Lose Weight Before Weight-Loss Surgery

It is found that losing at least a little bit of weight before having weight-loss surgery can reduce the risk of having surgical complications. Medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery show that the more weight patients lost before surgery, the less likely they suffered from post-operation complications, such as infection, blood clots, and kidney problems. The post-surgery complication rate was almost twice as much in patients who gained weight before surgery than patients who lost weight before surgery.

All of the patients had open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery where staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time. A part of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine. Some of the surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery mandate that certain high-risk patients lose weight before having the surgery.

Common Causes of Strokes

Most strokes happen when clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Strokes can also happen when a blood vessel bursts in the brain. High blood pressure encourages strokes because it can cause a buildup of arterial plaque, which can cause blood clots.

Birth control pills and hormone therapy increases the risk of having a stroke. Hormone therapy for menopause symptoms has less estrogen than birth control pills but still increases the risk of stroke a little bit.

Sleep apnea is a condition that interrupts the breathing process while a person is asleep. It raises blood pressure and the risk of having a stroke.

Other things that increase the risk of stroke include blood clotting disorders and having migraines with auras. Auras are visual changes that happen before having a migraine.

The risk of having a stroke can be cut in half just by lowering high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If a female has high cholesterol, hypertension, obesity, or diabetes, then she should be very cautions when taking birth control pills so that she can lower the risk of having a stroke.

Removing Blood Clots Helps Heart Attack Recovery

A new research shows that more people survive major heart attacks and have fewer problems if doctors use a mini-vacuum to clear out an artery blockage instead of pushing it aside to help blood flow. Suctioning out a clot before implanting a stent could lead to wider use in heart attack treatment.

Most heart attacks occur when a buildup of plaque in a coronary artery ruptures and a blood clot forms that blocks the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. The most preferred treatment is an angioplasty to reopen the artery.

Doctors would use a procedure that would snake a tube through a blood vessel to the blocked artery and use a small balloon to compress the blockage and restore blood flow. A small metal-mesh stent is placed to keep the artery open. A bad thing about the procedure is that sometimes pieces of the clot or plaque breaks off and plugs the tinier vessels to restrict the blood flow to the heart.