Newspaper Page Text
January 21, 2009
Reporter
PAGE 3B
Some questions to ask your doctor
Asking your doctor the right questions can help give you peace of
mind and save you and your physician time later on.
According to the data
reports offered by the
CDC's National Center for
Health Statistics, based on
information compiled in
2006, the average time
spent with a doctor in the
U.S. during an office visit
is 22 minutes. Arriving
prepared can help ensure
you have all of your ques
tions answered, and it will
help enable you to feel
reassured upon leaving
your appointment.
You have the right to
understand a particular ill
ness and question the doc
tor on anything you don't
understand. It's also help
ful to jot down notes on
what the doctor says, par
ticularly information about
prescription dosing, so that
you can review the infor
mation when you return
home and are in a setting
with fewer distractions.
Use these questions as a
guideline for talking with
your doctor.
For a particular condi
tion:
* What is wrong with
me?
* What causes this type
of problem?
* Is this condition seri
ous?
* Is this condition conta
gious? Should Iworry about
giving it to others?
* Are there any activities,
foods or medicines Ishould
avoid while I have this con
dition?
* How can Iprevent this
from happening again?
* What type of treatment
do you recommend?
If testing is recom
mended:
* What is this test and
why is it needed?
* How long will the test
take?
* Is it painful?
* Do you perform this
test in the office or do
Ineed to go to a lab?
* Are there any risks
involved?
* How do I prepare for
this test? Are there any
foods or activities I should
avoid?
* What side effects
should I look for, if any?
* How long does it take to
receive the results?
When given a prescrip
tion:
* What does this medi
cine do and why is it being
prescribed?
* What are the side
effects?
* What happens if I do
not take this medicine?
* How long do I need to
take this medicine?
* Should it be taken with
or without food?
* What do I do if Imiss a
dose?
* If I don't experience any
improvement, how long
after taking this medica
tion should Icall you?
* Are there any foods,
beverages or other medica
tions I should avoid while
taking this medicine?
* Are there any alterna
tives to medication?
Did
you
know?
According to the
American Heart
Association (AHA), cardio
vascular diseases are the
No. 1 killer in the United
States. In fact, in a report
released in 2008, the AHA
estimated that, in 2005
(the most recent year
where reliable statistics
were available), nearly 81
million people in the
United States had one or
more forms of cardiovascu
lar disease. With the U.S.
population estimated to be
slightly more than 300 mil
lion, that means more than
25 percent of the country
has some form of cardio
vascular disease. The most
common type of cardiovas
cular disease for
Americans was high blood
pressure, which afflicts
more than 70 million peo
ple throughout the country.
The AHA report also notes
that more than 860,000
Americans died from car
diovascular disease in 2004
(the last year where con
crete mortality rates were
available). While it's com
mon to assume that cardio
vascular disease is a con
cern strictly for the elderly,
that's not the case at all.
In fact, 148,000 Americans
killed bycardiovascular dis
ease in 2004 were under
the age of 65, highlighting
the very real notion that
cardiovascular disease does
not discriminate based on
age, race or gender.
Perhaps most telling about
the prevalence of cardio
vascular disease is its mor
tality rate when compared
to other ailments. For
example, the more than
800,000 lives cardiovascu
lar disease claimed in 2004
was more than the total
number of lives lost to can
cer, accidents and HIV
(AIDS) combined.
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