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The American Heart Association (in their Go Red For Women Project) has been very involved with the treatment of strokes, as most women (and practically all men) who have suffered a stroke will not die from a second stroke – they will die from a heart attack.

The third largest killer of women in the world is strokes. In today’s post, I want to talk about types of strokes, what you can do to get checked, and what you can do to treat them.

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February is the American Medical Association’s Heart Month. It’s a time for all of us in the medical profession and those operating certain causes to raise the awareness of heart disease and – hopefully – raise some money for research.

I’d like to take a slice of this awareness and drill down to a particular area that probably needs more attention than it gets – heart disease in women.

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I was thinking back on some questions that I’ve encountered from patients and from people who are not patients of mine, and often times I find people who have become frustrated or nervous when they feel like something is wrong but when a test is performed, nothing is found.

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This week, I had a friend ask me about Colitis, and how he was running into more and more people who had it. I told him that we are actually seeing more and more of it in people, but the medical community currently isn’t sure why. 

So you know, Colitis is an inflammatory disease of the intestines – in the large intestine or the entire intestinal tract – that can make you very sick, even lead to colon cancer and death. So, it’s worth knowing about.

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The dictionary says that your metabolism is the chemical process your body goes through to maintain life. So – it’s pretty important.

And as we get older, our body’s metabolism naturally slows down, so in order to keep your metabolism rate up, you have to take action and train your body to keep burning those calories. Here are a few tips on how to get your metabolism and body to a good place.

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People ask me all the time, “If I’m not feeling well, what websites should I go to?”

Others tell me, “I bet you doctors hate all those online medical websites.”

No – we don’t hate them. The only thing that I believe irks doctors is when people end up on less-than-reputable sites, and they end up being misled, scared by what they are told, or just given a bunch of bad information.

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This upcoming weekend many of you will be heading down to the Big Easy for the national championship. And whether you’ll be going to the game or just going down for the atmosphere… you won’t be alone. From Houston, TX all the way to Fort Payne, AL the pickup trucks, Mercedes, and RVs are all bound for New Orleans.

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This time of year, it’s common for folks to get some congestion in their system, making it difficult to breathe, feel stuffy-headed, and generally just not feel good. There are many types of medication available for you via prescription or over-the-counter, but it’s very important that you follow those instructions on that label – they are there for a reason.

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I know it can be extremely frustrating when your hands aren’t working like you want them to. It makes it difficult to write, type, hold items, eat… – I mean, just thing about all that you do with your hands. Almost everything, right? Good news is that often times it is something that can be treated.

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People are stressed because of the holiday time crunch between shopping/work/managing their family, and they are losing sleep. It’s flu season, the stress is causing your nerve fibers to misfire, and your immune system gets pulled down. 

It’s a great collection of bugs/viruses/diseases – a big holiday gumbo of disease.

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Copyright 2012 Dr. Mark Ricketts