Dr. Curtis McElroy

Category: Internal Medicine

  • 5 Risky Behaviors That Can Harm Your Health

    5 Risky Behaviors That Harm Your Health

    Many people are searching for ways to live healthier.

    Most know that this can easily be achieved through proper nutrition and regular exercise. However, there are also other factors that have an effect on your health, and some are maybe easily overlooked. Here are 5 risky behaviors that can harm your health.

    Smoking

    It’s no secret that smoking kills. Despite the fact that people are aware of all the health risks associated with smoking, many still do it. It is without a doubt one of the unhealthiest habits in today’s society. This habit can literally cost you your life.
    While lung cancer is often associated as the most significant risk with smoking, in fact there are many other conditions that are caused by cigarettes that can debilitate and result in premature death.

    Some of the most notable health risks associated with smoking include respiratory problems, such as chronic bronchitis, kidney cancer, leukemia, infertility, stomach cancer, oral cancer, throat cancer, and an increased risk of stroke and heart disease.

    Excessive Drinking

    Alcohol is a substance that is meant to be consumed in moderation. Did you know that alcohol is actually considered poison by the body? This is why the body prioritizes its metabolization before anything else.

    Having a drink with your friends once in a while or a glass of wine with dinner is totally acceptable and actually good for the heart. However, if you start drinking in excess and especially as a coping mechanism for problems in your life, then you’re going to be facing a much bigger problem.

    Many people overlook the risks that go along with excessive drinking, even though there are a lot of them. Some of the best known health risks of alcoholism include dementia, colon cancer, liver disease, stroke, depression, liver cancer, hepatitis, anxiety and premature death, just to name a few.

    Eating In Front Of The TV

    This is something that many people do, but while it can greatly contribute to poor health maybe easily overlooked. Instead of taking the time to really enjoy their food, most people would rather wolf it down while watching a movie or TV show. However, there are several health risks that are associated with this activity.

    First off, it will draw all your attention to the TV instead of your food, which will make you eat more than you should or normally would simply because you do not pay attention to how much you have eaten.

    You will be so distracted by what you’re watching that you won’t even see how much you’ve eaten until it’s all gone. If you enjoy eating junk food while watching TV, then you will most likely form a habit of doing this, which means that you will bring a few snacks with you every time you want to watch something, even when you’re not particularly hungry.

    Drinking Calories

    Nowadays, many people find water to be boring, so they avoid drinking it every chance they get. This has been made worse with many companies now making flavored water. Nevertheless, soda is still the most famous substitute for water, even though it is loaded with calories, sugar, and chemicals.

    Not only are these beverages filled with sugar and unhealthy chemicals, but they will also make you drink your calories instead of eating them, adding inches to your waistline, and getting nothing in the way of nutrients for your body. The next time you want to buy a can of soda, make sure to think twice about whether you really need those extra calories.

    Having Too Much Junk Food

    Having too much junk food in your house is a bad idea. Simply by knowing that you can get a junk food snack anytime you want will make it hard for you to resist the temptation to indulge in unhealthy foods.

    It’s always easier to grab a bag of chips than to cook a healthy meal in order to satisfy your hunger. However, this will only make you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Instead, you should throw away all of that junk food and keep healthy stuff on hand.

  • How Much Exercise Does It Take To Lose Weight

    How Much Exercise Does It Take To Lose Weight

    This is a common question of anyone that has been told by their physician they need to start exercising to help them lose weight.

    The following link is to an article that will help get you started on an exercise program that enables you to start achieving healthy weight loss.

    http://loseonepoundaweek.com/how-much-do-you-…e-to-lose-weight

  • What You Can Do To Reduce Risks For Stroke

    What You Can Do To Reduce Risks For Stroke

    Stroke is a condition that falls under the umbrella of heart disease. Most people don’t realize that there are three kinds of stroke and that there are things you can do to reduce your risk of all kinds of stroke.

    The three major kinds of stroke include the following:

    • Thrombotic stroke – This is the type of stroke in which plaques build up on the arterial walls of the arteries leading to the brain. The plaques narrow the blood vessels and clots can form in the narrowed areas, causing a reduction in oxygen and blood flow to the brain stops.

    • Embolic stroke – This is the type of stroke in which there is a blood clot somewhere in the body (usually on a heart valve) that breaks off and travels through the bloodstream so that it cuts off the circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in a stroke.

    • Hemorrhagic stroke – Rather than an area of the brain being without blood and oxygen, a blood vessel in the brain opens up, causing bleeding to occur within the brain. This can be due to areas of weakness in the blood vessels or to aneurysms in the brain that open up and bleed.

    Stroke Statistics In The United States

    • Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States
    • There are 795,000 strokes every year
    • Someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds of each and every day in the US
    • Stroke is the leading reason for serious disability overall, and those who survive are often left with paralysis and speech impairment causing long term disability, often requiring long term care
    • After the age of 55 years old, the risk for stroke doubles every decade
    • Almost ¾ of all strokes occur in people age older than 65

    (Data source: Internet Stroke Center)

    Prevention Of Stroke

    There are different ways to prevent a stroke depending on the type of stroke you are trying to prevent. There are some things you can do that prevent a certain type of stroke but that has the potential to worsen another type of stroke.

    The following are some things you can do to prevent a stroke:

    • Maintain a normal blood pressure – This holds true for all kinds of stroke. If your blood pressure is too high, it contributes to arterial spasm and increases the risk of thrombotic stroke. If the blood pressure is too high, it can push the blood clot in the heart from the heart valve into the circulatory system of the brain, resulting in an embolic stroke. In a completely different way, high blood pressure can cause hemorrhagic strokes. If there is a weakness in the walls of any part of the brain’s circulatory system, high blood pressure can cause that weak area to open up, resulting in the kind of bleeding you see in a hemorrhagic stroke.

    • Maintain a normal cholesterol – Cholesterol is what makes up part of the plaques that contribute to getting a thrombotic stroke. If you maintain a good level of cholesterol, the plaques don’t build up so much and the chance that a blood clot can form in the arteries is much less. You can keep a good cholesterol level by eating food that is low in cholesterol or by taking medications designed to lower the cholesterol level.

    • Stop smoking – Smoking has the potential to raise your blood pressure, increasing the risk of all kinds of strokes. Smoking also contributes to plaque formation in the walls of the blood vessels so that the risk of thrombotic stroke increases. The longer you smoke, the greater is the risk of developing all kinds of heart disease, including that of thrombotic stroke.

    • Take a baby aspirin – Baby aspirin is a commonly used medication used to prevent the recurrence of heart attack in a patient who has already had a heart attack. Aspirin is a platelet inhibitor, which means that it blocks platelets from sticking together and forming a blood clot. This same phenomenon can work in the prevention of both thrombotic strokes and embolic strokes. If the platelets cannot form a blood clot, it will prevent a blood clot from forming on a heart valve so that it can’t travel to an area of the brain, leading to an embolic stroke. In the same way, when platelets are blocked from forming a clot inside a narrowed area of the blood vessels leading to the brain, this thwarts the onset of a thrombotic stroke.

    Living a healthy lifestyle so that the blood pressure is reduced, smoking is not a problem, and cholesterol is kept within normal levels will go a long way toward reducing the incidence of all kinds of strokes.

    If you are concerned about stroke, or any type of heart disease it is a great idea to see your doctor and get a full physical and relevant screenings to be sure that there is not more that you can do to ensure you remain in optimal health.

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy