Health & Wellness - August 2012 Archives

In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of X-rays are performed each year to detect and treat common cardiovascular conditions. But there's growing concern about the potential risks of ...

Mayo Clinic and NCH Healthcare System officials have announced NCH Healthcare System is officially a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. NCH, based in Naples, ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 16, 2012.  Each year, hundreds of thousands of X-rays are performed across the country to help detect and treat common cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease, valve disease and other heart problems. However, concern is growing within the medical community about the potential risks of radiation exposure from this imaging technology. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic have been able to dramatically cut the amount of radiation that patients and medical personnel are exposed to during invasive cardiovascular procedures. The solution: targeted modifications to the use of standard X-ray equipment, coupled with intensive radiation safety training. The efforts are detailed in a paper published online Aug. 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Video of Dr. Ken Fetterly is available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network "Through our efforts, we were able to quickly cut the overall radiation exposure to patients by nearly half using simple but effective methods," said Charanjit Rihal, M.D., chair of Mayo's Division of Cardiovascular Diseases. "We think this program could serve as a useful model for other cath labs in the U.S." Cardiologists rely on X-ray images to identify heart problems and provide real-time guidance for procedures such as implanting stents to open narrowed arteries and aortic valve replacement. However, radiation from X-rays can be harmful. It can injure the skin if not administered judiciously, and can also damage DNA, which can increase the risk of certain cancers. The amount of radiation used in a procedure should not exceed the minimum necessary, Dr. Rihal says. Recognizing this, Mayo instituted a broad-based program that has raised awareness about radiation safety and changed the way standard X-ray systems are used in the cath lab. For example, medical staff now set the radiation output of their systems to a very low setting, minimizing the radiation dose to their patients. They only increase the radiation dose if higher-quality images are needed, such as temporarily during a critical portion of a procedure. As a result, they can obtain useful images while lowering radiation exposure. In addition, practice-wide radiation safety is now included when training fellows and junior faculty. The cath lab teams also are informed of the radiation dose delivered to patients during each procedure. Radiation exposure is routinely reported in the patient's medical record. "The reductions in the radiation dose administered to patients occurred practice-wide and across diverse procedures," says Kenneth Fetterly, Ph.D., Division of Cardiovascular Diseases. Dr. Fetterly says the initiative is part of Mayo's ongoing commitment to patient safety. The changes implemented by Mayo go well beyond standard procedures used in hospitals across the country. Buy-in across the practice is needed for such programs to succeed, Dr. Fetterly says. Success also requires physicians to shift their expectations from attaining the highest image quality to focusing on lower radiation exposure and accepting adequate image quality.

Naples, Fla. — August 16, 2012.  Mayo Clinic and NCH Healthcare System officials today announced NCH Healthcare System as a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. NCH, based in Naples, is the first member of the network in Florida and the Southeast region of the United States. Multimedia Alert: Video and audio clips of Drs. Rupp, Lange and Weiss are available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. The Mayo Clinic Care Network extends Mayo Clinic's knowledge and expertise to physicians and providers interested in working together in the best interest of their patients. NCH's physicians will have access to Mayo Clinic, including the ability to collaborate with Mayo Clinic physicians on patient care, community health and innovative health care delivery. "We're excited to formalize our relationship with NCH," says William C. Rupp, M.D., chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Collaborating with other medical providers to provide the best possible care for patients has always been part of Mayo Clinic's culture, and the Mayo Clinic Care Network helps Mayo and community care organizations work closer together, in new ways, to enhance the lives of patients." "NCH is honored to be the first hospital in Florida selected to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network member," says Allen S. Weiss, M.D., president and CEO, NCH Healthcare System. "Sharing a common philosophy, commitment and mission to improve the delivery of health care through the use of best practices and evidence- based medical care and treatment provides a solid foundation for this collaboration." The network's primary goal is to help people gain the benefits of Mayo Clinic expertise close to home, ensuring that patients travel outside the region only when necessary. "Through the Mayo Clinic Care Network, Mayo Clinic is able to develop broader and stronger relationships with culturally like-minded organizations," says Stephen Lange, M.D., southeast medical director of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. "By working together, sharing our expertise, more people in more places can benefit from the specialty knowledge and expertise that are hallmarks of Mayo Clinic. We are delighted to welcome NCH as the first Florida location, and we look forward to working with them." "As the health care environment in this country continues to change, providers seek meaningful relationships that allow them to best address their patients' needs while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of care," says John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "The Care Network is about advancing longstanding relationships with organizations that share a commitment to improving care and value for our patients. We welcome NCH to the network and look forward to our continued, collaborative commitment to those we serve." "We want Floridians to live longer, happier, healthier lives through access to the highest-level knowledge and expertise," Dr. Weiss adds.

Strawberry-shaped birthmarks called infantile hemangiomas, and the most common tumor in infancy, grow much earlier and more rapidly than previously thought. The new findings by Mayo ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 14, 2012.  Strawberry-shaped birthmarks called infantile hemangiomas grow rapidly in infants much earlier than previously thought, Mayo Clinic and University of California, San Francisco, researchers found. Their study, published online in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that babies with complication-causing hemangiomas should be immediately referred to dermatologists for further evaluation. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For multimedia resources and video of Dr. Tollefson, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network. Infantile hemangiomas are the most common tumor in infancy. They tend to appear in the first weeks of life and grow as a child ages. Potential complications include permanent disfigurement of the face or functional compromise of vital organs. "Our goal was to try to figure out when this actual period of rapid growth happened," says Megha Tollefson, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Children's Center researcher and pediatric dermatologist who conducted the study with Ilona Frieden, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco. "Then we could potentially intervene if we had to." The researchers examined photos of 30 infants from birth to 3 months, analyzing the color, thickness and distortion of anatomic landmarks. Previously, physicians believed that the tumors grew during the first 5 months of life, but researchers had not yet discovered when the most rapid growth took place. "By using a novel study design, we were able to demonstrate that the period of most rapid hemangioma growth of superficial hemangiomas occurs between 5.5 and 7.5 weeks of age," Dr. Frieden says.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Mayo Clinic’s inaugural Individualizing Medicine Conference, scheduled Oct. 1–3, with “NPR's Science Friday’s” Ira Flatow and “The Wall Street Journal’s” Ron Winslow among session participants. Physicians ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 13, 2012.  Mayo Clinic's Individualizing Medicine Conference, scheduled for Oct. 1–3, will draw experts from around the world to discuss the use of genomics in patient care. Physicians and researchers in this rapidly growing field are building a new type of medicine based on the genomic and molecular interactions that make each patient unique. At Mayo Clinic, the Center for Individualized Medicine is making these discoveries and building a clinical practice that delivers genomic medicine as part of routine care. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Multimedia resources, including video of Dr. Farrugia, are available for download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. Conference sessions will be accessible to journalists through the News Network. Media may register for the site here. This inaugural conference, Individualizing Medicine 2012, will be held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Presentations will range from cutting-edge diagnostics and experimental cancer treatments to the most ethical and respectful ways to manage patient genomic information. An introduction to individualized medicine will be presented for those unfamiliar with the field. "The technologies of genome sequencing have made tremendous strides over the past few years. The time needed to sequence and interpret whole genomes is no longer the seemingly insurmountable barrier it once was due to the use of these tools in the everyday care of our patients," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine, which is holding the event. "Right now, we are building genomics technologies into our laboratories and electronic medical records," Dr. Farrugia says. "This conference will be a place for both doctors and scientists to develop real-world strategies for incorporating genomics into the clinical practice." Conference highlights include: Oct. 1, 4:15 p.m. CDT: A poster session featuring more than 60 leading studies in individualized medicine will be presented. Oct. 2, 7 p.m. CDT: A free and open-to-the-public media panel discussion will engage leading science reporters with researchers and individualized medicine practitioners for a candid discussion of what patients want to know and what physicians are able to share. Ira Flatow, host of "Science Friday" on National Public Radio, will moderate the discussion "Great Expectations: Making Informed Decisions in Individualized Medicine." Ron Winslow, deputy medical editor of "The Wall Street Journal"; Erika Check Hayden, a senior reporter for "Nature"; and Susan Wolf, the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, Medicine and Public Policy, and the Faegre Baker Daniels Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota, will participate in the panel. Ceci Connolly, managing director of the Health Research Institute at Price Waterhouse Coopers, will open the conference and facilitate the sessions Monday and Tuesday morning. Flatow will facilitate the conference on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. Video vignettes that present realistic situations in the practice of personalized medicine will appear throughout the conference and will help to keep discussion focused on the patient. An overview video is now available on the conference website.

CORRECTION: We are revising the statement to clarify the type of surgery Congressman Jackson had. Here is the revision to information in the second paragraph ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 13, 2012.  A sedentary lifestyle is a common cause of obesity, and excessive body weight and fat in turn are considered catalysts for diabetes, high blood pressure, joint damage and other serious health problems. But what if lack of exercise itself were treated as a medical condition? Mayo Clinic physiologist Michael Joyner, M.D., argues that it should be. His commentary is published this month in The Journal of Physiology. VIDEO ALERT: A video interview with Dr. Joyner is available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. Physical inactivity affects the health not only of many obese patients, but also people of normal weight, such as workers with desk jobs, patients immobilized for long periods after injuries or surgery, and women on extended bed rest during pregnancies, among others, Dr. Joyner says. Prolonged lack of exercise can cause the body to become deconditioned, with wide-ranging structural and metabolic changes: the heart rate may rise excessively during physical activity, bones and muscles atrophy, physical endurance wane, and blood volume decline. When deconditioned people try to exercise, they may tire quickly and experience dizziness or other discomfort, then give up trying to exercise and find the problem gets worse rather than better. "I would argue that physical inactivity is the root cause of many of the common problems that we have," Dr. Joyner says. "If we were to medicalize it, we could then develop a way, just like we've done for addiction, cigarettes and other things, to give people treatments, and lifelong treatments, that focus on behavioral modifications and physical activity. And then we can take public health measures, like we did for smoking, drunken driving and other things, to limit physical inactivity and promote physical activity." Several chronic medical conditions are associated with poor capacity to exercise, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, better known as POTS, a syndrome marked by an excessive heart rate and flu-like symptoms when standing or a given level of exercise. Too often, medication rather than progressive exercise is prescribed, Dr. Joyner says. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researchers found that three months of exercise training can reverse or improve many POTS symptoms, Dr. Joyner notes. That study offers hope for such patients and shows that physicians should consider prescribing carefully monitored exercise before medication, he says. If physical inactivity were treated as a medical condition itself rather than simply a cause or byproduct of other medical conditions, physicians may become more aware of the value of prescribing supported exercise, and more formal rehabilitation programs that include cognitive and behavioral therapy would develop, Dr. Joyner says.

What if lack of exercise was treated as a medical condition? With a sedentary lifestyle a common cause of obesity, and excessive body weight and ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 10, 2012.  The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees recognized three recipients of Mayo Clinic named professorships at a meeting today. Named ...