Wellness
Heart conditions can be ‘silent’
The image many people get when they think
of heart conditions is a grown man cluthing
his chest. But not all heart conditions are
as obvious or pronounced as a heart attack.
Ischemia is a term used to describe the
restriction of oxygen-rich blood to an area of
the body. Cardiac ischemia occurs when the
blood cannot reach the heart.
Generally, cardiac ischemia causes pain
in the chest, known as angina. However, in
some cases, there is no warning pain and the
condition is called silent ischemia.
Facts and fi gures
Silent ischemia affects roughly three to four
million Americans every year. Individuals who
have had a previous heart attack are at higher
risk for silent ischemia than others. But there
are many other risk factors:
• Diabetes
• Coronary artery disease
• Hypertension
• Coronary artery anomalies
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Cardiomyopathy
If ischemia lasts too long or is especially
severe, it may cause a heart attack. It can also
affect the natural rhythm of the heart and its
pumping ability, which can cause fainting, and
even sudden cardiac arrest.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Silent ischemia has no symptoms. However,
if a person has had previous episodes of chest
pain, there’s a liklihood that he or she could
also be experiencing silent ischemia and not
know it. Doctors may use an exercise stress test
to determine silent ischemia. Also, a special
monitor called a Holter monitor will record the
heart rate and rhythm over the course of a day
and determine if ischemia occurred.
Treatment
The main way to treat silent ischemia is to
reduce certain behaviors that increase risk. This
includes quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol,
and maintaining a healthy weight and diet.
For those who are diagnosed with silent
ischemia, there are some treatment options
available. Most of these involve improving
blood fl ow to the heart, which often requires
prescription medications. Oxygen also may
be given to increase the oxygen content of the
blood that is reaching the heart. Other people
may take medicines that relax blood vessels,
enabling more blood to fl ow. In most cases, this
is all that is needed to fi x the situation. For those
not responding to treatment, they may need a
percutaneous coronary intervention, such as
balloon angioplasty, coronary artery bypass
surgery, or a similar procedure.
Silent ischemia is a potentially dangerous heart condition that’s
diffi cult to detect and can result in cardiac arrest.
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
RELIEVES BACK PAIN
COURIER LIFE, J PS ULY 19-25, 2019 27
DRX9000TM
Surgeons perform an estimated 300,000 to 400,000
back surgeries every year. Annually, neurosurgeons
perform at least 100,000 operations for lumbar disc
disease alone, and orthopedic surgeons perform a
similar number. It is estimated that between 20% and
40% of these operations are unsuccessful.
That is why doctors from all over the country
are racing to acquire and get trained to operate the
DRX9000TM, an FDA approved device that is saving
thousands of Americans suffering from chronic back
pain from going under the knife.
Dr. Melinda Keller, who treats serious back
pain without surgery explains how the DRX9000TM
works... “Over 10 years ago, NASA began to notice
an unexpected result of space travel: Astronauts that
left with back pain would come back without it. After
investigated this now phenomenon here’s what they
found: During the anti-gravity state of the mission there
were decompressive forces on the intervertebral discs
and back pain was relieved. How? When you travel
through space, the effects of gravity are removed
and you are in a weightless state. All the pressure is
taken off your spine and discs. Even better — and
this is the key — a negative pressure is created. This
negative pressure actually sucks the herniated material
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non-surgical solution.”
The main conditions the DRX9000TM has documented
success with are back pain, sciatica, herniated
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disc disease, facet syndromes and a relapse or failure
following back surgery.
Anyone wishing to learn more about this new
FDA approved solution to back pain or to set up an
appointment for a free consultation call Dr. Keller’s
office at 718 234-6212 or visit Brooklyn Spine
Center, 5911 16th Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11204.
Brooklynspinecenter.com.
S f i d 3
Local doctor treats herniated and bulging discs,
sciatica, and serious lower back pain
WITHOUT BACK SURGERY
/Brooklynspinecenter.com