Many businesses and other organizations need trained staff members who can perform lifesaving CPR in emergencies. The question is, how can someone get the needed certification as a CPR provider? The Medic Pro Training center in Ann Arbor, Michigan offers a good solution. Medic Pro director Carter Doyle explains the Center’s training offerings in this report.

Doyle explains that some online companies are “scamming health care providers and even lay rescuers in businesses” by claiming that online certifications to provide CPR will be accepted. Such certifications will not be accepted, Doyle says. OSHA requires that persons who wish to be certified complete an in-person skills training program. The skills required to perform emergency CPR or first aid “aren’t something that you can just learn online.”

Someone looking for a training program should look out for red flags. One of them is that a program will claim to be “nationally accepted” or will make a guarantee that their training will be accepted. Doyle points out that there is no national organization or federal program that regulates emergency training. The American Heart Association is the most widely accepted certification organization. The AHA sets the standard, Doyle says, and any program working through the AHA is one consumers can trust.

If you get an online certification, you may find that your employer will make you take a traditional course of training through the Red Cross or the AHA. A lot of the time, Doyle says, students just end up losing their money. The online training is convenient, but it is a waste of time and money.

Medic Pro Training provides an American Heart Association training program. But Medic Pro goes a little further than just their traditional training. They also offer a wide range of training through blended learning programs. Medic Pro’s blended learning offers the convenience of online learning, but it includes requirement that students actually come to the center for in-person training with hands-on time. The session includes training and skills testing. Students “get the best of both worlds.”

Carter Doyle is the Medic Pro Training Center Director. He has over seven years of experience in education and six years of experience in healthcare. As a Paramedic, he uses the skills he teaches in class to save lives on a daily basis. His experience and medical training helps to ensure that Medic Pro Training teaches the most up-to-date first aid and CPR techniques supported by current medical research, and endorsed by professional medical boards and certifying agencies. The Health & Wellness Network is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.

There has been a lot of information in the last few years about the connection between sleep apnea and heart disease. In this report, Dr. Lee Surkin, a cardiologist and sleep medicine specialist, explains the link between heart disease and sleep apnea.

Dr. Surkin says that physicians have learned a lot in the past decade or so about the link between sleep apnea and heart disease. There are close associations that include heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Sleep apnea is not just associated with these problems; it may cause them.

Screening a patient for sleep apnea involves looking at the symptoms. The first symptom is snoring, a sign that there is a resistance in the airway to the flow of air. Snoring is not proof of sleep apnea, but it is suggestive. Another thing to consider is how someone feels when they wake up. People who feel they need more sleep and who are tired during the day may suffer from sleep apnea. Also, people who have headaches in the morning may have sleep apnea. Awakening with a dry mouth can be a symptom of sleep apnea.

Once someone has symptoms suggestive of sleep apnea, there are two diagnostic approaches. One is a home sleep apnea test that allows a potential sleep apnea patient to test for the problem at home. The testing is done for a period of one to three nights. The other approach, called in-center testing, requires a patient to spend a night in an accredited sleep laboratory to determine if sleep apnea is present.

Once sleep apnea is diagnosed, there are several treatment options. The most common one is the use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. The procedure involves breathing room air under enough pressure to keep the airway open. Another treatment approach is oral appliance therapy. This involves having a dental sleep physician take a mold of a patient’s teeth and create an oral appliance that goes into the patient’s mouth at bedtime. The appliance moves the lower jaw forward slightly to keep the airway open.

Another approach is the use of a product called Provent that works with the nostrils to splint the airway open. A very recently approved treatment is a hypoglossal nerve stimulation device. By stimulating the nerve that controls the tongue, the device causes the tongue to avoid dropping back to block the airway. Another thing sleep apnea patients should probably do is lose weight. Yet another approach involves surgery to enlarge the airway.

Dr. Lee Surkin, MD, FACC, FCCP, FASNC is a cardiologist in Greenville, North Carolina and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Martin General Hospital and Vidant Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He is board certified in Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology and Sleep Medicine. He is the founder of the American Academy of Cardiovascular Sleep Medicine. The Health and Wellness Network is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.

Coronary artery disease is a serious health problem. It is the most common type of heart disease and the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. In this report, Dr. Lee Surkin, a cardiologist and sleep medicine specialist, explains coronary artery disease, discusses risk factors, and describes preventive and reparative treatment.

“Coronary artery disease,” Dr. Surkin explains, “is a build-up of plaque in the heart arteries.” It develops after there has been damage to the inside lining of those arteries. The damage causes the body to undertake a repair process that leads to the plaque build-up and perhaps a blockage of the arteries.

The causes of the disease are related to risk factors. Those factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, family history, diabetes, obesity, high stress, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Screening for the disease is not always invasive, Dr. Surkin says. His office begins by getting a patient’s history and an electrocardiogram. Then comes the decision as to the kinds of non-invasive tests to be used. These include an ultrasound study of the heart, a stress test, and a CAT scan or MRI scan. If the tests suggest that an invasive test is needed, the next step is a cardiac catheterization in which a dye solution is injected into the cardiac arteries to get a direct image of plaque build-up in those arteries.

The good news, Dr. Surkin says, is that the condition can sometimes be reversed. “The treatment depends on an aggressive approach to modifying the risk factors.” All the risk factors previously listed need to be evaluated and treated. Some studies show that aggressive lowering of a patient’s cholesterol level—using exercise, improved diet, and drugs called statins—can reduce the extent of arterial blockage.

Prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease “involves a multifaceted approach.” The first step, called primary prevention, is to keep the disease from occurring. Secondary prevention involves dealing with a disease that is already established and keeping it from getting worse. Once again, treatment requires an aggressive look at all the risk factors and mitigating them.

If a patient has the disease and if it is serious enough, the physician may have to directly manipulate the coronary arteries. Using coronary angioplasty, the plaquing can be pushed off to the side, Dr. Surkin explains. The physician inflates a balloon inside the artery to push the plaque to the side, then inserts a metal stent to keep the artery open.

The other surgical treatment is coronary artery bypass. In this procedure, a blood vessel taken from under a patient’s breastbone or from the leg is plugged directly into the heart to bypass the damaged artery.

Dr. Lee Surkin, MD, FACC, FCCP, FASNC is a cardiologist in Greenville, North Carolina and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Martin General Hospital and Vidant Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He is board certified in Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology and Sleep Medicine. He is the founder of the American Academy of Cardiovascular Sleep Medicine. The Health and Wellness Network is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.

Many parents will face the prospect of choosing an orthodontist for their children. Getting the right dentist is especially important for a process that will go on over a period of time. In this report, Dr. Matthew Freedman, an experienced orthodontist, explains what parents should think about and look for when making the big decision.

The obvious first consideration is proximity. Parents need to think about where they live, where they work, and what their schedules are like, including their children’s school schedules. Monthly visits to the dentist will require that everything fits together.

Dr. Freedman suggests that parents find an orthodontist who can deal directly with their dental insurance company. “That will be an important piece of the puzzle” for families with insurance. Dr. Freedman says that his office handles the insurance for his patients, submitting the claim and dealing with insurers to get claims paid. Patients then pay only the amount not covered by insurance and are spared a lot of hassle.

Parents should try to find an office they like, one that is pleasant to visit and that makes them and their children feel good. Monthly visits to the orthodontist should be a good experience. Parents should look for a dental office they will want to come back to.

Dr. Freedman points out that there are things parents should avoid. First off, watch out for “anything that sounds out of the ordinary.” Most parents know how their children’s teeth look (and it’s easy to take a look). Parents usually have a sense of how bad their children’s teeth are and how much work might be involved. Parents should be wary of strange dental appliances or a treatment plan that doesn’t make sense. Parents need to get an idea of how much it will probably cost them before they commit to working with an orthodontist.

Another thing parents should be aware of is that some practices will have several orthodontists. It is important that a child sees the same dentist every time. Otherwise, there may be no consistent course of treatment.

Parents will want to inquire how an orthodontist deals with children, particularly as regards calming them. Dr. Freedman’s office uses an approach of telling children what the doctor will do, then showing them how it will work, then doing the treatment. Avoiding surprises will make children calmer and more confident about their treatment. Dr. Freedman also recommends using a computer simulation to show a child how the teeth will move around during treatment.

Dr. Freedman notes that orthodontic practice doesn’t involve pain and needles in the office. So a calm, confident doctor will make the children feel better. Patience is a good thing in an orthodontist.

Dr. Freedman’s key suggestion: “Follow your gut.” Parents need to be guided by their good instincts and pick a doctor and an office that make them feel comfortable. If the fee sounds wrong, you may want to look for alternatives.

Matthew Freedman, D.M.D. is an orthodontist practicing with Main Street Children's Dentistry and Orthodontics of Naples, Florida. He attended dental school at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Freedman started practices in Naples, Bonita Springs, and Ft. Myers. Currently the dental director for the Main Street Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics group, he still practices full time in Naples, where his son attends the Community School of Naples. Dentist News Network is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.