Lori Johnson, Oldsmar, Fla., and her husband, Steven, came to Somerset to renew their wedding vows and to attend the baptism of Cole Johnson, their daughter, Kelsey Johnson’s, baby.

The former Lori Qualters is originally from Somerset. On Saturday, she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and collapsed. She had a heart attack. While Johnson is only 46, she had had three stents put in arteries of her heart in Florida. She was a smoker up until about four months ago. Somerset Area Ambulance Association took her to Somerset Hospital, which has a cardiac catheterization laboratory where angioplasty is performed. Angioplasty is a procedure that uses a balloon-tipped catheter to open blocked arteries and restore blood flow to the heart.

“I remember being given nitro (nitroglycerin) and being in pain,” Johnson said. “Everybody kept holding my hand.”

Emergency room physician Dr. Prakash Ghatge could see changes in the electrocardiogram and called in Dr. Cyril Nathaniel, medical director of interventional cardiology at Somerset Hospital.

Johnson had 100 percent blockage in an artery that circles one side of the heart, Sue Schimpf, registered nurse, said. That was the cause of the attack.

“In an active heart attack, it is important to get the vessel open as soon as possible,” Schimpf said. “The guidelines call for 90 minutes or less from door to balloon. She had hers in 70 minutes from the time she arrived in the ER.”

Time is important to save heart muscle, Pam Geary, registered nurse and cardiac catheterization laboratory supervisor, said.

“I had a little pain when they were starting the cath, and I said I was having trouble breathing, and I felt better in seconds,” Johnson said.

On Sunday, Johnson was able to rest. But during the initial examination, Nathaniel found that the right coronary arteries were diseased. On Monday, she had two more stents put in. She now has six.

Statistically, men have the classic signs of a heart attack, Geary said. Women have as many heart attacks, but the warning signs may be the same chest pains, or may be back or jaw pain, nausea and shortness of breath.

“She did very well,” Nathaniel said in a telephone interview. “She came in quickly, so we could open the artery effectively. The important thing is to come in right away. Even if you only have the slightest indication that you are having a heart attack, the sooner you come in, the better.”

Somerset Hospital had offered the procedure for three years under a pilot program. Last year, the state Health Department told small rural hospitals that they could continue to offer elective angioplasty only if they participated in a study. But the study required more angioplasties than Somerset performs. Emergency angioplasty wasn’t in danger of cancellation.

After several months, an agreement was reached to allow Somerset Hospital to continue to perform angioplasty through a partnership with Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, that provides oversight.

Dr. Debasish Chaudhuri, former medical director of interventional cardiology, moved to Texas. Nathaniel became medical director in March.

It is important for Somerset Hospital to offer angioplasty, Nathaniel said.

“The hospital is providing an excellent service to the community,” he said.

“The whole idea is to save lives,” Greg Chiappelli, director of corporate communications, said. “We’re glad to have Dr. Nathaniel on board.”

Johnson works for at an orange juice and ice cream plant in Sun Groves, Fla.

“I’m staying in Somerset for four weeks,” she said. “So many people here impressed me that I’m staying for follow-up care. Dr. Nathaniel talked with me every day and used normal words, not big words. I’d like to take him back with me. And Dr. (Deborah) Baceski came in to see me, too. It was awesome. I want to get healthy so I can watch my grandchildren grow up.”

See more of this at the Daily American, www.dailyamerican.com

• A macular degeneration clinic utilizing photo dynamic therapy
• Ocular trauma, where they use Vitreo-retinal surgery to prevent loss of vision in patients with severe eye trauma caused by blunt force or penetrating injuries
• A cornea clinic where they have been performing LASIK procedures since 1997
• A squint/pediatric opthalmology clinic where they specialize in children with “cross eyes” (strabismus) and “lazy eyes” (amblyopia)

Shroff Eye Hospital has been performing path-breaking research in many important fields such as: age-related macular degeneration, cataract surgery and glaucoma.

A number of their physicians have trained and practiced medicine in the USA and United Kingdom. Shroff is also a pioneer in Wavefront Lasik procedures - one of the most advanced Lasik procedures available today.

For more information, please visit their site here.

It was a model of the lower lumbar section of the spine with four spaces consisting of flexible tubing and nylon cord on each side of the fifth and fourth lumbar vertebrae. They were held in place by two-inch screws.

“It was scary and interesting at the same time,” said Marlow, of Shreveport, in her fifth week of recovery after surgery to implant the device designed to offer more natural mobility for patients needing spinal fusion.

“I have no back pain at all,” she said. “The only pain I have right now is nerve and muscle pain, and that should eventually get better.”

About 80 percent of Americans will at some point suffer with back pain; said Mody of The Orthopedic Clinic in Shreveport, who performed the procedure to implant the Dynesys dynamic stabilization system in Marlow.

“Most, about 85 percent, will get better without surgery,” he said. “But done for the right reasons and after trying everything else, surgery can be the right answer. But Dynesys won’t be for everybody. Some people will still need spinal fusion.”

The device is an option for patients needing spinal fusion due degenerative slipped disc in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral regions. It offers a more natural function of the spine compared to the traditionally rigid metal rods used in spinal fusion.

The rest of the article may be found here …

That depends on whom you ask, and what studies you cite. Conventional cardiology wisdom has long held that heart attacks occur because arteries blocked by the buildup of plaque starve the organ of blood, sending it into a condition called infarction. Under that model, angioplasty, stenting (placing of a wire mesh structure in the blood vessel) and bypass surgery all make a certain amount of sense.

Angioplasty lets doctors thread a snake-like device with a balloon on the end into diseased and narrowed arteries. Inflating the balloon opens the blockage. Usually, cardiologists will leave behind one or more tiny metal scaffolds, called stents, as insurance.

Continue reading the rest here at the Pakistani Tribune website…

McAllen resident Cesar Vega was concerned about the long wait he faced to treat his broken leg after a motorcycle accident during the weekend leading into the July 4 holiday.

Both ended up in Monterrey, Mexico. Traditionally, the city’s affluent residents have traveled to Dallas, Houston or San Antonio for their medical needs.

“All around I was very impressed, and the experience surpassed any expectation I had,” Mr. Woods said. “I could have been in Zurich, Switzerland, but it was Mexico. I found the care to be top quality, what you would expect at a U.S. hospital and more.”

Like vacations in sparkling Cancún or Cabo San Lucas, health care in Mexico is becoming high-quality, cheap and convenient, advocates say. As more Americans go without heath insurance or feel the pinch of managed care, some are making a run for the border for treatment ranging from routine care to life-saving procedures.

Two North Texas-based hospital chains, Christus Health of Irving and International Hospital Corp. of Dallas, are tapping into a need and an opportunity by providing in their hospitals in Mexico what their executives say is the best of both worlds – U.S.-quality health care and relatively low Mexican prices.

“Our goal is to have the safest hospitals in the international market,” said Cliff Orme, CEO of International Hospital Corp. “We’re implementing U.S. standards into these hospitals so you won’t notice the difference going to a hospital in Dallas than one in a Latin American country.”

Some experts, including Peter Maddox of Christus Health, see Mexico as an answer to the complex question of how to treat aging and underinsured Americans at a time when the retirement of baby boomers will further tax the U.S. health care system. An estimated 43 million Americans, about 15 percent of the population, are uninsured, according to a Census Bureau study.

“Our country will go broke unless we find a health care alternative,” said Mr. Maddox, Christus’ senior vice president for business, strategy and corporate development. “Mexico is a wonderful alternative with incredible potential.”

Continue reading the article here at the Dallas Morning News website…

Mitchell is not alone. Like the 54-year-old attorney, who always led a fit and active lifestyle, hundreds of thousands of active baby boomers are now dealing with worn-out joints - and the pain - at a much earlier age than their more sedentary parents. Many, like Mitchell, are considered too young for total hip replacements, face years of painful waiting until they “come of age,” and often balk at the prospect of limiting their activity level once the artificial joint is in place.

But that’s beginning to change, thanks to a procedure called hip resurfacing, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last May.

You may continue reading the rest of the article here, from News-Medical.net, Australia.

For example:

• Heart surgery can easily cost more than $50,000 in the United States.
• Yet the same surgery might only cost $10,000 in India, $12,000 in Thailand or $20,000 in Singapore.

Read the rest of the article here. From the National Center of Policy Analysis, Texas.