Learn About the Risks

Cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States. It accounts for nearly 440,000 deaths each year, of which more than 135,000 are due to smoking related cardiovascular diseases. Cigarette smokers are two-to-three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.

Stop Smoking: Resources and Tools for Quitting

Your heart will thank you for quitting smoking, so don't waste any time. The health benefits start almost immediately, and within a few years of quitting your risk of stroke and coronary artery disease are similar to non-smokers. We can help with resources and tools for the healthiest decision you will make - stopping smoking.ent unit

Fighting Tobacco Deaths through Advocacy

For decades the American Heart Association has been working to reduce the number of senseless deaths that result from tobacco use. Thanks in part to our work, there is no smoking on airline flights, there are lifesaving automated external defibrillators in many public places, and many of us enjoy smoke free communities.

Since there is always a situation where a vitamin or mineral supplement can become harmful, please employ some common sense rules to protect yourself.

1) Find out as much as you can about a supplement before taking it, both good and bad. Never treat any information as the whole truth. We are always learning more.

2) Learn about the correct dose for effectiveness.

3) Start very slowly with low doses.

4) Add one new supplement at a time.

5) Observe how you react.

6) Don't overdo anything, yet don't be afraid to try things. Even though something may start out as very helpful, eventually you may not need it, or continuing to take it may even become harmful.

7) If your health is hanging by a thread, then consult a professional and have him test everything reasonable before starting on any vitamin or mineral supplement. Usually, but not always, a naturopathic doctor or an alternative doctor will know more about vitamins and minerals than a conventional doctor. ENT UNIT

8) Trust your body's reaction. If a supplement was great for someone else with the same condition, but it makes you sicker, then stop taking the supplement. Find out more. Perhaps you are starting with too high a dose. Maybe the supplement has to be taken with food or another supplement. Perhaps something else in your body must be corrected before you can tolerate this supplement. Sometimes the brand is no good. Many bargain brands have impurities that make people sick. Sometimes a supplement doesn't contain the amount or even the substance as shown on the label, even in a supposedly good brand. If the herb isn't wild-crafted (no commercial fertilizers and pesticides), then sometimes the herb isn't very active, like in the case of echinacea. Usually a powder or capsule is going to be absorbed better than a hard tablet

Better lifestyle habits can help you reduce your risk for heart attack. Learn what you can do to help prevent heart disease and stroke.

You Are What You Eat
Better food habits can help you reduce your risk for heart attack. A healthful eating plan means choosing the right foods to eat and preparing foods in a healthy way.

Managing Your Weight
We can help you manage your lifestyle to better manage your weight and reduce your risk for heart attack.

Exercise & Fitness
Swimming, cycling, jogging, skiing, dancing, walking and dozens of other activities can help your heart. Whether it is included in a structured exercise program or just part of your daily routine, all physical activity adds up to a healthier heart.

Kids and a Healthy Lifestyle
The American Heart Association is working to raise public awareness about the serious threat posed by childhood obesity. Learn more about the various ways on how you can become involved in improving children's health.

It's Not Just a Man's Disease
Heart disease is far and away the leading cause of death of American women, but you can do a lot to help protect yourself and women from it. Read this section for some important advice.

Most children with special health care needs don't have higher dental expenses than other children, a study finds. And they are just as likely as others to visit a dentist.

About 1 in every 6 children has a special health care need. These include physical, behavioral, emotional and developmental needs. Past research has found that these children tend to have more dental problems and less access to dental care. In fact, dental care is reported to be the greatest unmet health care need in this group of children.

But the new study did not find such a gap in dental care. (ENT UNIT)

Researchers from the University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , did the study. They looked at information from a 2004 national survey. The study included 8,518 children. Their age range was 2 to 17.

About 19% of these children had special health care needs. Compared with other children, those with special health care needs were more likely to be:

l Older
l Male
l Hispanic
l From low-income families
l From families without a college degree
l Insured

Children with special health care needs were just as likely as other children to have dental expenses during the previous year. They were just as likely to get:
l Preventive care, such as a tooth cleaning
l Diagnostic care, such as X-rays
l Restorative care, such as fillings
l Other types of care

Several factors had no effect on whether children got dental care. Dental visits did not vary by the child's race, age or insurance type. The parents' income and education level also did not affect whether children went to the dentist.

However, the study found that only 42% of special-needs children and 43% of other children received preventive dental care.

Dental professionals say that all children should visit the dentist at least twice a year for a check-up. Children with special health care needs may need to visit more often. They also may need to start going to the dentist at a younger age.

The study did not find that children with special health care needs have problems accessing dental care. But other research suggests that this might be an issue. Special-needs children may be better served by visiting pediatric dentists and other dentists with targeted training. These dentists are in short supply in some areas of the country.

In April 2009, the Chinese government released a plan for the reform of 's healthcare system. According to this plan, the Chinese government will invest 850 billion RMB ($124 billion) on healthcare in the next three years, in order to provide universal medical services to the country's 1.3 billion population by 2011. The overwhelming majority of the investment will be devoted to primary level public healthcare services in impoverished regions in Central and Western China . This is in addition to social and individual contributions to healthcare expenditure.

The Chinese Premier, Mr. Wen Jiabao, disclosed that the plan covered five aspects, and one of the aspects was to rebuild thousands of clinics and hospitals in the next three years, especially in rural areas. It was estimated that the expenditure on medical devices will reach 100 billion RMB ($15 billion) in the next three years.

In , most township hospitals and county hospitals are lacking basic medical devices, such as black and white ultrasound imaging equipment and analogue X-ray equipment. According to the plan, 29,000 township hospitals and 2,000 county hospitals will be upgraded. IMS Research believes that many local medical device manufacturers who supply low-end equipment will benefit greatly from the plan.

On the other hand, some multinational medical device manufacturers, who had previously focused on high-end medical device markets, have also changed their strategies to generate more business from the huge mid-tier and low-end rural market. In 2007, Siemens Medical in initiated a five-year program with assistance from the China Ministry of Health. With total investment of $10 million, the aim of this program is to upgrade medical devices in hospitals in rural areas. In December 2008, GE Healthcare founded a joint venture with the Shinva Medical Company, a local Chinese medical equipment supplier, to mainly produce low-end X-ray equipment for the rural market. Similar strategies have been adopted by other multinational players, such as Philips Medical and Carestream, to compete in this mid-tier and low-end rural medical device market.

Despite this new focus, IMS Research believes that the multinational medical device suppliers will struggle to compete with the local suppliers in terms of cost and sales channels. Market research analyst, Owen Tang commented: "Local medical device giants, such as Wandong, Shinva and Mindray have already focused more on the rural market. Since mid-tier and low-end medical devices are mostly purchased via government bidding, local products may be preferred if prices are low and the quality good. It has also proven quite hard for multinationals to expand business in rural areas as distribution channels cannot easily be set up".

The healthcare reform plan is kicking off a new round of competition in the medical device market in . Both local and foreign manufacturers have their own advantages and disadvantages. Who will win, and how will this affect the market? InMedica (the medical research group at IMS Research) will be following events closely over the next few years.

News from:http://www.novolhealthcare.com/