Archive for April 14th, 2010

Open heart surgery is one of the more serious types of surgery you can undergo. And yet, with today’s surgical technology and well-trained doctors, survival rates are amazingly high. Most open heart surgery patients enjoy a full recovery and, as a result of the surgery, longer lives.

Heart surgery involves the surgeons making one or more relatively large incisions in the chest so that they can gain access to the heart cavity. The relatively high level of invasiveness of this type of surgery translates to longer recovery times than for most other types of surgery.

The recovery time after open heart surgery can be 6-8 weeks or longer. During this time, some patients find that they have trouble sleeping. This is due to a combination of the effects of anesthesia, pain or discomfort in the area of the incisions, the post-surgery changes to daily routine, and new types of stress.

If you are having trouble sleeping after open heart surgery, here are 5 tips that can help:

1. Avoid napping during the day: When possible, try to avoid napping. Instead, go to be at the same time each night and get a full night’s sleep.

2. Take your doctor-prescribed medication about 30 minutes before going to bed: Your body likes routines. Take your medication at the same time each night, just before bed. Continue reading ‘Sleeping After Open Heart Surgery – 5 Tips’ »

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Posted by Christopher Kuntz on April 14, 2010 at 5:56 pm under Healing-Arts.
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Migraines are the second most common type of headaches, after tension headaches. They tend to be hereditary, commonly running in families. Age of onset may vary, but most commonly begin in the 20s and 30s. Migraines rarely, however, commence in middle age or older.

Types of Migraine:

• Migraine without aura, also known as “common migraine”.

• Migraine with aura

• Others: basilar artery migraine, hemiplegic migraine, ophthalmoplegic migraine, retinal migraine, abdominal migraine etc.

Symptoms:

The signs and symptoms of migraine attacks vary greatly among individuals. There are 4 phases of a migraine attack commonly described, but not all phases are experienced by all individuals.

Prodrome Phase:

Prodromal symptoms occurs in about 40 – 60% of migraine sufferers. Symptoms include altered mood, irritability, fatigue, yawning, craving for certain foods etc, and may precede the actual headaches by several hours or days.

Aura Phase:

These migraine auras may be visual, sensory or motor disturbances, with the visual auras being, by far, the most common. Visual disturbances may include flashes of light, zigzag lines, cloudy vision etc. These auras usually do not last more than an hour. Continue reading ‘Migraine Headaches – Understanding Migraines and Its Management’ »

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Posted by Christopher Kuntz on April 14, 2010 at 5:25 pm under Headaches-Migraines.
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