A leaking heart valve fortunately, does not always mean valve surgery. And, heart valve surgery, if it becomes necessary, does not always have to mean that you’ll need an open-heart surgery.

In fact, most people with a leaking valve disorder, are totally unaware of their valvular disease. Their mildly leaking valve condition goes undetected because it just never progresses to the point of needing treatment.

Symptoms which might indicate that your leaking heart valve also called valve regurgitation is worsening to the point of needing some form of treatment are: unexplained fatigue, shortness-of-breath especially when you exert yourself, heart palpitations, an awareness of your heart beat, fluttery or irregular heart beat, chest pain also referred to as angina, dizziness or fainting, and swollen ankles or feet.

The heart valves are made to move your blood through your heart in one direction. When there is valve leakage, the valve leaflets fail to close properly, and some of the blood is regurgitated backwards in the wrong direction.

In severe heart valve leakage or regurgitation, the heart has to work much harder to re-pump the blood back through your heart and into your body. This “over-work” causes enlargement of the heart.

If you begin to notice that your normal everyday activities are tiring you out, and you’re experiencing one or more of the symptoms we’ve already mentioned, it may be time for you to visit your Doctor or cardiologist.

For example, do you notice that walking up your drive to the mail box is exhausting, or maybe just bending over to take clothes from the dryer causes chest pain, or do you experience breathlessness just from being outdoors the heat? These could all be signs of heart valve disease.

Your GP can listen to your heart with a stethoscope. Often, just listening to your heart can tell your Doctor if you have a heart murmur. Depending upon the severity of the murmur he or she hears, your GP may refer you to a cardiologist.

The cardiologist’s diagnosis will probably include one or more of the following tests:

- an electrocardiogram (ECG), a test that measures the electrical activity of your heart to see how well it is working
- an echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan that produces a picture of the inside of your heart
- a chest X-ray
- a heart cath, a small tube (catheter) is threaded up to your heart through an artery – usually in your groin. A dye that shows up on X-rays is injected into your blood stream and X-rays are taken to produce an image of the blood flowing through your heart
- a cardiac CT scan that uses X-rays to make a three-dimensional image of your heart.

If these tests show that your have a severely leaking heart valve, then, you will probably require some form of heart surgery. When possible, heart valve repair surgery is always preferable to valve replacement surgery because your own heart tissue is being used to make the repair; however, if you need a valve replacement, the artificial and pig valves are overwhelmingly successful.

As of this writing, the only approved option for treating severely leaking heart valves is open-heart surgery with heart-lung bypass. But, if your problem is a leaking mitral valve, you just might be in luck, some 30 hospitals across North America are now participating in an FDA-approved clinical study of an experimental device for repairing a leaking mitral valve, which does NOT require open-heart surgery.

This is truly exciting news! Amazingly, this minimally invasive procedure can repair a leaking mitral heart valve while the heart is still beating. In this FDA-approved clinical study, an experimental device and procedure use a catheter inserted into a vein in the groin.

By: Lanie Dills

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Plastic surgery is something that appeals to many people. In a society that stresses appearances as much as ours does, getting something “fixed up” seems perfectly normal and fine.

If there is an area of your body that you cannot change with exercise and lifestyle changes alone, or if there is a spot that ages you well beyond your years, or if you have made tremendous changes to your body and are looking to have your skin adjusted to your new way of life, plastic surgery is a wonderful option. It has given people confidence and has made people feel better about their lives.

There is no problem with getting some work done, especially if it is for the right reasons. In the initial consultation appointment, your doctor should evaluate your reasoning. It is his or her job to look into the emotions behind the decisions and to determine if you are there for the right reasons. Some of the right reasons include the things listed above. Trying to change your body to match your feelings in small ways is acceptable.

Where is the line though?

Generally, the line is determined by your loved ones and the people that see you often. The point of plastic surgery is to make small changes to make you more comfortable in your skin. When people begin noticing obvious large changes, they will usually make a comment.

Some procedures are overdone and can take away any hint of personality (blown up lips or too much Botox for example) while others change the essential things that make you. There are people that are not hunting to make their appearance a little better but are hunting for perfection.

Another thing behind too many procedures is that you might be going through a life problem and looking for something drastic and new to change the problem. This often times does not work and can leave people with very heavy depression afterwards. If you notice yourself being anti-social because you feel your looks are not up to par, it is important to talk with someone as this is a sign to a problem.

Plastic surgery is a fantastic thing. However, it is not a cure all and if used recklessly can actually make things worse as you begin slowly losing your identity. If you or someone you know seems to be suffering from abusing plastic surgery, do not be afraid to speak up. Help is there to be used and can prevent a lifetime of painful touch-up surgeries and shame.

By: A Aaronson

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Many people don’t know that non surgical liposuction doesn’t refer to one specific cosmetic procedure, but that there are in fact several different types of non surgical liposuction procedures for individuals to choose from. This variety means that one person’s cosmetic surgery might be completely different from another patient’s even if both go in for fat removal.

Because of this, it’s important for people considering any of these procedures to realize the many various options that are out there. Even a brief glance through Google’s results will show that there are many different types of non surgical liposuction procedures that are vying for your attention. These can very from the very general description like “laser” or “injection” that actually describes that method being used, to many different types of cosmetic treatments that are often customized in order for the plastic surgeon to trademark the procedure.

Some of the more popular trademarked or registered types of non surgical liposuction procedures include Lipodissolve, mesotherapy, or Thermage. All of these are a more specific form of either laser treatment or injection treatment. A liposuction alternative that involves the use of a laser is designed to literally “melt” the fat off of a trouble area without having to use an invasive surgical procedure. This practice is also sometimes referred to as laser body contouring.

The injection based liposuction alternative often involves putting together “cocktails” of drugs, proteins, enzymes, and other ingredients that work in order to help create a spot reduction of fat. This is probably the most popular of the non surgical liposuction alternatives, and one that has worked well for thousands of patients.

By: Tad Stephenson

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surgical procedures