Fast Medical Info

What is heartburn?

Heartburn is misconceived. In actuality, heartburn has nothing to with the heart. The heartburn you feel after eating is actually caused by stomach acid aggravating the esophagus. You see, at the bottom of the esophagus is a valve which, helped by our friend gravity, keeps stomach acid where it belongs. When this valve doesn’t do its job right (by this, I mean it doesn’t close and keep the acid down), you feel what is commonly known as heartburn.

So, what causes heartburn?

The short answer (and I like keeping it short here) is it is caused by something pressing up against the esophagus or the overfilling of the stomach, both of which most often happen in the obese and overweight. Eating a meal can cause the stomach to be overfilled and enough of these overfilling causes the buildup of fat around the torso of the body to cause pressure on the esophagus and this “acid valve.” Just losing 10-15 pounds can greatly decrease the chance of frequent heartburn in the future. This is not the only reason for heartburn, but it is the most common. Eating certain foods does have a deadening affect on the “acid valve.” These include onions, alcohol, citrus fruit, garlic, peppermint, and other foods high in oil. Lastly, smoking both increases stomach acid and relaxes your valve–so if you smoke, expect heartburn eventually.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a condition characterized by the loss of memory and eventual loss of function/ability to reason. This disease affects aging seniors and may (though symptom severity varies) affect 50% of those over the age of 85. However, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging; people may live to be very old while never being affected by the disease.

Early onset (in the 40’s or 50’s) of Alzheimer’s results in 2-5% of the cases. Half these cases are the result of genetic inheritance of the gene associated with the disease.

Other possible causes of Alzheimer’s disease include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease,  diabetes, and high cholesterol.

Symptoms
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s are progressive. Loss of memory by those with the disease in the initial stages of the disease are very minor. Most people usually dismiss these symptoms as the normal part of aging. When these symptoms worsen, it becomes apparent it is not normal. The loss of memory soon turns into the loss of the ability to perform cognitive function. Examples include not being able to understand what is being read or not understanding simple tasks.

Prognosis
The prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease most often does not include death. The disease is progressive and will eventually render its victims unable to function at all. Alzheimer’s patients in the late stages most often don’t know where they live or know anybody around them, nor can they control their bladders. Death can sometimes occur if the patients aren’t given proper care. They will not eat, bathe, or do any other mandatory task; for this reason, pneumonia (or some other condition caused by deteriorated states of health) can cause death. But most patients will die from some other cause as long as they are given the proper care.

The cause of  Alzheimer’s disease is unknown. The leading hypothesis is that the disease is the result of excess ABeta protein in the brain. There has been studies concerning ways of decreasing the amount of A? in the brain. But this only addresses the inherited versions of the disease. The un-inherited versions don’t have an excess of A?. For these cases, there is no known cause.

This is a disease caused by the repeated (chronic) inflammation of the lining of the intestines. Most of the time, this inflammation causes ulcerations (which are breaks in the lining) in the small and large intestines, though it can affect any part of the digestive tract (from mouth to anus).

Some symptons of Crohn’s disease include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, etc. It is a disease that affects between one and two million people in the United States.

Causes:

There is no clear cause of Crohn’s disease. Scientists have speculated it is caused by strains of certain bacteria, though no substantial evidence has been shown to support this hypothesis of infection.

Diet has been shown to change the severity of the disease, though the consensus seems to be diet has no direct cause.

Crohn’s disease is not contagious. It has, however, been shown to be more likely to affect members of the same family, thus implying a possible genetic connection.

Prognosis and treatment:

There is no known cure for Crohn’s disease. There are, however, several treatments available which can manage the disease.

The nature of Crohn’s disease is “come and go.” For some with the disease, they experience months, even years, of remission with little or no symptons. During this time, no treatment is usually given. On the other hand, some experience relapses quite often. During this time, it can be very difficult to manage the pain, depending on the severity of the relapse.

Possible medications for Crohn’s Disease include antiinflammatory medications (corticosteroids as an example), immuno-modulators, and other similar medications (depending on the symptons).

Some reading if you are interested to know more:

MedicineNet, Wikipedia

An overview of the coronary heart disease:Coronary Heart Disease, otherwise known as coronary artery disease, is the buildup of plaque (fat, calcium and scar tissue) in the blood vessels that bring blood to the heart.

The buildup of these substances inside the coronary arteries can lead to the heart not getting enough blood (therefore, not getting enough oxygen). When this happens, this leads to chest pain (otherwise known as angina).

If the blood is completely blocked, this can lead to a heart attack (which is known as a myocardial infarction) or a sudden change in your heart rhythm (cardiac arrest).

This is the leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, heart disease accounted for more than 650,000 deaths in America in 2004 according to the CDC’s estimations.

Ironically, heart disease is by some standards preventable. By leading a healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise, a person can greatly decrease their likelihood of suffering from the disease.

Causes of coronary heart disease include, but not limited to, a high-fat diet, lack of exercise, stressful lifestyle, tobacco use, family heredity, and high cholesterol. Those are in no particular order.

Symptons of coronary heart disease include:

Symptons may only come into full light after it’s too late. Sudden cardiac arrest may result from the artery blockage. If this happens, it can sometimes be fatal. This usually happens during some kind of exercise or other strenuous activity. This is when the heart needs oxygen and other vital nutrients the most, so it is only natural for the arrest to happen during these activities.

Other symptons of the disease itself include, but are not limited to, chest pain, leg or arm pain on the left side, dizziness, and an irregular heartbeat.

A chart of severity in America based on county and state can be found here.