Every day, people in parks, community centers, YMCAs, gyms, churches, and living rooms across the country are performing tai chi, a centuries-old Chinese martial art—not because of their interest in martial training, but for its purported physical and mental health benefits. Tai chi’s slow, repetitive movements provide a low-impact method for strengthening the body’s muscular, skeletal, and organ systems while the emphasis on breathing and inner stillness relieves stress and anxiety. And as an added bonus, it burns more calories than surfing and nearly as many as downhill skiing. Studies have shown tai chi may help lower cholesterol, improve cardiovascular and respiratory function, reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), reduce the severity of diabetes, and improve people’s overall health. And recently, researchers found that regular tai chi exercise can also help reduce pain and improve knee function among seniors with osteoarthritis.
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On the heels of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, legislators are often looking for ways to beat the cancer before it has a chance to take over the patient’s body…with awareness. Capitol Hill was recently the host of a congressional reception as a move to garner attention for the EARLY Act, an attempt to spread breast cancer information and prevention to young women.
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When it comes to your heart, you want everything is in tip-top shape, and if you suffer from heart failure you want to make sure that the device you have could save your life if needed. Unfortunately for the female population, the implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, which save lives against deadly heart rhythms, may not actually help women that suffer from advanced heart failure. (more…)