Tag Archives: stroke

Focusing on Blood Pressure and Diabetes for Men’s Health Week

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June 14th through the 20th Men’s Health Week, and we wanted to take the opportunity to see how preventing or managing certain conditions can go a long way toward keeping you healthy. 

Blood pressure 

High blood pressure raises your risk for heart disease and stroke. Your doctor examines your systolic and diastolic pressures, which are measured in millimeters of mercury (abbreviated as mmHg). 

The normal range is: 

  • Systolic: less than 120 mmHg; and 
  • Diastolic: less than 80 mmHg. 

High blood pressure can also damage the tiny blood vessels in your eyes and restrict blood flow to your retina, leading to blurred vision or blindness. It can cause fluid to build under your retina, which distorts and sometimes impairs vision. 

And if high blood pressure completely blocks the flow of blood to your optic nerve, it can kill the nerve cells and cause temporary or permanent vision loss. High blood pressure also can lead to stroke. 

If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe medication and lifestyle changes. 

You can have your blood pressure checked during a preventive screening, which is available at no cost to State Health Plan primary members. To learn more about the preventive screening benefit, visit www.PEBAperks.com. 

Diabetes 

About 15 percent of men in the U.S. have diabetes, according to National Diabetes Statistics Report. There are several types of blood-sugar tests to determine if you have prediabetes, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Normal, nonfasting blood glucose readings are between 70 and 140 milligrams per deciliter. 

If you’re diagnosed with diabetes, a diabetes educator can help you: 

  • Develop a healthy eating plan. 
  • Learn to test your blood sugar and record the results. 
  • Recognize the signs of high or low blood sugar and what to do about it. 
  • Monitor your feet, skin and eyes. 
  • Manage stress and deal with diabetes care. 

Diabetes can also affect your vision. With this diagnosis comes a chance of developing retinopathy, a disease that results when high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in your eyes. It can harm your vision and result in blindness. Diabetes also increases the risk of other serious vision conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma. 

Talk to your network physician if you have diabetes or think you may be at risk. Let your doctor know you’re interested in meeting with a diabetes educator, and he or she can refer you. 

You can also get one-on-one coaching from a health coach to help you manage diabetes. For details, call 855.838.5897. 

If you have diabetes, you may also qualify for No-Pay Copay, a program that provides certain generic medications to treat your condition at no cost to you. To learn more about diabetes education and No-Pay Copay, visit www.PEBAperks.com. 

What you can do 

Your risk of developing these common health issues and the potential vision complications that may result can be reduced with healthy lifestyle choices: 

  • Maintain a healthy body weight 
  • Stop smoking 
  • Exercise regularly 
  • Eat a healthy diet 
  • Visit regularly with your physician and your eye doctor for thorough check-ups 

Have questions about your vision? Find an eye doctor near you, and schedule an eye exam today. 

DHEC and S.C. Hospital Association Collaborate to Address Stroke Prevention and Awareness

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A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When this happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the Palmetto State. In addition, our state recently had the sixth highest stroke death rate in the nation.

With the vision of healthy people living in healthy communities, DHEC is working with partners, such as the S.C. Hospital Association (SCHA), to address this health concern.

“My office and the S.C. Hospital Association Hospital Association work closely together to provide information to the public about access to care for stroke, rehabilitation services for stroke, health improvement programs, and access to care for rural areas within the state,” said John Thivierge, DHEC Program Coordinator for Stroke. “My office and the S.C. Hospital Association have a shared goal; that is to save lives and lessen the disabilities related to stroke.”

Beth Morgan, a Registered Nurse and Quality Improvement Project Manager with the association, agreed.

“It’s about saving lives,” she said. “Every 40 seconds in the United States someone has a stroke.”

By ensuring rural areas of the state have access to health improvement programs and care designed to address stroke, DHEC’s partnership with SCHA exemplifies the agency’s core value of Promoting Teamwork and strategy of Service and Accessibility.

“The work that SCHA and DHEC do together is vitally important,” Morgan said.

Learn more about preventing, signs of, and what to do if you are having a stroke.

South Carolina Health at a Glance: Chronic Disease and Risk Factors (Part 1)

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Our next installment of the 2018 Live Healthy State Health Assessment summaries covers chronic disease and risk factors. Because this section lists many chronic diseases that affect South Carolina, we will summarize in three sections. Check out our previous posts:  overview of the report, South Carolina demographics, leading causes of death and hospitalization, cross-cutting, access to healthcare, and maternal and infant health.

Key Findings

Obesity

  • South Carolina had the 12th highest adult obesity rate in the nation in 2016.
  • In 2016, the prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic Blacks was 42.8% and was higher compared to non-Hispanic Whites (30.2%).
  • The prevalence of obesity was higher in adults with an annual household income less than $15,000 (40.8%) than among those with income $50,000 and higher (28.4%).

Prediabetes

Prediabetes, sometimes called “borderline diabetes” is a condition in which someone has a blood sugar (glucose) level above normal but not yet in the diabetes range. People with prediabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or experience a stroke. Without lifestyle changes to improve their health, 15% to 30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.

  • The prevalence of adults in South Carolina diagnosed with prediabetes increased from 6.7% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2016.
  • In 2016, the prevalence of prediabetes was higher in non-Hispanic Blacks (12.5%) compared to non-Hispanic Whites (8.5%).
  • The prevalence of prediabetes was higher in those with a disability (14.7%) than those without a disability (6.9%).

Diabetes

SC Adults with Diabetes_assessment

  • From 2011 to 2016, South Carolina adults with diabetes have remained higher than the median range of the United States.
  • The prevalence of diabetes was higher among adults aged 65 or older than among those under age 65.
  • In 2016, the prevalence of diabetes was higher in non-Hispanic Blacks (16.9%) than in non-Hispanic Whites (11.7%).

 

Hypertension

SC Adults with hypertension_assessment

Hypertension, commonly known as “high blood pressure,” is often called the silent killer because, apart from extreme cases, it has no symptoms. Nearly one in three United States adults have high blood pressure.

  • More than one-third (39.3%) of adults in South Carolina had hypertension in 2016.
  • Seventeen counties had a prevalence of hypertension higher than the state average at 38.7%.
  • In 2016, the prevalence of hypertension increased with age.

 

Arthritis

Arthritis is the term used to describe more than 100 diseases and conditions that affect joints, the tissues that surround the join, and other connective tissue.

  • The percentage of South Carolina adults who have been told they have arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia increased from 27.9% in 2011 to 30.1% in 2016. The median percentage of arthritis was 25.8% in the United States in 2016.
  • Over 57% of adults ages 65 years or older reported having arthritis in 2016.
  • The prevalence among disabled adults (56.2%) was three times higher than those adults who were not disabled (16.8%).

Heart Disease

About 610,000 Americans die each year from heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States.

SC heart disease deaths_assessment

  • South Carolina had a lower death rate compared to the United States (94.3 per 100,000) and met the Healthy People 2020 goal of 103.4 coronary heart disease deaths per 100,000 population in 2016.
  • Men (123.3 per 100,000) had a higher death rate than women (57.6 per 100,000) in 2016.
  • Non-Hispanic Blacks (96.0 per 100,000) experienced a higher death rate than non-Hispanic Whites (85.7 per 100,000).

 

Stroke

SC Stroke Deaths_assessment

Stroke was the fifth leading cause of death in the United States in 2016, and is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. About 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year.

  • In 2016, South Carolina had the sixth highest stroke death rate in the nation and is part of the “Stroke Belt,” a group of Southeastern states with high death rates.
  • Stroke was the fifth leading cause of death in South Carolina, resulting in 2,627 deaths in 2016.
  • Stroke resulted in 16,484 hospitalizations in South Carolina in 2016, with charges of more than $952 million.

In our next section, we will summarize nutrition, physical activity, and cigarette smoking in South Carolina adults. For more detailed information about chronic diseases and risk factors that affect our state, visit https://www.livehealthysc.com/uploads/1/2/2/3/122303641/chronic_disease_and_risk_factors_sc_sha.pdf.

Love on You Today for Chronic Disease Day

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Did you know that six in ten adults in the United States have a chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more?  Chronic diseases are defined as conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities, daily living or both.  They include but are not limited to:

  • Heart Disease
  • Cancer
  • Lung Disease
  • Stroke
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Diabetes
  • Kidney Disease

Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many chronic diseases are caused by a short list of risk behaviors:

Chronic Disease Day was created to raise awareness and increase adoption of self-care best practices to encourage prevention and reduce risk.  Use today to kickstart a healthier lifestyle.  Here are some tips for better self-care:

  • Reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Eat a balanced diet.
  • Get moving. Start slow and go at your own pace.
  • Schedule your routine checkups.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Build a positive support system.

Priority 2 of the South Carolina State Health Improvement Plan is detailed with ways community partners plan to promote healthy lifestyles and environments that prevent chronic conditions. A glance at our state’s current chronic disease statistics can be found in the 2018 South Carolina Health Assessment, where the assessment analyzes obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, hypertension, nutrition, physical activity, arthritis, heart disease, stroke, cancer and smoking from 2011 to 2016.  South Carolina adults have higher rates than the national average in nearly every category of chronic disease.

Learn more self-care tips to keep avoid or improve chronic disease at https://chronicdiseaseday.org/.

From Other Blogs: American Food Dollars, Stroke Risk Factors for Women, Prepare Your Health for Hurricane Season

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A collection of health and environmental posts from other governmental blogs.

Where Do Americans’ Food Dollars Go?

In 2017, consumers in the United States spent $1.2 trillion on U.S.-produced food. Nearly all food starts out on a farm, but did you ever wonder how the value added from processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing agricultural food products factors into the costs? – From U.S. Department of Agriculture’s blog

 

Risk factors for stroke every woman should know

More women die from stroke than breast cancer every year. Shocked? It’s true. In fact, stroke is the third leading cause of death in women, while it is the fifth for men, and women are more likely to have another stroke within five years of their first stroke. So what is it that makes strokes affect women differently than men? Anil Yallapragada, MD, Palmetto Health-USC Neurology, explained. – From Flourish, Prisma Health’s blog

 

Prepare Your Health for Hurricane Season

In all, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), of which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a member, has a list of 21 names that they will use this year to identify hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season.  What’s in a name? A major hurricane by any name is hazardous to public health and safety, potentially life threatening, and important to prepare for.

– From Public Health Matters, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Blog