risk of complications for both mother and child. Now, a new study suggests there may be other downsides to a later pregnancy: having a baby aged 40 or older may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death later in life.
A 2015 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the pregnancy rate for women aged 40-44 increased from 11 per 1,000 women in 1990 to 19 per 2,000 in 2012.
"We already knew that older women were more likely than younger women to experience health problems during their pregnancy," says Dr. Qureshi from CDC, “we know that the consequences of that later pregnancy stretch years into the future."
To reach their findings - recently presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2016 in Los Angeles, CA - the team analyzed data of 72,221 women aged 50-79 who were part of the Women's Health Initiative Study.
Of these women, 3,306 reported becoming pregnant at the age of 40 or older.
Women 'should be aware of cardiovascular risks' with later pregnancies
Compared with women who had a pregnancy at a younger age, those who became pregnant at the age of 40 or older were found to have a 1.4% higher risk of ischemic stroke and a 0.5% higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Ischemic stroke - where blood flow to the brain is blocked - is the most common form of stroke, accounting for around 87% of all cases. Hemorrhagic stroke accounts for the remaining 13% of cases, occurring when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds.
Additionally, the researchers found that women who had a later pregnancy had a 0.5% greater risk for heart attack and a 1.6% greater risk of death from all forms of cardiovascular disease.
Other risk factors for cardiovascular disease – including high blood pressure, high?cholesterol?and?diabetes?- could account for the increased risks of ischemic stroke, heart attack and cardiovascular death among women with later pregnancies, according to the team.
Dr. Qureshi says their findings should make women aware of the possible increased risks they face and encourage them to take steps to improve their cardiovascular health.
Earlier this month, Medical News Today reported on some good news for expectant mothers; a study suggested that eating chocolate or the health products which include Omega-3 daily during pregnancy may benefit fetal growth and development.
Prolong 12 years of Life Expectancy by 3 Best Behaviors, A 50-Year Follow-up Research Demonstrates.
Smoking, dietary habits are the top two risk factors that are always involved when the diseases or healthcare topic arises. However, how long will they affect people life expectancy in quantity? If someone has quit smoking for years, does the affectation get off the body? A new proof has freshly come out by the follow-up research in the last 50 YEARS!
Recently, a group of researchers from Italy have reviewed the complete documents of a 40-59 aged male population of 1712 subjects for 50 years. The analysis to the data begun when the overall death rate has reached 97.5%, 12 simple groups of causes of death has been involved into the research related to smoking habits, physical activity and dietary habits.
The conclusion is that the major cardiovascular diseases and all causes of death were related simultaneously with the three lifestyle habits, while all other simple groups of causes of death were potentially associated with only one behavior or with none of them. From the qualitative view, being a never smoker or an ex-smoker carries a gain of 3.6 or 1.8 years versus the reference; being physically active at work or moderately active carries a gain of 4.1 or 2.8 years versus the reference; following a Mediterranean or a Prudent Diet carries a gain of 4.4 and 2.8 years versus the reference. The combination of the 3 most favorable behavior was associated with a gain of 11.97 years versus the worst combination.
Thanks for the efforts from the medical scientists in the past half century. The result the research reminds us again the importance to the prevention and primary care in daily life. Do not hesitate to change behaviors right now or consult your Tasly companions for more information about how to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Reference: Alessandro Menotti et al., Cardiovascular and other causes of death as a function of lifestyle habits in a quasi-extinct middle-aged male population. A 50-year follow-up study.
Each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 million people worldwide die because of tobacco use, and the number will grow to more than 8 million by the year 2030.?
So what makes tobacco become such a harmful evil?
Nicotine, the main ingredients of tobacco, is one of the most harmful destroyers for human body. It makes people addicted, although it is available legal drugs all over the world. It is harmful to not only smokers but also the people breathing second hand smoke, especially children.
How does tobacco damage human body?
Among the numerous parts of human body which would be damaged the most, immune cells are significant and should not be ignored.
Abundant studies indicate that smoking damages the immune system due to its ability to depress antibodies and cells which are in the body to protect against foreign invaders. In addition, for smokers, their immune cells that normally help the body will decrease significantly.
Smokers are more prone to infections, such as influenza and pneumonia. Why? The reason is that their immune system does not work as well. Now let’s get to know the specific cause. Cigarette smoke contains many cancer-causing chemicals. Through blood stream, they can reach the organs of human body and make the immune response be damaged. For example, carbon monoxide, the harmful gas, could cause the decrease in oxygen levels. Less oxygen can reach the heart, brain, and other organs, so lung function would be damaged. Then the invading substances will cause lung irritation and damage, which finally lead to lung infection. For smokers, in order to get over illnesses, they need to take longer than nonsmokers.
Among all the human organs, do you know which one will be hurt the most? The answer is lung.
There is an association between smoking and the increased incidence of certain malignant diseases and respiratory infections, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). But this process can be reversed if a smoker gives up cigarettes. Smokers who stop show increased levels of natural killer cell (NK) activity that targets cancerous cells in the body.
Infections
Blood pressure and heart rate are affected negatively by smoking chemicals carried through the blood
Lung Tissue
Smoking can cause the body’s immune system to attack lung tissue and result in severe respiratory disorders, according to research at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Health scientists examined mice to study the link between cigarette exposure, the immune system and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), a serious lung disease characterized by emphysema and severe inflammation of the lung tissue. After lung cells were damaged from cigarette smoke in the lab research, the cells signaled the immune system when the damaged cells needed to be destroyed. The research shows that smoking actually activates certain parts of the immune system, which works against the lungs and attacks the tissue, it was reported in the March 2009 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Investigation." The researchers found a strong correlation between cellular stress signals, activation of the immune system and development of diseases similar to COPD.?
Researchers compared the results with tissue samples from humans who included nonsmokers, smokers with COPD and smokers who did not have COPD. They found that patients who had never smoked had no trace of the lung cells that triggered the immune system to attack lung tissue. Current and former smokers who developed the disease had evidence of those lung signals.
Smoking affects how the immune system functions by causing oxidative stress. This in turn causes DNA mutation, setting the stage for cancer and heart disease. Oxidative stress is also thought to be a contributor to the aging process. Antioxidants are nature's way of combating the damage oxidative stress causes to the body's cells. Smokers have less antioxidants in their blood than nonsmokers.
Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation
If you'd like to give up smoking, but don't know where to begin, create a structured plan. Realize why you want to quit, prepare for success, and carry out your plan with the support of others or medication therapy. Quitting smoking is difficult, but not impossible.
