Health Tips
Your surgeon needs to know if you have been using herbal medicines or supplements in order to prevent avoidable complications associated with common medications and stress on the body during surgery. Click here to learn more.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Know Your Risks for this "Silent Killer"
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a hidden danger, because it is a symptomless disorder. It is estimated that 2.7 million Americans have AAA, but only half of these individuals have been properly diagnosed.
A "silent killer," AAA is a sac-like enlargement of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Over time the pressure of circulating blood can slowly push the vessel wall outward. Like an inflating balloon, the larger the aneurysm becomes, the greater the likelihood that it will burst.
A ruptured AAA results in severe, life-threatening internal bleeding.
The good news is that screening for AAA is simple and effective: If found early, the growth of the aneurysm can be carefully monitored with regular ultrasonography.
In addition, if surgery is called for, new minimally invasive techniques are now available to repair the aneurysm and prevent rupture.
To schedule a screening for AAA at Columbia University Medical Center, please call James F. McKinsey, MD, Columbia Site Chief, Columbia Weill Cornell Division of Vascular Surgery of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, at 1.800.227.2762.
Electrocardiography (EKG) is a simple, quick, in-office diagnostic test that can monitor the heart for many disorders, including high blood pressure, arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, and others.
New technology is allowing an EKG monitor to be worn comfortably at home, and even to double as a wrist watch.
A noninvasive test of T-wave alternans is now available for predicting ventricular arrhythmias.
It detects risk for sudden death signaled by subtle abnormalities in T-wave repolarization that predict life-threatening ventricular tachycardia, and fibrillation.
The Division of Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has one of the lowest rates of complications following carotid endarterectomy in the world, and is currently researching minimally invasive methods of carotid artery stenting.
Can anger management work to reduce risk for coronary disease in people with no existing heart disease?
A new clinical research study sponsored by CUMC's Behavioral Medicine Program seeks to answer that question.
Women Urged to Continue Breast Self-Examination, says Freya Schnabel, MD, Chief, CUMC Breast Section
A national research study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that involved 16,000 postmenopausal women was halted in July 2002 when findings showed a rise in the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, blood clots, and stroke.
Freya Schnabel, MD, Chief of the Breast Service at CUMC, says study confirms doubts about HRT as a long-term therapy.
Ozgen Dogan, MD, FACC, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia provides tips for lowering your risk factors by practicing heart-protective habits.
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