Higher Risks for Babies Born by Repeat C-Section

When a woman delivers a baby by cesarean section, the possibility that she can deliver vaginally after that c-section (VBAC) is sometimes reduced because of the related risks, with some hospitals not even allowing a vaginal delivery after a prior c-section. Many women that have delivered once by c-section choose to have their next child by c-section also to avoid those risks that come with a VBAC. However, a recent study conducted by Dr. Beena Kamath has found that babies delivered by elective, repeat c-section delivery are nearly twice as likely as those born vaginally after a previous c-section to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The babies delivered by c-section also had a greater risk of developing breathing problems requiring oxygen in the delivery room. For the study, Kamath, a clinical instructor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, looked at hospital records from late 2005 through mid-2008.

Kamath and her colleagues analyzed the records of babies born to 343 women who had planned a repeat, elective c-section and 329 women who chose to attempt a vaginal birth after a previous c-section. For each group, the team looked at admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit, the need for oxygen and the cost of the hospital stay. The researchers then divided the women into four groups, with 104 of the women with repeat c-section having gone into labor before the c-section and 239 having not, and 85 of the 329 women who attempted vaginal delivery ultimately requiring a c-section. Of the babies born via c-section, 9.3 percent were admitted to the NCIU, while only 4.9 percent of those born vaginally were admitted. Oxygen was required by 41.5 percent of the c-section babies in the delivery room, while only 23.2 percent of the vaginally delivered babies needed oxygen. Of the babies that were admitted to the NICU, 5.8 percent of the c-section babies and 2.4 percent of the vaginally delivered babies required oxygen while in the unit. For babies delivered vaginally, the median hospital stay was three days, while the median stay for the other three groups was four days. As for cost, the average total cost for the group with vaginal delivery was $6,647 and the average total cost for the c-section group was $8,268.

Kamath noted that the babies born vaginally after their mother had a previous c-section required the most resuscitation and had the most expensive total birth experience. However, in terms of hospital stay and other measures, the VBAC group did better than the c-section group. When a woman requires or elects to have a c-section, it is important for her to know the risks of both repeat c-section and vaginal delivery after that prior c-section. The study, which was published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, may influence more women to discuss with their doctor their delivery options after a c-section. Women who deliver once by c-section have more than a 90 percent chance of having another c-section, with many experts and doctors continuing to debate whether a repeat c-section or vaginal delivery is safer. If the death or injury of your baby resulted from a mistake by a doctor or a mistake by a hospital, please call or e-mail the birth injury attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. to discuss the facts of your case. Our firm serves clients in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens, New York City, and Long Island, NY.

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New Chemotherapy Treatment Strategy for Pancreatic Cancer Patients

According to the American Cancer Society, about 2 out of 10 of people with pancreatic cancer live at least one year after their cancer is found and less than 4 percent will be alive after 5 years. In the pancreas, both the exocrine and endocrine cells can form tumors, however, tumors formed by the exocrine cells are much more common. These tumors frequently spread and are often aggressive when diagnosed, since symptoms do not appear until the cancer is very advanced. Pancreatic tumors are one of the most difficult forms of cancer to treat because of their resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. Doctors believe that chemotherapy is usually ineffective because pancreatic tumors have few blood vessels to transport the drug where it needs to go to kill the cancerous cells. However, researchers have recently found a way to use chemotherapy more effectively and double the survival time of mice with pancreatic cancer. For the study, scientists genetically engineered the mice to develop pancreatic cancer and then treated them with a chemotherapy drug in addition to a compound that boosts blood flow in the tumors. The average survival time of the treated mice doubled from 11 to 25 days, which would mean a significant increase for people with pancreatic cancer.

Although several pancreatic cancer treatments that were successful in mice failed in human trials, the scientists conducting this study believe they have found a way to have better success in humans. If this treatment was effective in people, it may be possible to double their survival time, which would mean adding months to the lives of many pancreatic cancer patients. One issue at hand would be the cost of the treatment, if it did eventually become available to people with pancreatic cancer. Some current chemotherapy drugs can cost thousands of dollars each month, making it extremely difficult for patients to afford treatment that could extend their lives. Still, much more research would be needed before any doctor would be able to offer this type of treatment to patients with this form of cancer. If you or a loved one has had a delay in diagnosing cancer and have questions about the quality of the medical care you received, please call or e-mail the cancer malpractice attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. for answers. Together we will continue our fight against FRIVOLOUS and DECEPTIVE DEFENSES. We offer free consultations to clients with Manhattan cancer malpractice, Bronx cancer malpractice, Brooklyn cancer malpractice, Queens cancer malpractice and Long Island cancer malpractice cases.

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Estrogen’s Effect on Heart Failure in Men

According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure and 670,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump a sufficient amount of blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Traditional treatment plans for heart failure include lifestyle changes, medication and in some cases, surgery. However, a recent study conducted in Poland has found that having just the right amount of estrogen, a female hormone produced by the ovaries, may be beneficial to men with heart failure. The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed 501 men with an average age of 58 for three years. All of the men had heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction of 28 percent, which is a measurement of the capacity at which the heart is pumping. According to the Mayo Clinic, a normal LV ejection fraction is 55 to 70 percent and this number may decrease as a result of heart damage from heart failure or other problems. Over the three-year period, 171 of the men involved in the study died, with those participants with the highest and lowest levels of estrogen having a higher chance of death.

Of the group with the lowest estrogen levels, 44.6 percent were still living after the three years, while 65.8 percent of the group with the second-lowest levels were still surviving. Men with average levels of estrogen had a survival rate of 82.4 percent. The group of men with elevated levels had a 79 percent rate of survival, while those with the highest levels of estrogen had a 63.6 percent survival rate at the end of the study. These findings suggested a four times greater risk of dying for men with heart failure with the lowest levels of estrogen compared to those with average levels. The findings also suggest that the risk of death is more than twice as high for men with the highest levels of estrogen than those with average levels. Several heart specialists believe that more research needs to be conducted before any estrogen treatments are used for men with heart failure, with the effect of this hormone being seen in both high and low levels. If you or a loved one has experienced a serious injury or death as a result of a delay in diagnosis or treatment of a heart problem, call or e-mail the attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We serve clients with Brooklyn medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice, Manhattan medical malpratice, Queens medical malpracitce, Nassau medical malpractice and Suffolk medical malpractice cases. We also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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ICU Patients Benefit From Early Exercise

According to a study conducted by Dr. John Kress of the University of Chicago and his research team, waking critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) for short periods of physical therapy may help them in the future. In their study, Kress and his colleagues included 104 patients who were on mechanical ventilators for 72 hours. These patients were expected to require the ventilators for another 24 hours. Before their final 24 hours of ventilation, 49 of the patients had their sedation interrupted and received early exercise and mobilization, while the other 55 received standard care and treatment. Kress and his team followed each patient’s “independent functional status” after discharge, which included their ability to walk without assistance and to carry out six everyday tasks. The researchers found that of the group that received early exercise, 59 percent were able to complete those goals within their four week follow-up. Of the group that received standard care, only about 35 percent were able to walk unaided and execute the six tasks in the four week period. In addition, researchers found that this early exercise shortened the length of time patients required a ventilator and reduced the rate of delirium episodes by 50 percent.

The study, which was published in the online edition of The Lancet, suggests that brief physical therapy for critically ill patients provided early on in ICU may lead to better outcomes for those patients. The immobilization associated with long-term sedation, which is common in ICU, can often cause complications such as weakness and neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia and depression. Interrupting this sedation and mobilizing the patient in the earliest days of their illness can improve their capabilities during recovery and their overall quality of life later on. Critically ill patients require the constant care of doctors and other health care professionals. If you or a loved one was injured by hospital medical malpractice in the New York area, call or e-mail our malpractice attorneys today for a free consultation with an experienced attorney. We serve clients with Bronx hospital malpractice, Brooklyn hospital malpractice, Queens hospital malpractice, Nassau hospital malpractice and Suffolk hospital malpractice cases.

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Increased Risk of Cardiac Death for Patients Taking Psychiatric Drugs

According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac death, also known as sudden arrest, is death resulting from an abrupt loss of heart function, or cardiac arrest. A heart attack causes heart muscle tissue to die because of a loss of blood supply and may or may not result in cardiac arrest or death. Heart attacks can cause cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death, but the terms are not interchangeable. One recent study conducted by Dr. Jussi Honkola, a researcher at the University of Oulu in Finland has found that people who suffered fatal cardiac arrest were more likely to have taken psychiatric drugs than people who survived a heart attack. For the study, Honkola and colleagues looked at the medications being taken by the 321 patients that had died as a result of sudden arrest and compared them with the medications being taken by 609 heart attack survivors. They found that almost 11 percent of the people who experienced sudden cardiac death had been taking antipsychotic drugs, compared with only 1.4 percent of those who survived a heart attack. Of the victims of sudden cardiac death, 7.4 percent had been taking an antidepressant, while only about 3 percent of the other group had been taking drugs to treat depression. Benzodiazepines, which are antianxiety drugs, were being taken by18.4 percent of those who experienced sudden cardiac death and just 5 percent of those who survived a heart attack.

The research team, led by Dr. Honkola, also found that more people in the surviving group were more likely to take aspirin and beta blockers, which reduce blood pressure. The study, which was presented at the Heart Rhythm Society’s annual meeting in Boston, did not reveal which psychiatric drugs were examined by the researchers. In addition, the findings did not clearly show whether or not these drugs directly caused any problems and there was no indication that anyone taking these psychiatric drugs should switch medications. The American Heart Association states that brain death and permanent death start to occur in just four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest. If you or a loved one has experienced a serious injury or death as a result of a delay in diagnosis or treatment of a heart problem, call or e-mail the attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We serve clients with Brooklyn medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice, Manhattan medical malpratice, Queens medical malpracitce, Nassau medical malpractice and Suffolk medical malpractice cases. We also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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Prostate Cancer Therapy Increases Risk of Fatal Cardiovascular Disease, Bone Problems

A recent study conducted by Lockwood Taylor, a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and colleagues, has found that men being treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for their prostate cancer have a greater risk of developing heart and bone problems. According to the American Cancer Society, the treatment is a hormone therapy that lowers a man’s levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. These male hormones are produced mainly in the testicles and encourage the growth of prostate cancer cells, so lowering their levels helps shrink or slow the growth of those cancerous cells. For the study, Taylor and his team reviewed 14 past studies from 1966 to 2008 that looked at the skeletal and cardivascular side effects of ADT as a treatment for prostate cancer. The researchers found that the risk of overall fracture was 23 percent higher for men with prostate cancer being treated with ADT than those not receiving the treatment. They also found that men with prostate cancer being treated with ADT were 17 percent more likely to die from fatal cardiovascular disease than those with prostate cancer that were not getting ADT. Of the 14 previous studies that were reviewed, 2 of the larger studies indicated that patients receiving ADT also had a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Although the study found a significant increase in the risk of developing these side effects for prostate cancer patients taking ADT, Taylor noted that the absolute risks are still very low. Patients on androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer should be monitored for changes in bone density and risk factors for cardiovascular problems by their doctors. If markers of a heart problem do arise, doctors will then be able to provide additional treatments to correct those problems and prevent further damage. Taylor's study supports previous findings related to ADT side effects and may help prevent serious problems for prostate cancer patients receiving the treatment. As with most treatments that come with side effects, a patient and their physician must determine whether or not the benefits of the treatment outweigh the risk of potentially harmful side effects. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 27,000 men will die from prostate cancer this year. If you or a loved one has had a delay in diagnosing cancer and have questions about the quality of the medical care you received please call Silberstein, Awad & Miklos' cancer malpractice attorneys for answers. Together we will continue our fight against FRIVOLOUS DEFENSES and DECEPTIVE DEFENSES. We offer free consultations to clients with Manhattan cancer malpractice, Bronx cancer malpractice, Brooklyn cancer malpractice, Queens cancer malpractice and Long Island cancer malpractice cases.

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Enlarged Area of the Brain Linked to Autism

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina has found that toddlers with autism are more likely to have an enlarged amygdala than children without the disability. The amygdala is a region of the brain associated with emotions and facial recognition, as well as other functions. The research team, led by Dr. Joseph Piven, found that this enlargement of the amygdala is linked to a person’s ability to share attention and experiences with other people. For the study, Piven and his team performed MRI scans on 50 children with autism and 33 children without the condition. At 2 and 4 years of age, the children involved in the study had brain scans and researchers tested certain behavioral components of autism. Piven and his team found that at 2 years old, autistic children were more likely to have an enlarged amygdala. When the researchers followed up with the children at 4 years of age, they found that this brain abnormality was stable over the period of time since they were last evaluated.

Researchers also found an enlarged amygdala was associated with joint attention, an ability where a child would be able to take cues from an adult, such as following a gaze or pointing gestures, to observe an object or event. A child’s development of joint attention occurs between 9 and 15 months of age, with most autistic children never developing this ability, resulting in a dysfunctional in social behavior and language problems. Researchers found no link between the size of a child’s amygdala and other social behaviors, including social gestures and repetitive behavior. The findings of the study, which were published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, may allow for earlier detection and intervention of autism. If you believe your child's autism was caused by a doctor's negligence, call or e-mail the attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. Our Manhattan birth injury, Bronx birth injury, Brooklyn birth injury, Queens birth injury and Long Island birth injury attorneys will evaluate your case at no charge to you. Call or submit and instant inquiry today for your FREE consultation.

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Whites More Likely to Experience Stroke Risk Factor

A recent study has found that atrial fibrillation, a stroke risk factor where the upper two chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating normally, is more likely to occur in whites than blacks. However, risk factors such as high blood pressure are more prevalent among blacks. The study, led by Dr. Kan Fang, looked at data on 110,333 white patients, 65,657 black patients and 20,114 patients whose race was not specified. Each of the nearly 200,000 study participants had made at least two clinical visits in 2007 to the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. Of the black study participants, about 42 percent had high blood pressure, while about 29 percent of white participants had high blood pressure. About 17 percent of blacks involved in the study had diabetes, a risk factor for the heart arrhythmia, compared with about 12 percent of whites. Although both high blood pressure and diabetes were more prevalent among blacks, they still experienced a 50 percent lower prevalence of atrial fibrillation, with 1.2 percent of blacks and 2.5 percent of whites experiencing the arrhythmia.

Atrial fibrillation, which is one of the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmias in the United States, is experienced by about 2.2 million people in the country. The heart arrhythmia is a risk factor for stroke because it creates an abnormal rhythm which causes the heart to beat less effectively. This decrease in the heart’s performance allows blood to pool and clot in the two upper chambers of the heart, known as the atria, increasing the risk of stroke. The risk of atrial fibrillation is higher in men and increases with age. High blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are also risk factors for the heart arrhythmia. If you or a loved one has been the victim of stroke malpractice in New York as a result of a delay in diagnosis or treatment, call or e-mail the malpractice lawyers at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. Our firm serves clients with Brooklyn stroke malpractice, Bronx stroke malpractice, Manhattan stroke malpractice, Queens stroke malpractice, Nassau stroke malpractice and Suffolk stroke malpractice cases. Call today for your FREE consultation.

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Knowing the Difference Between Heartburn and Heart Attack

When a person has heartburn, they experience a burning sensation below or behind the breastbone from stomach acid that moves up into the esophagus, causing irritation and discomfort. Heartburn sufferers usually take either antacids or H-2-receptor blockers, such as Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet, to get relief from their symptoms. However, many people are not completely sure if they are simply experiencing heartburn or something more serious, like a heart attack. For those who have been diagnosed with heart disease and also have heartburn, it is difficult to determine whether they should see a doctor or just take a heartburn medication for their symptoms. Patients with frequent heartburn should consult a doctor to make sure that is what is really occurring, find what is causing the problem and rule other heart-related problems. Since heartburn and heart trouble such as a heart attack can have similar symptoms, it can be tricky to tell one from the other. It may be helpful for a person to pay attention to their pattern of heartburn and figure out what foods or other factors cause symptoms. Knowing what triggers their heartburn will help them rule out other causes for the symptoms they are experiencing. People that experience heartburn and have not consumed any of the foods that normally cause their symptoms should be seen by a doctor to exclude heart problems as the cause of what they are feeling.

Another way a person can know when heartburn is the cause of that burning sensation is by paying attention to when they experience heartburn. In most cases, heartburn sufferers are affected 30 to 45 minutes after eating a meal or after consuming specific foods or drinks. So, if something that feels like heartburn occurs around these times, that is probably all it is. If heartburn becomes severe enough to interfere with a person’s quality of life, they should seek medical treatment for their symptoms. If a person experiences difficulty or pain when swallowing, loss of appetite, or throws up blood, they should see a doctor immediately, since these symptoms can be indicative of esophageal damage or cancer. For those who have no past history of heartburn and begin experiencing heartburn for the first time, an evaluation by a doctor should take place to rule out other problems, especially if that person has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history of heart problems, diabetes, or smokes cigarettes. A doctor should also be seen if heartburn is experienced during exercise or physical exertion, comes with other symptoms such as arm pain or shortness of breath, or if severe heartburn does not lessen or go away after taking medication. If you or a loved one has experienced a delay in diagnosis or treatment of a serious heart problem, please call or e-mail the personal injury attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We serve clients with Brooklyn medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice, Manhattan medical malpractice, Queens medical malpractice and Long Island medical malpractice cases. We also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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Preventive Measures to Avoid Head and Neck Injuries

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year almost 1.5 million people in the U.S. are treated in emergency rooms for head injuries and almost 12,000 are treated for neck fractures. Although most head injuries are minor and do not require hospitalization, severe head trauma affecting the brain can result in permanent impairment and even death. Neck injuries can also result in temporary or permanent disability, depending on the seriousness of the damage. Many injuries to the head and neck are caused by sports or other recreational activities where contact with other people or equipment is involved. However, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), these types of injuries can also result from outdoor products used on an regular basis, including playground equipment, lawn mowers, ladders, garden hoses, sprinklers and garden ornaments. Aside from sports-related injuries, the top ten causes of outdoor head injuries included:

• Ladders
• Porches, balconies or open sided floors
• Swings and swing sets
• Fences and fence posts
• Workshops (including hand and power tools and supplies)
• Playground climbing equipment and monkey bars
• Trampolines
• Slides, seesaws and teeterboards
• Other playground equipment
• Garage doors
  

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons suggest several easy ways to prevent head and neck injuries from these common causes. The association recommends that people remove debris from walkways, driveways, porches and yards, and from lawns before mowing or gardening. The AANS also advises people to store outdoor equipment and tools properly, make sure ladders are stable and secure before use and avoid using tools and equipment that are broken or not working properly. Installing outdoor handrails can prevent falls on stairs, porches and balconies, especially if children or elderly adults live in the home. Children should be kept off of playgrounds with hard surfaces and should not take part in activities that are too advanced for their age range. As a basic rule, parents or adults in charge should always supervise young children at all times to avoid potentially dangerous situations. To avoid head and neck injuries related to swimming pools, adults and children should not dive into above-ground pools or into water less than 12 feet deep. Children should also be required to wear helmets when riding a bicycle, rollerblading, skateboarding or doing some other sport on wheels. Helmets should also be worn when riding on all-terrain or other powered recreational vehicles. If you or a loved one have been seriously hurt by a delay in diagnosis or treatment of a traumatic head or neck injury, call or e-mail the brain injury attorneys in New York City at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. for your free case evaluation. We serve clients with Bronx medical malpractice, Queens medical malpractice, Brooklyn medical malpractice, Long Island medical malpractice and Manhattan medical malpractice cases.

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Middle-Aged and Older Men Should Check for Melanomas

According to the Mayo Clinic, melanomas can develop anywhere on your body, but most often develop in areas that have had exposure to the sun, such as your back, legs, arms and face. This year in the United States there will be more than 62,000 newly diagnosed cases of melanoma and about 8,420 people will die from this type of skin cancer, as estimated by the National Cancer Institute. Of those melanoma-caused deaths, 50 percent will be of white men over age 50. These statistics prompted Dr. Susan M. Swetter of Stanford University and her team to conduct research using data from 227 men age 40 and older who had been diagnosed with melanoma within three months of the study. About one fourth of the study participants had tumors that were greater than two millimeters thick, which is almost too large to be treated effectively. From the data, senior research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health Alan C. Geller and his group found that 46 percent of melanomas detected by a physician were on the back and tended to be in older men.

Melanoma, which is the only cancer in the U.S. that does not have a falling mortality rate, can be removed completely if found at an early stage. However, doctors currently have no effective treatment for late-stage melanomas, so it is extremely important for middle-aged and older men to inspect their own backs or ask for assistance from a loved one. Moles with color variation, border irregularity or ones larger than six millimeters in diameter should be watched carefully and reported to a doctor if any changes occur. Middle-aged and older men should also have areas prone to melanomas checked by their physician or a dermatologist to allow for early diagnosis if skin cancer is found. People with early-stage melanomas have a 90 percent survival rate, while those with melanomas found at a later stage experience only a 20 percent survival rate. So, finding melanomas when they are still thin can mean the difference between life and death for these men. If you or someone you love has been harmed by a delay in diagnosis or treatment of cancer, our cancer malpractice attorneys can help. Your initial consultation is FREE and there is NO FEE to you unless we recover money. Call Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. today, or submit an instant inquiry now and we will respond within 24 hours. Our experienced attorneys serve clients with Bronx cancer malpractice, Brooklyn cancer malpractice, Queens cancer malpractice, Nassau cancer malpractice and Suffolk cancer malpractice cases.

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Risk of Cleft Lip Increases with Coffee Consumption During Pregnancy

According to a recent study out of Norway, women who consume coffee early on in their pregnancy are at a higher risk of giving birth to a baby with cleft lip, a birth defect where there is a narrow opening or gap in the skin of the upper lip that extends all the way to the base of the nose. Dr. Allen J. Wilcox of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health in North Carolina worked with colleagues out of Norway, a country which has a rather high prevalence of cleft lip and cleft palate. Wilcox and his team chose to use Norwegian women for their study, since people from Norway tend to drink large amounts of coffee. Researchers looked at 573 women who had given birth to a baby with cleft lip with or without cleft palate, or cleft palate alone. Those women were then compared to 763 women who gave birth to a child with no orofacial clefts, which include cleft lip and cleft palate. Wilcox and his colleagues found that pregnant women who drank up to three cups of coffee each day during the first trimester were 1.39 times more likely to give birth to a baby with cleft lip with or without cleft palate. Pregnant women who drank three or more cups of coffee daily had a 1.59 times higher risk than non-coffee drinkers.

With the study findings, which were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Wilcox noted that having an immediate relative with cleft lip and/or cleft palate increases that person’s risk of developing an orofacial cleft by 50 times. Wilcox and his research team found no association between pregnant women's consumption of coffee and cleft palate alone. However, they did find that pregnant women who drank tea reduced their risk of having a child with this type of birth defect, which suggests that it is not the caffeine in coffee that causes an increased risk of orofacial clefts. Treatment for this birth defect involves a series of surgeries, with the first usually taking place during the baby’s first year to begin closing the lip and/or palate. In most cases, the cause of cleft lip and cleft palate are unknown and cannot be prevented, however, some drugs are believed to cause cleft lip and cleft palate. If your child has suffered an injury during birth that may have been preventable, please call or e-mail us today. Our experienced attorneys have helped clients with Manhattan birth injury, Bronx birth injury, Brooklyn birth injury, Queens birth injury, Nassau birth injury and Suffolk birth injury cases. Call or send an instant inquiry today and we will evaluate your case for FREE.

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Automated Phone System Helps People with Hypertension

Recent research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes and conducted by Dr. Pavel Hamet and colleagues has found that by using an automated calling system, people can lower their blood pressure and be more aware of their condition. The research team led by Hamet, a professor of medicine, physiology and nutrition at the University of Montreal, looked at 223 patients from 8 primary care centers located in the vicinity of Montreal. Each of the patients was asked to wear a portable blood pressure monitor that took readings 24 hours a day. Researchers gave about half of the study participants an educational booklet, while the other half received the booklet, a digital blood pressure monitor to use in their home and a book to log their readings in. Each participant in that half of the group was also called at least once a week for their most recent reading by a computer-based telephone system that they were connected to. Those blood pressure readings received by the phone system were also sent to the patient’s pharmacist and primary care physician, in case changes in treatment were necessary. Study participants who only received the educational booklet were not connected to this calling system and were monitored as they ordinarily would be.

Researchers found that after one year, study participants who had their blood pressure monitored 24 hours a day and were called by the automated system had an average decrease in systolic pressure of 11.9 mm Hg and an average decrease in diastolic pressure of 6.6 mm Hg. The group that was not monitored by the telephone system had an average reduction of 7.1 mm Hg in systolic pressure and an average reduction of 4.5 mm Hg in diastolic pressure. When blood pressure was monitored in a doctor’s office, the group that had been called saw average reductions of 18.7 mm Hg systolic and 9.1 mm Hg diastolic, while the control group had average reductions of 13.8 mm Hg systolic and 5.6 mm Hg diastolic. Patients connected to the automated telephone system were more likely to be placed on additional medications or prescribed higher doses by their physicians when compared with the control group. Hamet and his team believe that if it proved to be cost-effective, this type of automated calling system to monitor high blood pressure could become an option for patients being treated for hypertension. To learn more about ways to lower the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, visit the American Heart Association website. If you or a loved one has experienced a serious injury or death as a result of a delay in diagnosis or treatment of heart disease, call or e-mail the attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We serve clients with Brooklyn medical malpractice, Bronx medical malpractice, Manhattan medical malpratice, Queens medical malpracitce and Long Island medical malpractice cases. We also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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Coronary Artery Disease Detected Using Urine Test

German researchers recently conducted a trial using a urine test that looks for fragments of collagen, a protein that plays a significant role in blocking the arteries of the heart. For the trial, researchers performed the urine test for 67 people that showed signs of coronary artery disease. Lead study author Dr. Constantin von zur Muehlen of the University Hospital Freiberg, along with colleagues, used mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis to detect protein fragments in the urine associated with hardening of the arteries. Trial participants also received an X-ray exam known as a coronary angiography, which is standard technique for detecting hardening of the arteries. The research group then compared the results of the urine tests with the X-rays of each participant and found that the accuracy of the urine test was 84 percent.

The study, which was presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association, is not the first to try and detect coronary artery disease using a urine test. A study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in 2007 found that people with stable cardiovascular disease that had the protein albumin present in their urine had an increased risk of death. The leakage of albumin, which is normally found in the blood, into the urine was indicative of blood vessel damage in the kidneys, which led to a higher risk of cardiovascular death. Researchers involved in the study using this more recent collagen-detecting urine test believe the technique is going to require more research and development before it can be used clinically. Coronary artery disease is the leading killer of both men and women in the U.S. According to the Mayo Clinic, factors that affect a person’s chances of developing coronary artery disease include age, gender, family history, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and stress. Men have a higher risk of developing the disease than women, although the risk for women does increase after menopause. If you or a loved one has experienced a delay in diagnosis or treatment of a heart attack or other heart-related problem, call or e-mail the attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We serve clients with medical malpractice cases in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. We also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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Risk of Clots Reduced by Cholesterol Drugs

This past November, researchers conducting the Jupiter study found that statins lowered the risk of heart attack, stroke, angioplasty, bypass surgery and death. More recent results from the study suggest that these statins, which are usually used to lower cholesterol, may reduce the risk of blood clots. Clots frequently develop in the veins of the legs and can make their way to the lungs, blocking blood vessels and causing pulmonary embolism, which can lead to difficulty breathing and even death, depending on the size of the blockage. The Jupiter study, which was led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston, looked at the effect of statins on 17,802 people that did not have high cholesterol or a history of heart disease. Male participants were age 50 and older, while female participants were age 60 and older. Researchers, led by Dr. Paul M. Ridker of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease at BWH, randomly administered either a potent statin or a placebo to each of the participants. While only 94 study participants developed a clot, 60 of those were in the placebo group and only 34 were in the group taking the statin. These rather healthy people taking the cholesterol drug had a 43 percent lower risk of developing a blood clot than those taking the placebo, making it apparent that statins can improve more than just cholesterol levels.

The results of the Juniper study, which was presented at an American College of Cardiology convention and is published on The New England Journal of Medicine website, should have a strong influence in the decision of national medical panels to broaden their recommendations on who should be prescribed a statin. Crestor, the statin used in the study, is the most potent on the market and does come with side effects, including kidney problems and muscle deterioration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year nearly 600,000 people get venous clots and at least 100,000 die from those clots in the U.S. A person’s risk of developing one of these clots increases as they get older and is higher for people that are overweight, inactive or have genetic abnormalities. If you or a loved one has been harmed as a result of a missed diagnosis or failure to treat a blood clot, call or e-mail the experienced attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. today for your free consultation. We serve clients with Bronx medical malpractice, Queens medical malpractice, Brooklyn medical malpractice, Long Island medical malpractice and Manhattan medical malpractice cases.

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More Aggressive Thyroid Cancer in Patients Exposed to Radiation

According to a recent study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, thyroid cancer patients who have been exposed to radiation in the past experience worse clinical outcomes and more aggressive cancer than patients who have not. Dr. Raewyn M. Seaberg along with colleagues at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto looked at 125 thyroid cancer patients who had been exposed to radiation at least 3 years before their thyroid cancer surgery through the environment, work, treatment of some benign condition, or some other way. Researchers followed the group for an average of 10.6 years after they were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The average age of diagnosis for these study participants was 28.7 years after their time of exposure, which was at an average age of 19.4 years. Seaberg and colleagues reported that over the course of the study, 16 percent experienced a recurrence of their thyroid cancer, while 9 percent of the patients had cancer that metastasized, meaning the cancer spread to distant areas of the body. When researchers conducted a final follow-up, they found that 86 percent of the participants had beat their thyroid cancer (were cancer-free), 4 percent had recurrent thyroid cancer, 4 percent experienced distant metastases, 4 percent had died as a result of their cancer, and 2 percent had died of causes unrelated to their thyroid cancer.

The researchers, led by Seaberg, then compared those 125 patients with a group of 574 thyroid cancer patients who had not been previously exposed to radiation. They found that 83 percent of the patients that had been exposed to radiation underwent total or near-total removal of the thyroid, compared with 38 percent of those who had not been exposed. Patients in the radiation exposure group were also more likely to require additional surgery. About 16 percent of the patients that had been exposed to radiation had stage IV disease, while only about 5 percent of the non-exposure group fell into that category. Patients exposed to radiation were also more likely to have distant metastases and thyroid cancer at follow-up, and a higher percentage of the radiation exposure group died of their cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 37,000 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year in the U.S. If you or someone you love has been harmed by a delay in diagnosis or treatment of cancer, our cancer malpractice attorneys can help. Your initial consultation is FREE and there is NO FEE to you unless we recover money. Call Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. today, or submit an instant inquiry now and we will respond within 24 hours. Our experienced attorneys serve clients with Bronx cancer malpractice, Brooklyn cancer malpractice, Queens cancer malpractice, Nassau cancer malpractice and Suffolk cancer malpractice cases.

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Patients with Abnormal Heartbeat After Bypass at Higher Risk of Death

Almost 50 percent of patients who undergo bypass surgery on their heart develop atrial fibrillation, a disorder in which the heart's two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead of beating effectively, allowing blood clots to form, according to the American Heart Association. This abnormality in the heartbeat of many bypass patients has long been thought of as a brief problem that surgeons usually disregard. However, a new study conducted by Dr. Giovanni Filardo, director of the department of epidemiology at the Baylor University Medical Center Institute for Health Care Research and Improvement, along with colleagues, has found that patients that develop atrial fibrillation after bypass surgery are at a greater long-term risk of death. Researchers looked at data on nearly 7,000 patients who underwent bypass surgery between 1997 and 2006 at Baylor. After reviewing the collected data, researchers reported a 29 percent higher death rate for patients that did not have atrial fibrillation before their surgery but subsequently developed the disorder. Those patients that did develop this type of heartbeat abnormality had a 10-year mortality rate of 47.7 percent, which is significantly higher than the rate of 30.6 percent for patients that did not develop the disorder.

Researchers involved in the study reported that it is still unclear whether atrial fibrillation is the direct cause for this increased risk of death, or whether it is indicative of some other problem. However, Filardo and his team are already planning their next study, which will focus on determining whether an increased risk of death after heart bypass surgery is caused by this heartbeat abnormality. For this new study, which they hope to start early next year, the participant group will only consist of patients who did not have atrial fibrillation before they underwent bypass surgery. As with any procedure, mistakes are possible during heart bypass surgery, especially if a doctor is negligent during the operation. If you or a loved one was injured by surgical malpractice in New York City or Long Island, please call or e-mail our surgery malpractice lawyers today for a free consultation with our experienced surgical malpractice attorneys. Our firm serves clients with Bronx surgical malpractice, Brooklyn surgical malpractice, Queens surgical malpractice, Long Island surgical malpractice and Manhattan surgical malpractice cases.

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