Exercise ‘can be as good as pills’

A study has found that exercise can be as good a medicine as pills for people with conditions such as heart disease.

British Medical Journal or BMJ’s work looked at hundreds of trials linking almost 340,000 patients to assess the merits of exercise and drugs in avoiding death. Physical activity challenged some heart drugs and proved that it is better than stroke medicine. According to the researchers, the findings suggest exercise should be added to prescriptions.

Experts emphasized that patients should not ditch their drugs for exercise – but, they should use both in tandem. Lesser and lesser adults at present get enough exercise.  No more than a third of people in England do the suggested at least 2.5 hours or more of moderate-intensity activity, like cycling or fast walking, every week.

In contrary, while that is happening, prescription drug rates continue to rise. In 2010, there were averages of 17.7 prescriptions for every person in England while 11.2 in 2000.

For the study, scientists based at the London School of Economics, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine trawled medical literature to find any research that compared exercise with pills as a therapy. They recognized 305 trials to incorporate in their analysis.  Such trials looked at managing conditions like existing heart disease, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and pre-diabetes. They found exercise and drugs were comparable in terms of death rates when they studied the data as a total.

Although there were two exceptions, drugs called diuretics were the clear winner for heart failure patients, while exercise was best for stroke patients in terms of life expectancy. Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said that although an active lifestyle brings many health benefits, there is not enough evidence to draw any firm conclusions about the merit of exercise above and beyond drugs.

“Medicines are an extremely important part of the treatment of many heart conditions and people on prescribed drugs should keep taking their vital meds. If you have a heart condition or have been told you’re at high risk of heart disease, talk to your doctor about the role that exercise can play in your treatment.”

Dr Peter Coleman of the Stroke Association said exercise alongside drugs had a vital role that merited more research. “We would like to see more research into the long-term benefits of exercise for stroke patients. “By taking important steps, such as regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and stopping smoking, people can significantly reduce their risk of stroke.” “Moderate physical activity, for example, can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 27%.

$63 Million Medicare Fraud Sentenced to Former Office Manager for Health Care Solutions Network

To serve 68 months in prison for her role in a fraud scheme that resulted in more than $63 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Florida Medicaid, A former office manager at the defunct health care provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) was sentenced today in Miami.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations, Miami office, made the announcement.

Forty five year old Lisset Palmero of Miami was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in the Southern District of Florida.  Palmero was also added prison term of three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $17.4 million.

Palmero was employed as a receptionist and office manager at HCSN of a mental health facility that purported to provide Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) services during the course of the conspiracy.  A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness.

HCSN of Florida (HCSN-FL) operated community mental health centers at two locations.  According to court documents, Palmero was aware that HCSN-FL paid illegal kickbacks to owners and operators of Miami-Dade County Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) in exchange for patient referral information to be used to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Palmero also knew that many of the ALF referral patients were ineligible for PHP services because they suffered from mental retardation, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease.

Court documents expose that Palmero was aware that HCSN-FL personnel were fabricating patient medical records.  Many of these medical records were formed weeks or months after the patients were admitted to HCSN-FL for purported PHP treatment. Palmero was also aware that medical records were fabricated for “ghost patients” who were never admitted to the HCSN-FL PHP. During her employment at HCSN-FL, Palmero actively concealed the production of medical records by preparing, and causing others to prepare, documentation that was later used to support false and fraudulent billing to government-sponsored health care benefit programs, counting the Medicare and Florida Medicaid.

According to court documents, from 2004 through 2011, HCSN billed Medicare and the Florida Medicaid program approximately $63 million for purported HCSN-FL mental health services.

The FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are investigating this case.  Trial Attorney Allan J. Medina and former Special Trial Attorney William J. Parente prosecuted the case.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is now working in nine cities in the country, have charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion since its inception in March 2007.  And also, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medic aid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Springhill Group New York Warns Of Medical-Alert Device Robocalling Scam Targeting Seniors

Most of you know to be suspicious when someone calls out of the blue to tell you you’ve been approved to get something for free. But not everyone is as savvy as y’all, which is what scammers depend on to make their money.

Apparently, some scammy jerks have been placing illegal robocalls to senior citizens to let them know they’ve been approved to receive medical-alert devices “at no charge.” | some medical news

According to New York state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman (the T stands for “tough,” or maybe Thomas or Todd… we have no idea), the calls — coming from a business calling itself Senior Medical Alert or Senior Medical Advisors — use scare tactics, warning consumers of a “significant rise in the number of senior citizens suffering death and serious life-threatening injuries from a delay in response times for medical emergencies, fires, burglaries or even a simple fall.”

The goal is to get people to hand over their billing information so they can be charged $35/month for “monitoring services.”

Some say the scammers are making follow-up calls that are more aggressive than the original. We’re guessing they figure that they’ve already broken any number of laws already, so what’s the harm in a few more?

The AG’s office says these calls appear to be coming from within the state of New York, more precisely from the Syracuse or Utica area. During an undercover call by an investigator, the scammers gave a fake Orlando address as the location of their company’s headquarters. They also claimed to be affiliated with insurance biggie United Health, though we’re pretty sure that’s a big fat lie too.

“Unfortunately, the elderly are disproportionately targeted by scam artists and are often the victims of fraud and abuse,” said Schneiderman. “To prevent senior citizens from becoming victimized, we must educate them and their loved ones with information they can use to protect themselves.”

As always, some things to remember to avoid being scammed over the phone:

· Never give out billing or other personal information over the phone, especially if you receive an unsolicited telephone call from a stranger
· Never cash a check from an unknown source, especially if you are being asked to wire a portion of the proceeds to a stranger
· Never wire money to someone you don’t know who contacts you; it’s the same as handing over cash
You can — and should — file a complaint with the FTC and your state’s Attorney General when you come across a scam, whether you’ve been a victim or not.

Group says: Curb junk food ads aimed at children

A coalition of medical groups says, Canadian children under 13 shouldn’t be exposed to marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages.

Calls on food companies to immediately stop marketing foods high in fats, added sugars or sodium to children was made on Thursday’s policy statement from the Canadian Medical Association, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Hypertension Canada, College of Family Physicians of Canada and others.The proposed advertising restriction includes characters or mascots promoting sugary cereals. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Dr. Norm Campbell, a hypertension specialist at the University of Calgary who led the campaign Federal, provincial and territorial governments have said that protecting the health of children is a priority.
The groups say that in 1989, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that “advertisers should not be able to capitalize upon children’s credulity” and “advertising directed at young children is per se manipulative.” Food companies in Canada, except Quebec, are not obliged by law to restrict unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children.

Dr. Marie-Dominique Beaulieu is the president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and practices in Montreal, where she says companies have clear rules on what is considered healthy. “Up to 80 per cent of food advertising actually advertises unhealthy food and we know that it has a direct impact on the choices that children make,” Beaulieu said.

Canada hasn’t acted

The World Health Organization released recommendations on the marketing of food and beverages to children and called on governments worldwide to reduce the exposure of children to advertising and to reduce the use of powerful marketing techniques employed by the manufacturers of foods and beverages high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free added sugars or sodium last May 2011.

Canada has not acted on the recommendations, the health groups said.

The group’s statement describes the policy goal this way: “Federal government to immediately begin a legislative process to restrict all marketing targeted to children under the age of 13 of foods and beverages high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or sodium and that in the interim the food industry immediately ceases marketing of such food to children.”

They intend to use WHO’s suggestions on high content of saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or sodium.

“Right now, we have a voluntary ban on marketing of unhealthy foods to children from the food industry,” said Campbell. “The industries that have signed on to that are the worst offenders. What they’ve done is made their own definition.”

If the plan passes, the restrictions would apply to TV, internet, radio, magazines, mobile phones, video and adver-games, brand mascots, product placement, cross-promotions, school or event sponsorships and viral marketing.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest said on Wednesday night, NDP member of Parliament Libby Davies’s bill to phase in lower sodium levels in prepackaged foods and add simple, standardized labels, failed to pass with a vote of 147 to 122

Women Smokers is More Risk from Colon Cancer

It is now well-established that cancer is well-linked to smoking.  And now according to researchers, cigarettes increase the odds for developing colon cancer, especially for women.

According to the new study, published April 30 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, women who've ever smoked have an almost 20 percent increased risk for colon cancer, compared with women who never smoked.

"Women who smoke even 10 or fewer cigarettes a day increase their risks for colon cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Inger Gram, a professor in the department of community medicine at the University of Tromso in Norway.

"Because colon cancer is such a common disease, even these moderate smoking accounts for many new cases," she said. "A lot of colon cancer can be prevented if people don't smoke -- especially women."

More than 600,000 men and women ages 19 to 67 are involved in the study whereas they were surveyed by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.  Participants answered questions concerning their smoking habits, physical activity and other lifestyle factors.

Over 14 years of follow-up nearly 4,000 people developed colon cancer, and the odds were greatest for smokers, women in particular according to Gram's team.  The risk for colon cancer increased 19 percent among women who smoked and 8 percent for men who smoked, they added.

The researchers said, the more years a woman smoked, the earlier she started smoking, and the more packs of cigarettes smoked a year, the greater her risk of developing colon cancer. Women who smoked for 40 years or more increased their risk for colon cancer almost 50 percent, they added.

Gram noted, their risk was especially high for developing proximal, or right-sided, colon cancer, with a type of tumor specifically related to smoking.

Gram said she was surprised the link between smoking and colon cancer was so much greater for women, and said the reasons aren't clear.

Although this study shows an association between smoking and colon cancer, it does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. However, the link between smoking and colon cancer is more than a coincidence, Gram pointed out.

"Colon cancer is a smoking-related cancer," she said. "That has recently been established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization." Based on a review of prior research, the WHO says long-term smoking appears to double the risk of colon cancer. It also increases risk for bladder and pancreatic cancer, according to the agency.

One expert, Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, doesn't believe the heightened risk for colon cancer among women is solely related to smoking. Alcohol use, diet and lack of exercise may also play a role, Bernik said.

"Usually, smoking goes along with other bad health habits," Bernik said. "However, this adds to the growing data that cigarette smoking contributes to the increased risk of colon cancer."

Another expert offered some advice. "If you smoke, you should quit," said Dan Jacobsen, from the Center for Tobacco Control at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. "There are a lot of good methods, programs and resources out there if you want to try to quit smoking," he added.

"Smoking is just toxic to our bodies," said Jacobsen. "It's the number one preventable cause of death and disease."

Lower hypertension risk by two-thirds through lifestyle modifications

“Pursue healthy lifestyle parameters to cut the danger of high blood pressure” – springhill medical

One of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease that leads to an estimated 15 percent of all deaths worldwide each year is hypertension or high blood pressure.  Micro-cracks in the inner lining of arterial walls are caused by an excessive blood pressure consequently leads to a series of serious health concerns.  Patching materials are hurriedly pulled from blood circulation to fix the cracks; this is in a desperate attempt to prevent a potentially deadly hemorrhage. This may save you today and can continue a life for a while but over the course of several decades, plaque volume increases until blood flow is cut off to the heart and brain, or a clot becomes lodged in a narrowed artery.  There are a number of important lifestyle factors according to medical researchers.  These factors increase the risk for hypertension.  They also found out that blood pressure can be returned to normal without the need for pharmaceuticals that are ineffective and wrought with deadly side-effects by modifying these actions.

Healthy behaviors regarding alcohol, physical activity, vegetable intake and body weight reduce the risk of hypertension by two-thirds; this is according to the research team from Finland reporting to the European Society of Cardiology Congress. Prevention of hypertension is essential to improving health and preventing morbidity and mortality, they further noted. Smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, obesity and consumption of vegetables are the five major cardiovascular disease-related lifestyle factors the have identified.  Their mission was to verify if correcting abnormalities in these aspects could aid forecasting the potential increase of blood pressure and development of clinical hypertension.  They developed a large legion study which includes 9,637 men and 11,430 women, aged 25 to 74 who were free of hypertension during baseline measurements. The study was 20 years in the making. The researchers set parameters for healthy lifestyle factors as follows: Not smoking, Alcohol consumption less than 50g per week, Leisure time physical activity at least three times per week, Daily consumption of vegetables, Normal body weight (BMI lower than 25).

The study authors concluded “The risk of hypertension was only one third among those having all four healthy lifestyle factors compared to those having none… four modifiable lifestyle factors: alcohol consumption, physical activity, consumption of vegetables and keeping normal weight have a remarkable effect on the development of hypertension,” after 709 men and 890 women developed hypertension all through a 16-year follow-up period. Men were more pronounced of lifestyle modifications than women, this is according to the study the team had found out.  This is maybe because it’s due to increases in alcohol consumption and a tendency toward obesity found within the male group.  The majority of health conscious persons breathe within the lifestyle parameters defined as healthy in this study.  Up till now it still acts as an important reminder to stay watchful at all stages of life to thwart hypertension and stay disease-free.

Healthier Taco Bell

Taco Bell was well-known as one of the purveyor of junk food and they wanted to start erasing that from our memory yet they are not ready to give up the chalupa yet. Wednesday, the chain announced that it’s exploring ways to offer more “balanced choices,” marking just the latest sign that the fast-food industry is trying to adapt to shifting tastes and upend the conventional wisdom that it only offers caloric indulgences.

Taco Bell is testing a “range of products” this year, with national launches planned for 2014. He also said existing menu items could also be reformulated but noted that the chain would remain true to its brand, CEO Greg Creed said. “We’re not going to walk away from who Taco Bell is,” Creed stated.

Taco Bell says, by 2020, 20% of its combo meals will meet nutritional guidelines for calories and fat set out by the federal government. People eat three meals a day, as a general thought, that means a single meal would have about a third of the recommended intake of about 2,000 to 2,500 calories. The company has no idea of what portion of meals currently meet those guidelines. Taco Bell is known for urging people to eat nachos as a “fourth meal” late at night, it is a bit of a contrary to the announcement and it gained a lot of skeptics. However it demonstrates just how much difficulty the broader industry is facing to overturn its greasy-food image as people more and more look out for alternatives they believe are healthier.

The lower-calorie options were a key indicator of growth at restaurant chains between 2006 and 2011 from a report by the Hudson Institute earlier this year. The increase in customer traffic rise by 11 per cent by those chains that expanded while those that didn’t saw traffic fall by 15 per cent, according to the public policy research group. As customer “tastes and needs” evolve, Creed said that offering more balanced choices would be critical in helping Taco Bell reach its growth targets over the next decade.

As such, he said product developers have been given “nutrition guardrails” they need to stay within. He declined to provide details on the new menu offerings that are being developed. Taco Bell’s drive to raise the image of its food pave the way for last year’s introduction of a line of “Cantina” burrito bowls that are seen as being more in line with fast-growing rival Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Taco Bell claims its lower-calorie “fresco” options, which were introduced in 2005 and come without cheese or sour cream, account for only about 2 per cent of sales. “We’ve gone from the whistle-blowing stage to the higher-expectations stage, and some of those expectations are being met,” Mark Bittman, New York Times writer, wrote in the piece, which argued that the public was ready for a healthy fast-food chain.

Those instances don’t stopped fast-food chains to offer more indulgent creations. Taco Bell rolled out hand-held tortilla-wrapped “griller” snacks; one of the varieties comes stuffed with fried potatoes, a nacho cheese sauce, bacon and sour cream, earlier this year.