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Just for Women
Update on Women’s Health Issues
‘Hidden’ Heart Disease Risk IdentifiedResearchers have found that women are more likely than men to have a type of coronary disease that greatly raises their risk for heart attack but doesn’t show up on common tests. In as many as 3 million American women, fatty deposits build up evenly in artery walls. The deposits don’t appear as blockages on X-rays but still interfere with blood flow and can damage the heart muscle. The main symptom is chest discomfort.
“Women with symptoms, a family history of heart disease or severe risk factors should undergo specific tests that measure blood flow to the heart,” says cardiologist Deb Sundlof, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.
Click here for a full story in the July August issue of Healthy You. Read our Ask the Expert
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New Treatments for Breast Cancer“The death rate for breast cancer has declined continuously for more than 10 years because of new treatments more effective against early-stage breast cancer,” says oncologist Gregory Harper, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “These treatments include new hormonal approaches, better chemotherapy agents and new antibody treatments aimed at specific proteins associated with the growth and spread of breast cancer.”
Researchers also are testing new internal radiation treatments including implanted radioactive seeds and the use of a balloon catheter to deliver radiation directly to the lumpectomy site. Treatment time is much shorter and early results are positive, but long-term outcomes aren’t yet known.
A Vaccine Against Cervical CancerDrug companies are testing vaccines that may one day immunize young women against the virus that causes most cervical cancers. One of the vaccines under study has been shown 100 percent effective at preventing a specific type of human papilloma virus (HPV). “Though the vaccine won’t eradicate cervical cancer, it shows great promise in preventing many cases,” says gynecologic oncologist Richard Boulay, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.
Want to Know More about each of these issues from women’s health specialists? Read “Ask Our Expert”:
This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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May June 2006
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‘Hidden’ Heart Disease Risk Identified
