Heart and vascular disease is the leading cause of disability and death of women in the United States. The majority of heart diseases in women include coronary artery disease and heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, and arrhythmia -- some of which can lead to sudden death. Peripheral vascular diseases (sometimes called PAD--peripheral artery disease) can lead to debilitating stroke or amputation. Congenital heart diseases, or cardiac conditions present at birth, are less common but equally important and require lifelong care. (more)
Nearly everyone has experienced deja vu, a brief sensation of having experienced a new situation or feeling in the past. Based upon recent study of epilepsy patients, researchers believe that deja vu originates in the temporal and frontal lobes, according to Claire Flaherty-Craig, a neuropsychologist at Hershey Medical Center and assistant professor with the College of Medicine. "Statistically it occurs more in late adolescence and frequency of episodes declines with age," she said. (more)
Health information written by a doctor is rated as more credible when it appears on a Web site than in a blog or a homepage, according to a study of college students. The findings highlight the relative importance of different online sources to people who seek health information on the Internet. "Most people look for health information online by keying disease symptoms into various search engines," said S. Shyam Sundar, distinguished professor of communications, Penn State. "But the results of that search could range from experts at the Mayo Clinic to somebody's personal blog." (more)
The medical mission team comprised of Penn State Hershey Medical Center doctors and nurses that has been treating quake victims in Haiti for nearly two weeks is set to hand off their patient care responsibilities and return to Hershey this week. Though they have endured stifling heat, lack of sleep and limited access to essentials like running water and electricity, team members say they will remember most the gratitude and grace of the Haitian people they helped care for. (more)
Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute is supporting women's heart health with a 1/2-hour TV program on ABC27 called "Heart to Heart (and vascular)." The live program will air at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, and will include stories of two women who were stricken with serious heart problems and a third who developed a vascular condition. All were successfully treated at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and are on the road to recovery or have resumed normal, productive lives. (more)
Almost everyone knows women in their life who have been affected by heart disease -- mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts. To show support for women's heart health, Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute is encouraging everyone to wear something red on Feb. 5, the American Heart Association's (AHA) National Wear Red Day. Whether it's red clothes, red accessories, red ties, red socks, red lipstick, or something even more creative, the red statements made will show everyone that you support the AHA's Go Red for Women cause. (more)
Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute's John P. Richie Jr., Ph.D., is studying if supplementation of diet with glutathione can help enhance immune function and prevent a specific type of damage to cells and tissues (oxidation) that can lead to the development of numerous chronic diseases. Glutathione is the major natural antioxidant in the body, a substance that slows oxidation and protects the body from free radicals, highly reactive, unstable molecules that can damage cells. (more)
With plans to open a new 30,000-square-foot medical office complex in Camp Hill this summer, Penn State Hershey Medical Group has taken initial steps to combine its two existing Cumberland County-based medical practices into one. Operations for Penn State Hershey Medical Group -- Silver Spring at 3 Flowers Drive in Mechanicsburg, Pa., will move to the Medical Group site at 101 Erford Road in Camp Hill, Pa., in late February. The new site will be called Penn State Hershey Medical Group -- Camp Hill. (more)
Squeezing into a tight pair of pants can be a painful experience, but a new type of "pants" recommended for certain heart patients actually squeezes back and provides pain relief. Called enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP(r)), the outpatient therapy uses three sets of blood pressure-like cuffs wrapped around the legs and buttocks that inflate and deflate with the patient's heartbeat. The squeezing action increases blood flow and oxygen to the heart and other organs, often reducing or even eliminating symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue. (more)
Interested in medicine? Want to attend medical school, but without the tests? Plan to attend the 11th annual Mini-Medical School and learn about the hottest topics in medical science taught by the faculty of Penn State College of Medicine. Sessions are held on Tuesdays in March and the first week of April (March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, and April 6), in the Junker Auditorium at Penn State Hershey. Final registration begins at 6 p.m. and presentations will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Registration is open to all adults and high school students. No previous medical training is required. Previous Mini-Medical School programs have filled quickly, so early registration is recommended. (more)
