“It is imperative to accurately diagnose patients who come to the emergency department with chest pain,” said Dr. John Mahmarian, cardiologist at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and principal investigator of the study. “Unfortunately, diagnosing chest pain is often expensive and time-consuming. This new data could save millions of health care dollars and countless hours spent waiting on unnecessary tests.”

Mahmarian’s research, which was published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, shows that patients with a coronary artery calcium score of zero can be safely sent home without further cardiac testing.

Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) is a simple and readily available test for identifying coronary artery disease. CACS is done with a computed topography (CT) scanner. A CT scan uses x-rays to make a detailed image of the heart, showing calcium build up in the coronary arteries. The images can be read almost immediately after the scan. A CACS of zero correlates with an excellent short-term outcome and predicts a normal SPECT, which is a more advanced imaging test that is usually done following a CACS test.

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The most important thing I tell my female patients is to stay to as physically fit as possible. Every woman should work exercise into her lifestyle. Find something you enjoy doing, and do it regularly and often.

In addition to exercising, follow the Mediterranean diet, which is high in fish and fresh vegetables, and low in processed carbohydrates.

Get your cholesterol checked, especially if there is a family history of heart disease or stroke. At age 20 women are seeing their OB/gynecologists who perform blood pressure checks, fasting lipid panels and fasting sugars. Even young women should pay attention to these numbers and be on alert if any are out of range. If these numbers are abnormal, they indicate that you are at risk for developing heart problems in the future. They are early warning signals, which if corrected and treated can help prevent the development of heart disease. Often these numbers can be corrected with lifestyle changes including improving your diet, exercising and losing weight. If these measures fail, they can be easily corrected with medication.

I like to do an initial, thorough heart check at age 40 if a woman has risk factors or a family history of heart disease, or at age 50 if there’s no family history or risk factors. I don’t recommend heart scans until age 55.

Women should also be aware of stroke. Stroke prevention is very similar to heart disease prevention. Blood thinners and cholesterol drugs called statins have been shown to help prevent heart attacks and the need for bypass and angioplasty. These same drugs are also proven to reduce the incidence of stroke.

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“I’ve seen a number of injuries, some fatal, occur on Super Bowl Sunday because people often pay more attention to the game than to their health and safety,” said Dr. Jeff Kalina, associate medical director of emergency medicine at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “The ER is usually busy after the game and we expect it to be no different this Sunday.”

Super Sunday usually brings on a rise in drunken driving accidents and stomach ailments because of the mixture of alcohol and junk food. People who drink too much and fail to get up and go to the bathroom can also develop a problem called urinary retention, a condition where the bladder gets so full that the muscles are not strong enough to generate a stream.

“During most sporting events people will get up and use the restroom during the commercials and not have any problem,” Kalina said. “However, most of the time the commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl, so we have seen people who have to come in and have a catheter put in to relieve themselves.”

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Kaufman has spent more than 60 years as a researcher and clinician.  A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kaufman received his medical degree in 1948 from the University of Maryland.  He completed residencies and postdoctoral fellowship at The Methodist Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital in New York City.  He served as the chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine from 1973-1992 and chief of OB/GYN at Texas Children’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital until 1992.

Kaufman is an active member of numerous organizations and peer review boards and has held offices in many of them.  He has been president of the Houston Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the International Society for the Study of Vulvar Disease and the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  He is also the author of more than 270 published articles and numerous book chapters.

“Dr. Kaufman is an amazing clinician and researcher and an exemplary model of compassionate care and dedication to humankind. We congratulate him on such a well-deserved honor,” said Ron Girotto, president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital System.

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Dr. Bradley Weiner, chief of spinal surgery at Methodist, is the director of the Spine Advanced Technology Laboratory (SATL). Methodist Drs. Harvey Smith and Christopher Loo are co-directors.

“Nanotechology has the ability to affect things at a molecular level,” Weiner said. “The use of nanotechnologies to treat disease or repair damaged tissues—such as bone, cartilage, muscle or nerve—might allow physicians to intervene more efficiently and safely than currently possible.”

Researchers in the lab - working on-site and with collaborators within the Texas Medical Center and beyond - will look at various ways nanotechnology can improve the treatment of musculoskeletal disease.

“Using nanotechnology, we hope to be able to deliver drugs directly to the affected area thereby limiting exposure to other tissues. In the future, we hope to give an injection into the vein and, with sophisticated mapping, send it directly to specific musculoskeletal tissues, including the spine, and release the medication exactly where it is needed,” Weiner said. “We are exploring many avenues of intervention such as the delivery of proteins to help bone formation when doing fusions and ways of delivering anti-inflammatory drugs and pain medications to help decrease musculoskeletal pain.”

The lab is also developing a large biological database to improve treatments so surgeons can assess whether or not there is a genetic basis for groups of patients who do not have a good outcome during or after surgery.

“Once we determine why, we can develop screening processes and treatments for these patients and hopefully treat them early,” Weiner said. “The ultimate goal is to prevent the need for large reconstructive procedures. We believe nanotechnology provides the tools to move in that direction.”

For more information on the Methodist Orthopedic Service, go this website.

Dr. Sophie Fletcher, a urologist at The Methodist Hospital, recently joined other reconstructive surgeons in Segou, Mali, to surgically treat 37 women living with vesicovaginal fistulas, a devastating condition suffered by many women in Africa and other third world countries.

Fletcher, who volunteered with a Physicians for Peace medical team in Segou, plans to be team leader on the organization’s next mission to Mali in 2010.

An important focus of Physicians for Peace is treatment and prevention of VVF and RVF (vesicovaginal fistula and rectovaginal fistula). These serious complications of childbirth occur during prolonged childbirth, resulting in severe tissue damage in the mother’s pelvis and constant urine drainage.

“Poverty, malnutrition, poor health services, early childbearing and gender discrimination all contribute to obstetric fistula,” said Fletcher, who is also Director of Research for the Methodist Center for Restorative Pelvic Medicine. “These women become pregnant at a very young age, must live with this condition, and then are ostracized by their community. Without treatment, their prospects for work and family life are greatly diminished, and they often are left to rely on charity.”

Fletcher and other Physicians for Peace team members also had the opportunity to instruct local African surgeons regarding surgical techniques and post-surgical care of VVF.

This was the second such mission to this region. Physicians for Peace is helping with efforts to address this widespread health problem and to assist with work being done as part of the United Nations Millennium Villages Project. The core mission of the project is to help underserved regions of sub-Saharan Africa reach the Millennium Development Goals for ending poverty and improving maternal and child health by 2015.

Visit the Methodist Center for Restorative Pelvic Medicine.

“Most of us will eat snacks and sweets the week leading up to Thanksgiving or Christmas, then continue for days afterwards,” said Gaye Lynn Hicks, RD, LD, with The Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston. “This often leads to a whole season of eating and before you know it you have put on five to 10 pounds in a short amount of time.”

Instead of dieting, change your focus to a healthy lifestyle. Concentrate on eating healthy when you are not at holiday gatherings and exercising at least three days a week. Once you get into the “lifestyle mentality” it will be easier for you to eat healthier after indulging in fattening foods usually offered around the holidays.

“Look at your calendar and mark down the parties where you will want to eat more and others that will be more diet friendly,” said Jill Sechi, clinical dietitian specialist with The Methodist Weight Management Center. “If you focus and plan ahead it will be easier to avoid the inevitable pitfalls of wanting to eat more at holiday gatherings.”

When it comes to food, most of us have an all or nothing mentality. We think if we eat one big meal we have blown our weight loss plan for the week and then we tend to eat even more. One day leads to two days to a week to a month and to a lot of excess weight. Your goal during the holiday season should be to maintain your weight and then concentrate on losing again after the first of the year.

“Most of the time it’s all in our head. We think we’ve blown our diet when that is simply not true,” Hicks said. “The bottom line is if you want to eat mashed potatoes, lathered in all kinds of stuff, during your holiday meal, do it. It will be easier to keep the holiday pounds off if you remember that your annual feast is just one meal.”

For more information go to The Methodist Weight Management Center website or call 832-667-LOSE (5673).

“The turkey, dressing (as long as it is cooked outside the turkey), green beans and sweet potatoes by themselves will not cause heartburn because they are not high in acid or fat,” said Dr. Gulchin Ergun, a gastroenterologist with The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “It’s the high fat items we put on them such as gravy, butter, sour cream, and a variety of cheeses that cause the problems.”

Ergun says everyone has heartburn issues from time to time.  If the problem persists after the holiday season; and you have trouble swallowing, nausea or vomiting on a regular basis, Ergun says you should see a physician before these problems turn into more serious medical concerns.”

“Being in the hospital, away from family and festivities, can be a bit unnerving and sad for most people,” said Denice Foose, a chaplain in the department of spiritual care and education at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “Anytime you can bring a holiday ritual into a patient’s room, whether it’s writing Christmas cards, or reading a favorite holiday story, it can make it feel more like home and make it easier on everyone.”

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DVT is a condition where blood clots form in the deep veins of the lower legs and thighs. Sitting for long periods of time, either in an airplane or in a car can limit circulation in the legs, leading to a blood clot forming in the vein.

The clot can travel unnoticed through the blood stream and lodge in the brain, lungs, heart or other areas causing severe damage to organs, and in some cases, death.“The last thing we think about when we are taking a long trip to a fun destination or to see family for the holidays is DVT,” said Dr. Alan Lumsden, a vascular surgeon with the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston. “However, it is a serious condition that can be avoided if you simply get up and move around during your flight or long car ride.” I

If the person has the ability to get up every couple of hours and walk around, the following exercises can be done while sitting down:

·  Extend both legs and move both feet back and forth in a circular motion.

·  Move the knee up to the chest and hold the stretch for at least 15 seconds.