We're losing bees at a rapid rate, and if Einstein was right, that could mean devastating repercussions for all of us. Find out how modern practices are contributing to this insect's demise.
For years, red wine has made headlines as a defense against heart disease. Before you uncork this potential cure, learn the facts about alcohol and vascular health.
Microwave dinners and water bottles are certainly convenient, but are they safe? Find out what you're consuming when you serve-up a side of plastic.
You've got 13.1 miles to run. We can get you there. Follow the guidelines for Dr. Jamey Gordon's half marathon training program.
If repeated injury to your hips, feet or legs is bogging down your running regimen, gait analysis might be the best way to isolate the issue.
We are a society fueled by the caffeine kick of coffee. Learn exactly what that morning jump-start means for your health and why you might want to forgo the grande.
In an effort to push themselves farther, many athletes derail their progress. Learn the symptoms of overtraining and the keys to preventing it.
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WHATS HAPPENING NOW IN WELLNESS |
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A picture is worth a thousand...dollars?
News about the popular CT angiogram has been strewn about the medical headlines recently [1,2]. This technology is billed as a way to determine coronary artery disease in those without any symptoms. The problem: There is absolutely no evidence to support this. So what do you get for your money? Some fancy pictures, and according to The New York Times, the privilege of helping your cardiologist pay for his new Hummer. Concerned?
The CT angiogram is a high-resolution CT (computed tomography) scan that is capable of taking incredible still pictures of a beating heart. Using nuclear medicine, injected into the bloodstream, the coronary arteries can be viewed in great detail, theoretically determining the level of blockage in the arteries.
At this point, CT angiography appears to be generating more harm than good. The 1-in-200 risk of developing cancer from the radiation dose is very real, while the chance that this will have any clinical ability to help someone who is not having symptoms of cardiac disease is not. The problem with this technology and its usefulness is that the 90-percent blockages detected on these scans are not the ones that kill people; it’s the 30-percent blockages. Chances are the body has already made new blood vessels to bypass the bigger blockages, so they pose little risk. The unstable, smaller plaques are the ones that rupture, causing an immediate blockage in a coronary artery resulting in a myocardial infarction (heart attack).
According to the article, it's a proven fact that a physician with a financial interest in any test, or who stands to gain some compensation for using it, will order it more often than a physician without any. The same holds true for labs. If a physician stands to profit from labs performed on their patients, they order more labs. So they market these fancy images and high technology to patients fearful of the nation’s No. 1 killer and take it right to the bank. I don’t have a problem with a patient who is willing to pay out of pocket for such technology, given they understand the poor clinical value of such fancy images and the increased cancer risk. The issue is that a lot of the money these cardiologists are making (up to 50 percent of their $400,000 income) comes from Medicare and other insurance carriers.