Why Cholesterol Screening is Important?

Cholesterol is an important part of everyone’s body composition. However, too much of cholesterol can have a serious impact on one’s health. It can put you at risk of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.

Therefore, it is very important for you to check your cholesterol level regularly. If you live in Glen Oaks you can check it with a simple cholesterol screening in Glen Oaks from a reliable health care facility and work on the required treatment and prevention options to remain safe and healthy.

One reason why getting your cholesterol checked is so important because high cholesterol does not show any symptoms. Without routine check-up, a person may not even know that he has high cholesterol until some serious problem arises. Often called the silent disease, high cholesterol can result in very serious problems, as it takes just seconds for a clogged artery to cause a heart attack or a clot-forming stroke.

Another important reason to get a regular cholesterol screening is that if you are already a patient of high cholesterol you can continue to consult your doctor to develop a better prevention and treatment plan.

A person with high cholesterol should always prefer a diet that is low in saturated fat. Along with this, a healthy body weight, a regular exercise, healthy lifestyle changes can also help keep cholesterol in control.

However, if you have many risk factors or have high cholesterol caused by genetics, the doctor may also prescribe you certain medications to keep it under control.

There are a number of things that can affect the cholesterol level. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Diet

• Weight

• Exercise

• Age and gender

• Genes

• Medications

Checking your cholesterol level is very easy. So, make sure to get it checked regularly to avoid any serious health problems in future.

How can you diagnose nerve damage or nerve dysfunction?

A nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test is the medical procedure that helps diagnose nerve damage or nerve dysfunction. Electrical signals are passed through the nerves that determine activities of muscles.  

Purpose of NCV test

Nerves are used to send signals and experience important senses. Electrical signals sent more quickly depicts healthiness and strength of nerves.

Nerve conductivity test NYC or elsewhere is helpful in determining injury nerve and its effects on muscles. This test helps in diagnosis of nerve problem and appropriate course of treatment.

Suspicion of pinched nerve makes the importance of going for the test in order to check nerve damage.

Preparation

Before going for the test, person must have normal body temperature. As low body temperature will not provide accurate results.

People with pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator require informing doctor, so that electrodes do not affect the device.

Performance of NCV test

Electrodes that are in form of flat, patch-style these are placed over the nerve that is to be examined. Electrical impulses are passed through electrodes that stimulate the nerve (slight electric shock, not painful).

Impulses are viewed with an oscilloscope. Monitoring system attached with the electrodes shows visual image of the impulses. Rate of traveling of impulses through the nerves help depict the existence of nerve damage in a patient, if any.

Test results

Electrical impulses travelling slow than normal rate depicts damage to the myelin sheath. On the other hand, decreased response but with normal speed of impulses, damage the nerve fiber.

Following is the result of the test-

• axonopathy (damage to the nerve cell)
• conduction block (an obstacle within the nerve)
• demyelination (damage to the myelin sheath)

Causes of nerve damage

• Alcoholic neuropathy
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Nerve effects of uremia (from kidney failure)
• Traumatic injury to a nerve
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Diphtheria
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Brachial plexopathy
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (hereditary)
• Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy
• Mononeuritis multiplex
• Primary amyloidosis
• Radial nerve dysfunction
• Sciatic nerve dysfunction
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction
• Distal median nerve dysfunction
• Femoral nerve dysfunction
• Friedreich's ataxia
• General paresis
• Secondary systemic amyloidosis
• Sensorimotor polyneuropathy
• Tibial nerve dysfunction
• Ulnar nerve dysfunction

From the above provided information, you must have got an idea what are the factors that lead to nerve damage problem, and ways to detect it. The test result helps in determining course of treatment, which is as follows.

Treatments for nerve damage

• Physical therapy
• Surgery
• Pain medications

However, the treatment depends on few factors like severity, extent, and type of nerve damage. Patients suffering from severe nerve damage would require going for surgery, while others can get relief through medications.

All that you need to know about NCV test

Ageing leads affects the person’s health in lot many ways. There are different conditions that gradually follow up with the age like hearing, memory loss, bone weakness and many more. If we talk about memory loss, then people in their later age usually suffer from this problem.

However, few people suffer from this problem due to certain health ailments. This is usually termed as (MCI) that is Mild Cognitive Impairment. It is a condition, which occurs due to certain problems related to memory, language, judgment issues and thinking power. These people have higher chances of getting prone to Alzheimer’s disease.

In order to detect these conditions in the patients, test called as NCV test in NY or nerve conduction velocity test is conducted that helps to determine the cause, presence, type, and to what extend the damage has been caused. In a precise way, the test helps to determine the adequacy of the transmission of the nerve inclination. However, the procedure for conducting the test may differ depending on the condition of the patient.

The technologist conducts the test using electromyography (EMG) which is used to records electrical signals that move through the muscles. Firstly, technologist will attach the electrodes to the patient’s body on the nerve at different parts.

The test will determine some of the causes of the defect such as

• Axonopathy- it is the damage that is caused in the nerve cell
• Conduction block- it is a kind of an obstacle, which is caused within the nerve
• Demyelination- it is the defect, which damages the myelin sheath of neurons

At last, the tests are very helpful to determine diseases and help to carry out diagnosis. The test does not cause any harm to the patient but somehow one may feel pain due to the electrical shocks that are given are time of tests. One may feel sense of uneasiness at the time of test. This is due because at the time of test needles are inserted and at that time muscles may tend to sore.

If you or your loved ones suffer from any abnormality, one may seek help from the doctor immediately, as this will help to detect the early cause of the disease and get treatment on time.

Mild Cognitive Impairment risk factors you should be aware of

Everyone has one or the other forgetful moments. However, if you are frequently forgetting everything, you might be suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Yes, medical cognitive impairment is a condition that is related with memory, judgment, language, and thinking problems. A person may have difficulty in decision-making, trouble in remembering common things, problem with language, and other basic skills. Moreover, doctors say that the individuals who are suffering from MCI have an increase risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

 

However, the primary cause of mild cognitive impairment is still not found but the most common risk factors and causes are-

• Increased age
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• High cholesterol

All the above-mentioned risk factors can lead to mild cognitive impairment. However, there is no specific treatment for MCI but here are few tips that you can use to reduce your risk for mild cognitive impairment.

• If you have any problems associated with blood pressure, it is necessary for you to address them properly with the help of your physician. Low or high blood pressure can increase the risk of MCI considerably. You may also require specific blood pressure medications to keep your BP under control.
• You should adapt a healthy life style and make sure that you remain active whether it is physically or socially. Develop a routine of daily exercise to reduce your risks for such health problems. Walking is best exercise that should be done regularly.
• Healthy and balanced diet can be helpful, which is why you need to ensure that you have fresh vegetables and fruits in your daily diet. Your brain can restore cells with the help of a balanced diet.
• One should try to limit the stress by practicing different relaxation techniques such as meditation. Moreover, avoiding different stressful situation can also help in lowering the risk of developing MCI.

However, if you are searching for a place for mild cognitive impairment treatment in NYC, you should look for a facility that has renowned and experienced physicians. You can seek references from people in your surroundings or can go on the web to find the most authentic healthcare facility for your treatment.

What is a Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) test?

Nerve conduction velocity (NCV) is a test prescribed to determine how well and how fast nerves conduct electrical signals. Healthy nerves carry the signals quickly and proficiently, whereas sick or injured ones carry the signal slower and with less power. Doctors request these tests to identify the signs of nerve injury or damage along with evaluation for nerve and muscle disorders that can include symptoms such as numbness, weakness, tingling pain, etc. NCV test also enable doctors to see how the nerves working and locate where there is pressure on it and how serious it is.

However, the procedure for the test varies from individual to individual and mainly depends on the condition of the patients. It’s a procedure that doesn’t involve needles because it is completed by attaching electrodes on the body of the patient over the nerves at different areas. It helps in generating a precisely timed set of nerve impulses.

Most of the times, healthy nerves will have conduction velocity of about 50-60 m/sec, even though result can differ depending on patient and type of nerve tested. Irregular results could be an indication of the damaged or injured nerve, or it can be due to certain health condition. Your physician will discuss everything in detail before making any conclusion.

Preparing for the procedure?

It is essential for you to maintain regular body temperature prior and during the exam because low body temperature can affect the nerve conduction. On the other hand, you would not require fasting or sedation for this procedure. However, you must inform your doctor about medications that you might be taking. You also need to prevent using oil and lotions on your skin for some days before the exam. You must ask your doctors whatever questions you may have, as special preparations may require depending on your condition.

However, when scheduling a nerve conductivity test NYC, it is vital to find an authentic place. A little research on the web can help you find board certified physicians to schedule your exam.