This may not be the latest news, or even the most scientific news - this is the news of interest to me, living a life that includes COPD. I hope that you will find something of value on these pages also.
After your visit here, please stop by my website -COPD and So Much More - because we are So Much More than a diagnosis...
Karen
Growing Stronger - Strength Training for Older Adults
If you’re interested in feeling stronger, healthier, and more vital, this program is for you. This strength-training program was developed by experts at Tufts University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Growing Stronger is an exercise program based upon sound scientific research involving strengthening exercises—exercises that have been shown to increase the strength of your muscles, maintain the integrity of your bones, and improve your balance, coordination, and mobility. In addition, strength training can help reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic diseases, including arthritis.
If you’re not physically active now, Growing Stronger will help you make daily activity a regular part of your life by building the essential strength that makes all movement easier and more enjoyable.
Regular physical activity is not only fun and healthy, but scientific evidence strongly shows that it’s safe for almost everyone. And the health benefits far outweigh the risk of injury and sudden heart attacks, two concerns that prevent many people from adding more physical activity to their lives.
However, some people should check with their doctor before they start becoming more physically active. Experts advise that if you have a chronic disease, such as a heart condition, arthritis, diabetes, or high blood pressure, or symptoms that could be due to a chronic disease, it’s important that you’re under the care of a doctor and talk to him or her about the types and amounts of physical activity that are appropriate for you.
Why strength training? The benefits, research and background.
Motivation — motivation tips, setting goals and celebrating success.
Preparation — safety, equipment needs, scheduling exercise and more.
Intensity — how to judge your effort.
Progression— when and when not to increase intensity, how and why it’s important.
Exercises — From warmup to cooldown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Resources — print-friendly PDF version, fitness and nutrition links and more.
February 8, 2010
Tags: exercises for older adults, senior strength training, strength building exercise Posted in: COPD - Exercise 
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Keeping Bones Strong and Healthy
Let’s Talk about Osteoporosis
Our bones are alive. We might not think of them that way—but to keep themselves strong and usable, our bones are always changing.
“Bone is living, growing tissue,” says Dr. Joan McGowan, a scientist at NIH. “It’s constantly breaking down and building up. It keeps refreshing itself.”
But as you get older, your bones may be at increased risk for osteoporosis (oss-tee-oh-pore-OH-sis), when the bones become weak, fragile and more likely to break. And once they break, they take longer to heal. This can be both painful and expensive.
Current estimates suggest that around 10 million people in the U.S. have osteoporosis, and 34 million more have low bone mass, which places them at increased risk.
Osteoporosis is a “silent” disease. You may not realize you have it until a sudden strain, twist or fall causes a broken bone (also called a “fracture”). With osteoporosis, even a minor tumble can be serious, requiring surgery and hospitalization.
If you have osteoporosis, you can get a broken bone even though you haven’t fallen—by shoveling snow, for example. A spinal fracture, a break in one of the small bones in your back, may be subtle and go unnoticed. Or it may cause back pain, which you shouldn’t ignore.
“A large part of osteoporosis and fracture risk is inherited,” says McGowan. “If close relatives have suffered a fracture in their later years, this may be a clue to think carefully about your own risk. But diet and physical activity are major ways to build and maintain the best possible skeleton.”
NIH-funded research shows that childhood is the best time to build up bone tissue. Most bone is built by age 18 in girls and 20 in boys.
Start with a well-balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D. Most of our bone is made of a rigid protein framework. Calcium (a mineral) adds strength and hardens that framework. Vitamin D helps the intestine absorb calcium.
Calcium is found in many foods, but the most common source for Americans is milk and other dairy products. One 8-ounce glass of milk provides about one-third of the recommended intake for younger children and about one-fourth of the recommended intake for teens.
Your body makes vitamin D in the skin when you’re out in the sun. Some people get all they need from sunlight, but others need to take vitamin D pills. Talk to your doctor or see the chart at www.niams.nih.gov/health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/osteoporosis_ff.asp to find out how much calcium and vitamin D you should get each day.
Physical activity is also important for building bone. The more work bones do, the stronger they get. That’s why it’s so important for kids to run and play.
“There is good evidence,” says McGowan, “that you can build the best skeleton by doing physical activity in childhood: jumping rope, playing basketball and running around. The trend now—of not having physical education in school and playing computer games instead of tag—may be a serious threat to bone health.”
But no matter what your age, McGowan says, “It’s never too late to promote bone health.” Increase your load-bearing exercise, like walking, and make good food choices, rich in calcium and vitamin D.
Unfortunately, some factors are beyond your control. Women are more likely to have osteoporosis and related fractures, particularly Caucasian and Asian women. Osteoporosis becomes more common as you get older. Low body weight can also increase your risk. And so can certain medications (such as steroids) and certain diseases and conditions (such as anorexia nervosa, rheumatoid arthritis, gastrointestinal diseases, thyroid disease and depression).
“But even if you have osteoporosis, you can do things to prevent fractures,” McGowan says.
Talk to your doctor well before the age of 50 about your risk. One out of 2 women and 1 out of 4 men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
“We know that all women over the age of 65 should have a bone mineral density test,” McGowan says. The test uses a tiny amount of radiation to look at how dense your bones are. It isn’t painful, and there’s usually no need to undress. However, she says that researchers haven’t yet come up with universal recommendations about when you should get this test. That depends on your risk factors.
“We need to make sure that all involved in this disease—patients, physicians and scientists—maintain an awareness and progress in combating it,” says NIH-funded scientist Dr. Sundeep Khosla of the Mayo Clinic.
So ask your doctor about osteoporosis. And don’t forget to mention the medications you’re taking that might increase your risk.
Remember that osteoporosis remains silent—until there’s a fracture. “A big red flag is when a person over age 50 has a fracture of any kind,” McGowan says. “Doctors should follow up.”
If you do have osteoporosis, medications can help. Khosla has spent 20 years studying the basic biology of bone. He and his team have discovered how bone reacts to changes in levels of estrogen, an important female hormone. “We now understand how estrogen may be working on the bone,” Khosla says.
Partly as a result of NIH-funded discoveries like this, there are now several drugs that can block the breakdown of bone. Some are already available, and some are on their way to being approved for patient use.
“What’s needed is a new class of drugs that work by building bone back up,” Khosla says. “There’s hope for real reversal in osteoporosis in the foreseeable future.”
Your bones are so important. They support you and allow you to move. They protect your heart, lungs and brain from injury. They’re a storehouse for vital minerals you need to live. Your bones take care of you in so many ways. Learn to take care of them.
Wise Choices
Bone Health Tips
Research shows that there are several ways to take care of your bone health:
Get enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet at every age.
Be physically active.
Reduce hazards in your home that could increase your risk of falling.
Talk with your doctor about medicines you are taking that could increase your risk for osteoporosis.
If you are over 50 and break a bone, ask your doctor to screen you for osteoporosis.
Web Sites
NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases ~ National Resource Center
February 8, 2010
Tags: build strong bones, maintain bone health, osteoporosis facts Posted in: COPD - Exercise, COPD - Medications and Treatment, copd nutrition No Comments
Study links estrogen hormone therapy to asthma
Estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of developing asthma after the menopause, scientists said on Monday.
The findings, from a major study involving almost 58,000 women in France over 12 years, add to a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between some female hormones and asthma.
French and Mexican researchers found that compared with women who had never used any form of HRT, those who did use it were 21 percent more likely to develop asthma, but the risk of asthma was most significant in those using estrogen alone.
Among these women, the overall risk of asthma was 54 percent higher than for women who had never used any form of HRT, the scientists from the Gustave Roussy Institute in France and the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica in Mexico wrote in a study in the British Medical Journal’s Thorax publication.
“There is now a large body of evidence suggesting a link between female hormones, including the use of HRT, the development of asthma and its severity,” Leanne Metcalf, director of research at the advocacy group Asthma UK, said in a commentary on the study.
“However this is the first large-scale and long-term study to suggest that it is estrogen-only HRT which significantly increases the risk.”
 Read the rest of this article - Click Here
February 8, 2010
Tags: estrogen asthma, HRT asthma, women hormones asthma Posted in: COPD - Medications and Treatment, COPD - New Research and Findings One Comment
New Ways For Older Americans To Maintain Independence
Organizations like Volunteers of America are increasingly bringing services to seniors in their own homes and communities.
The oldest baby boomers will turn 65 just two years from now–but they are not likely to follow previous generations of seniors into old folks’ homes anytime soon.
These days, the average age of a nursing home resident is 82 and older Americans are insisting more and more that they be able to receive the care they need at home as long as they can. At the same time, the number of seniors living in America is expected to double to an estimated 71.5 million by 2030. This creates a tremendous demand for home- and community-based services for older people who require a certain level of care, but who demand the freedom to remain in their own homes or wherever else they choose to live.
Home- and community-based services can take a variety of different forms.
Community engagement programs can create an organized system that lets neighbors help neighbors. Volunteer banks–where one person “banks” a certain number of volunteer hours helping others in exchange for receiving assistance from other volunteers later on–have been successful in providing basic services that help seniors live independently for longer. This could be as simple as helping an older neighbor with shopping, yard work or minor home repairs.
For those needing a bit more help, home-based services provided by professionals include health care and help with daily activities such as medication management, medical equipment services or assisted living at home. Like community engagement programs, these services aim to help older people receive the help they need while remaining independent and living at home as long as possible.
Finally, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, provide services at a central location, where seniors come during the day while continuing to live at home. Services provided at PACE centers include meals, medical care, therapy, prescription drug fulfillment and referral to other social services.
Volunteers of America–one of the nation’s largest and oldest human service organizations–has served the needs of seniors for more than a century. It recently launched a new initiative called Aging with Options™ to transform the current elder care system and increase access to home- and community-based services. Volunteers of America is already a national leader in providing care and housing for seniors, and is the largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing, the fourth-largest nonprofit provider of skilled nursing care and the sixth-largest nonprofit provider of assisted living for seniors.
For more information about Aging with Options, visit www.VolunteersofAmerica.org or call (800) 899-0089.
February 7, 2010
Tags: aging with options, elderly home help, senior assisted living, senior home care, senior housing options Posted in: COPD - Living With It, COPD - Patient Resources, COPD caregivers, Sunday Service No Comments
Even With Heart Disease Awareness on the Rise, Prevention Remains Critically Important for American Women
The Heart Truth campaign urges women to take action
In recognition of American Heart Month, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and its heart disease awareness campaign—The Heart Truth— is reminding all American women that heart disease prevention remains critically important, despite that fact that awareness is at an all time high. More women than ever know that heart disease is their leading killer, yet millions of women are at risk, at increasingly younger ages.
Even with increased awareness, 80 percent of midlife women (ages 40 to 60) still have one or more of the modifiable risk factors—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, and smoking. Sixty percent of younger women, ages 20-39, have one or more of these risk factors. Recent data show high rates of overweight/obesity in younger women, which may lead to higher rates of heart disease in later years.
“Women are developing heart disease at younger ages, and our research shows that many women, particularly at younger ages, still do not recognize their personal risk,” says Susan Shurin, M.D., acting director, NHLBI. “What young women need to realize is that leading a healthy lifestyle in their 20s and 30s sets them up for a long and healthy life.”
Although overall heart disease deaths in women have gone down, the death rate in young women increases threefold between the third and fourth decade of life. This suggests that the late 20s and early 30s is a critical time for women to take action to reduce their risk, according to Dr. Shurin.
Activities such as National Wear Red Day on Friday, Feb. 5 and The Heart Truth’s signature Red Dress Collection 2010 fashion event on Thursday, Feb. 11 encourage Americans to raise awareness of heart disease in women. The Red Dress is the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, and helps remind women to recognize and take action to reduce their risks for heart disease.
Statistics show that heart disease risk factors are subject to a multiplier effect. This means that having even one risk factor, such as high blood pressure, can double a woman’s chance of developing heart disease. Two risk factors, such as overweight and high blood pressure, increase risk fourfold, and having three or more risk factors increases risk tenfold.
Women can prevent heart disease by reducing their risk, and following a heart-healthy lifestyle. An annual physical can provide a risk factor numbers check—blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, and, if appropriate, blood glucose — and the opportunity to start a discussion about physical activity levels and smoking to develop a personal plan to reduce their risk. Such a plan would incorporate heart healthy eating, getting regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. Regardless of a woman’s age, NHLBI research shows that it’s never too early or too late to take action.
As another way to raise awareness and encourage heart healthy living among women, The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2010 will go behind the seams on the opening night of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to remind women it’s what’s inside that counts. A healthy heart means a longer, healthier life. More than 20 of today’s hottest celebrities will walk the runway in red dresses created by America’s top designers to encourage women to protect their heart health and inspire them to take action.
“Women have tremendous power to reduce their risk of heart disease, and I am delighted that our sponsors and the fashion and entertainment industries will again join with The Heart Truth to bring this urgent heart health message to millions of women and encourage them to take action to protect their hearts,” said Dr. Shurin.
The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2010 is presented by Diet Coke. “Diet Coke is pleased to be partnering with The Heart Truth for the third year to help spread the message about heart health and living positively,” said Caren Pasquale Seckler, AVP, Coke Trademark Brands. “Healthy lifestyles continue to be a priority for Diet Coke consumers and for our brand. Through our powerful network, we have tremendous opportunities to remind everyone, but especially younger women, to stay extraordinary by staying active and living a well-balanced, heart healthy life.” National sponsors include Swarovski, and Tylenol® and St. Joseph® Aspirin; make-up partner is Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.
Celebrity participants in this year’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show include: Bethenny Frankel, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Felicity Huffman, Dania Ramirez, Dara Torres, Estelle, Heidi Klum, Swoosie Kurtz, Jewel, Jordin Sparks, Kim Kardashian, Kimora Lee, Kristin Chenoweth, Mamie Gummer, Raven–Symoné, Regina King, Robin Roberts, and Rose McGowan.
Participating designers in the 2010 Collection include: Isabella Oliver, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Ohne Titel, Rachel Roy, Zac Posen, John Galliano, Monique Lhuillier, Badgley Mischka, Marchesa, Kouture, Daniel Swarovski, Michael Kors, Tadashi Shoji, Tracy Reese, J. Crew Collection, and Dolce & Gabbana.
A selection of designer dresses worn by celebrities in The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show will be auctioned off through a partnership with Clothes Off Our Back, at www.clothesoffourback.org. The auction starts in February and will run through early March. Proceeds will benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health on behalf of The Heart Truth in support of women’s heart health education and research.
For additional information, visit www.hearttruth.gov
Please Note: Participants in The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2010 Fashion Show were confirmed at time of release and are subject to change.
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About The Heart Truth
The Heart Truth® is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Through the campaign, NHLBI leads the nation in a landmark heart health awareness movement that is being embraced by millions who share the common goal of better heart health for all women.
The centerpiece of The Heart Truth is the Red Dress, which was introduced as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 by NHLBI. The Red Dress® reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action.
To learn more, visit www.hearttruth.gov.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health—
The Nation’s Medical Research Agency—includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
February 5, 2010
Tags: American Heart Month, heart truth campaign, Heart Truth Red Dress Collection 2010, National Wear Red Day, women and heart disease Posted in: Heart Health Awareness No Comments
