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Do you understand your body well enough to pick up early "alerts" indicating that there are something wrong inside of you?    What should you do weekly, monthly or even yearly to reduce your risk of developing complications arising from your medical condition?  If you are not sure then you should learn more about your condition here...

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Angina

Key Points

• Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough blood. Angina may feel like pressure or a squeezing pain in your chest. The pain may also occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back.
• Most people with angina have coronary artery disease, with narrowed arteries due to atherosclerosis. When arteries are narrowed, blood flow to the heart is reduced.
• More than 6 million people in the United States have angina.
• The most common types of angina are stable angina and unstable angina. A less common type of angina is called variant angina.
• Stable angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when the heart is working harder than usual. Pain from stable angina goes away when you rest or take your angina medicine. Angina medicine, such as nitroglycerin, helps widen and relax the arteries so that more blood can flow to the heart.
• Unstable angina is a very dangerous condition that requires emergency treatment. Unstable angina is a sign that a heart attack could occur soon. Unstable angina can occur without physical exertion. It is not relieved by rest or medicine.
• Variant angina is caused by a spasm in a coronary artery. The spasm causes the walls of the artery to tighten. This narrowing of the artery slows or stops blood flow to the heart.
• Doctors diagnose angina based on your health history, your family’s health history, a physical exam, and the results of various tests.
• Angina is usually treated with medicines such as nitrates (nitroglycerin). People with angina may need to take other medicines to lower their blood pressure or cholesterol. They also may take medicine to prevent blood clots.
• To prevent and treat angina, it is important to make changes to improve your health. Get regular physical activity, maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, and eat a healthy diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. A cardiac rehab program can be helpful for many people with angina.
• When medicines and lifestyle changes do not control angina, special procedures may be needed. Angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery are two common procedures used to treat angina.
• If you have angina, it is important to know the pattern of your angina, about your medicine, how to control your angina, and the limits on your physical activity. You should know how and when to seek medical help.

What Is Angina?

Angina (an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh) is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough blood. Angina may feel like pressure or a squeezing pain in your chest. The pain may also occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. It may also feel like indigestion.

Angina is a symptom of coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type of heart disease. CAD occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries. This buildup of plaque is called atherosclerosis. As plaque builds up, the coronary arteries become narrow and stiff. Blood flow to the heart is reduced. This decreases the oxygen supply to the heart muscle.

Types of Angina

The three types of angina are stable, unstable, and variant (Prinzmetal's). It is very important to know the differences among the types.

• Stable angina. Stable angina is the most common type. It occurs when the heart is working harder than usual.
  • There is a regular pattern to stable angina. After several episodes, you learn to recognize the pattern and can predict when it will occur.
  • The pain usually goes away in a few minutes after you rest or take your angina medicine.
  • Stable angina is not a heart attack but makes it more likely that you will have a heart attack in the future.
• Unstable angina. Unstable angina is a very dangerous condition that requires emergency treatment. It is a sign that a heart attack could occur soon. Unlike stable angina, it does not follow a pattern. It can occur without physical exertion and is not relieved by rest or medicine.
• Variant angina. Variant angina is rare. It usually occurs at rest. The pain can be severe and usually occurs between midnight and early morning. It is relieved by medicine.

Not all chest pain or discomfort is angina. Chest pain or discomfort can be caused by a heart attack, lung problems (such as an infection or a blood clot), heartburn, or a panic attack. However, all chest pain should be checked by a doctor.

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Diabetes

Points to Remember

• Diabetes and pre-diabetes are diagnosed by checking blood glucose levels.
  
• Many people with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years.
  
• If you have pre-diabetes, you can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes with a low-fat, low-calorie diet, modest weight loss, and regular physical activity.
  
• If you are 45 or older, you should consider getting tested for diabetes. If you are 45 or older and overweight, it is strongly recommended that you get tested.
  
• If you are younger than 45, are overweight, and have one or more of the risk factors, you should consider testing.

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Leprosy

Synonyms

• Hansen's Disease

Disorder Subdivisions

• Indeterminate Leprosy
• Borderline Tuberculoid Leprosy
• Midborderline Leprosy
• Borderline Lepromatous Leprosy
• Lepromatous Leprosy
• Tuberculoid Leprosy

General Discussion

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease of humans caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. For many years, it was considered a mysterious disorder associated with some type of curse, and persons with the disease were isolated and ostracized. Today, there is effective treatment and the disease can be cured. There is no longer any justification for isolating persons with leprosy.

The disease can affect the skin, mucous membranes, and eyes and some of the nerves that are located outside the central nervous system (peripheral nerves). These are primarily the nerves of the hands, feet, and eyes, and some of the nerves in the skin. In severe, untreated cases, loss of sensation, muscle paralysis of hands and feet, disfigurement, and blindness may occur.

Leprosy has traditionally been classified into two major types, tuberculoid and lepromatous. Patients with tuberculoid leprosy have limited disease and relatively few bacteria in the skin and nerves, while lepromatous patients have widespread disease and large numbers of bacteria. Tuberculoid leprosy is characterized by a few flat or slightly raised skin lesions of various sizes that are typically pale or slightly red, dry, hairless, and numb to touch (anesthetic). Lepromatous leprosy is at the other end of the spectrum, with a much more generalized disease, diffuse involvement of the skin, thickening of many peripheral nerves, and at times involvement of other organs, such as eyes, nose, testicles, and bone. There are also intermediate subtypes between these two extremes that are commonly known as borderline leprosy. The intermediate subtypes are borderline tuberculoid, midborderline, and borderline lepromatous leprosy. Borderline leprosy and the subtypes are characterized by more extensive disease than polar tuberculoid, with more numerous skin lesions and more nerve involvement, but not as widespread disease as in lepromatous leprosy. Indeterminate leprosy refers to a very early form of leprosy that consists of a single skin lesion with slightly diminished sensation to touch. It will usually progress to one of the major types of leprosy.

In 1982, the World Health Organization proposed a simplified classification that has only two classifications, Paucibacillary (PB) and Multibacillary (MB), leprosy. This classification is now used worldwide for treatment purposes. The older and somewhat more complex classification is still used in some programs, especially for clinical research studies. The Paucibacillary classification encompasses indeterminate, tuberculoid and borderline tuberculoid leprosy. The Multibacillary classification includes midborderline, borderline lepromatous and lepromatous leprosy.

Resources

American Leprosy Missions

1 ALM Way
Greenville, SC 29601
USA

Tel: 8642717040
Fax: 8642717062
Tel: 8005433135

Email: amlep@leprosy.org

Internet: http://www.leprosy.org



Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30333

Tel: (404)639-3534
Tel: (800)311-3435

Email: http://www.cdc.gov/netinfo.htm

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/



National Hansen's Disease Programs

1770 Physicians Park Dr
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
USA

Tel: 8006422477

Email: mtemplet@hrsa.gov

Internet: http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/nhdp/



NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

9000 Rockville Pike
Building 31A
Bethesda, MD 20892

Tel: (301)496-5717
Fax: (301)402-0120

Internet: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/

For a Complete Report

For additional information and assistance about rare disorders, please contact the National Organization for Rare Disorders at P.O. Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813-1968; phone (203) 744-0100; web site www.rarediseases.org or email orphan@rarediseases.org

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