Advancing Your Health

A new study shows that many young athletes keep on playing after they’ve been injured. And all too often, those injuries could have been prevented. Safe Kids Worldwide, a global nonprofit organization with a mission of preventing unintentional childhood injury, found that kids are suffering from overuse injuries, dehydration, and even head injuries. Kids are under pressure to play at a much higher level and with more intensity than they did decades ago. A pitcher who shows potential may play on two or three different teams during a single season. And Safe Kids found there’s a lot of pressure to stay in the game—even when you’re hurt. A new Safe Kids study shows a third of young athletes who play team sports suffer injuries severe enough to require medical [...]

Do you live in an Intown, walkable neighborhood? If so, you may be extending your life! Dr. Susmita Parashar comments on a new study that indicates there is evidence that people who live in a neighborhood that is very walker friendly live a heart healthier life.   Neighborhoods that have parks, restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance from the homes encourages people to get out and enjoy the outdoor and therefore this benefits the heart.  Check out the CNN Health Minute on Healthy Neighborhoods.

About Susmita Parashar, MD, MS Dr. Parashar is a cardiologist at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center. She specializes in preventive cardiology and has special [...]

As an Oncology Social Worker at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, I provide resources and support to patients and their families throughout the cancer journey. During my first visit with a new patient, I often suggest that he or she try out one of the many support groups offered at Winship or in the community. The response I get from this suggestion varies depending on the patient from enthusiasm to absolute fear.  As a facilitator of two support groups at Winship, I am admittedly a strong advocate of joining a group. However, I understand the apprehension some feel towards sharing the ups and downs of the cancer journey with other people. For those uncomfortable with participating in support groups, I often outline the benefits of using support [...]

Beginning in May 2012, the Emory Transplant Center will provide pre- and post-transplant services for renal patients in northwest Georgia at our new location in Cartersville. Along with our two existing satellite offices in Savannah and Dublin, the new office in Cartersville means that more Georgians can receive kidney transplant evaluations and follow-up care from Emory professionals without making a trip to Atlanta. Emory’s Kidney Transplant Program:

• Provides comprehensive evaluations for kidney and pancreas transplantation, as well as state-of-the-art transplant follow-up care
• Offers a highly skilled team of specialists in the care of kidney transplant patients and living donors
• Ranks as one of the top programs of its kind in the country, with success rates higher than expected for both patient and graft survival*
• Performed 215 kidney transplant procedures in 2011 – the largest number of [...]
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Oh, how we love our smartphones. With a wealth of information available at the touch of a screen and friends, family, and colleagues a quick text, email, or phone call away, it’s like having the world in the palm of your hand. You wouldn’t expect something so wonderful to cause you pain. Which just adds to the indignity of smartphone thumb. Smartphone thumb may sound silly, but the pain that results from overuse can be text stopping. Smartphone thumb is a repetitive stress injury defined by pain or discomfort in the wrist and thumb when bending either one toward the pinkie finger. You may also experience a dull ache in the base of your thumb or pain and snapping in your thumb when you bend and straighten it. So what exactly causes that pain? Smartphone thumb comes from [...]

Every day inside and outside of Emory facility walls our staff and care team members make it their priority to live our mission to serve humanity by improving health. That mission is carried out in obvious ways through the direct partnership between our patients and care team, but also in less obvious ways, by improving our community’s access to top quality patient-centered health care. In late 2011, we improved access to everyday health care services by partnering with the CVS MinuteClinic to provide health care at 31 locations across the metro Atlanta area without an appointment. As we brought in the New Year, we welcomed the newest member of the Emory Healthcare family, ...]

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women? And, what is more alarming is that heart disease affects women of all ages, not just older women. It is very important to know that younger women are more likely to fail to recognize their risk. According to researchers at the American Heart Association, about 16,000 women under age 55 die of heart disease each year, which is close to the same number of women of the same age who die of breast cancer. So, women of all ages should listen up: learn the symptoms of a heart attack so you are not one of the statistics! If you are young women and have a history of heart disease in [...]

It is well known that when you reduce your calorie intake, you will lose even more weight if you exercise too.  More exercise is always better than some and some is better than none at all.  But what does more mean?  How much do we really need to exercise to lose weight and improve our health?  A 2009 study found that people who did 225-420 minutes a week of moderately vigorous exercise lost the greatest amount of weight.  This same study also found that exercise is the best way to keep weight off that you have already lost.  People who were able to maintain their weight loss, exercised for 150-250 minutes a week. So we now know how much time to devote to exercise, [...]

It’s almost summer time, and many of us are already spending more time outside enjoying the warm weather. Most of us don’t consider the consequences of increased sun exposure on our skin, even indirect exposure. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, with about one million new cases every year. The three common forms of skin cancer are distinguished by the types of cells affected: melanoma, basal cell and squamous cell. While melanoma is less common than basal and squamous cell cancers, it is the most dangerous. If caught early, melanoma can be treated; however, if left untreated, melanoma can spread to other parts of the body. What is Melanoma? Melanoma is a cancer of melanocytes, which are cells whose primary function is to make pigment. These cells [...]

Mark your calendar for the Emory Johns Creek Hospital Community Health Festival Saturday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to noon. We will have something for everyone at this fun, family-friendly event: kids’ crafts at the Kidz Zone, free health screenings, an opportunity to meet and talk with our physicians, fire safety and K-9 demonstrations by the Johns Creek Fire and Police Departments, and tasty treats from local vendors. We are pleased to welcome the Johns Creek Chamber and the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties aspartners for this event. The Festival kicks off Saturday morning with the annual 5K Scrub Run at 8 a.m. Proceeds from the 5K Scrub Run benefit the Emory Johns Creek Hospital 5K Fund, which provides life-saving AEDs (automate external defibrillators) to [...]