A study conducted by Ball State University’s Global Health Institute suggests that the number of adults with asthma is increasing. Asthma is often thought of as a condition that affects mostly children.

In the study, researchers found that about 14 percent of adults in Indiana suffer from asthma. Nationwide statistics showed a similar percentage of adults with asthma. Adults under the age of 45-years-old were more likely to say they had experienced asthma at some point in their lives: 16 percent of people between the ages of 16- and 44-years-old said they had suffered from asthma before, while only 11 percent of adults ages 45-years-old and older said they had had asthma.

Asthma can usually be easily managed with medications, but because there are so many triggers for asthma, people suffering from asthma can experience potentially serious attacks of asthma at almost any time.

If you or someone you love experiences a medical emergency like an asthma attack, come into the Neighbors Emergency Center in Houston immediately. Contact our office to learn more about our services by calling 713-669-9900.

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A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that the long-term risk of heart disease is much higher than the short-term.

The study argues that previous studies focus on how heart disease risk factors like smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol affect one’s risk of developing heart disease over the next 5 to 10 years.  However, even just one of these risk factors can significantly increase one’s lifetime risk of heart disease, according to the study.

254,000 people participated in the study.  Participants included men and women, ages 45-, 55-, 65-, and 75-years old.  Researchers found that people with more than 1 risk factor had up to a 10 times greater risk of developing heart disease in their lifetime than participants without any risk factors.

45-year old male participants with no risk factors were found to have a 1.4 percent chance of developing heart disease in their lifetime, while 45-year old males with at least 2 risk factors had a 49.5 percent chance of developing heart disease.  Similarly, with 45-year old women with no risk factors, the risk of developing heart disease in the long-term was 4.1 percent, but the risk increased to 30.7 percent among 45-year old women with at least 2 risk factors.

To learn more about the emergency care services provided at the Neighbors Emergency Clinic, contact our office by calling 713-669-9900.  In the case of an emergency, come into our office immediately; our doctors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

(Source)