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WH - A Guide to Women's Health: Spring/Summer 2007
A Guide To
Womens Health
Fall 2006
The beating of your heart is easy to take for granted, but serious consequences can result if those beats are out of sync. That's why this issue's feature article takes a close look at atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm that causes increased risk for stroke and heart failure, and informs you about John Muir Health's advanced cardiac treatments and our state-of-the-art electrophysiology suite. Also in this issue, get the latest on John Muir's exceptional perinatology program and our unique mental health services for adolescents. Read on to get updates on everything from what to do in cases of concussion to when to call a doctor for a child's stomachache. It's all designed to promote health and wellness for you and yours. Enjoy!
—J. Kendall Anderson
President and CEO,
John Muir Health
Visit the John Muir Women's Health Center
Are you looking for information you can trust about some of today's leading health and wellness issues? At our Women's Health Center, you'll find resources on everything from women and heart disease to childbirth education and menopause, as well as osteoporosis screenings and mammography. The center also offers classes, support groups, massage therapy and lactation services.
Stop by 1656 N. California Blvd., Ste. 100, in Walnut Creek.
Business hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call (925) 941-7900.
Take Heart
The John Muir Women's Heart Program helps you take positive steps to protect your health and safeguard against heart disease, the No. 1 killer of U.S. women. The program offers a comprehensive screening appointment for women 20 and older who wish to know more about their risk factors for heart disease or who may be at increased risk for heart disease. The appointment includes:
- full lipid and blood glucose screening (must be fasting).
- blood pressure monitoring (including peripheral).
- Women's Heart Questionnaire and personalized report
- education session with a cardiac nurse.
For an appointment ($95, not covered by insurance) or more information, call (925) 941-7965.
[back to top]A Safe Passage Through Pregnancy
Every family looks forward to the birth of a healthy child. For the majority of women, pregnancy follows a fairly routine course, but for some, there may be unexpected difficulties and challenges along the way.
A woman with a high-risk pregnancy has a greater chance of complications during labor, either because of pre-existing risk factors or unexpected conditions that can occur without warning during her nine-month term. Mothers more likely to need a closer watch during pregnancy are those with pre-existing medical conditions (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease) or a history of premature birth or pregnancy loss. Pregnancy-related problems, such as expecting multiple babies, toxemia (high blood pressure during pregnancy), and abnormal fetal growth or amniotic fluid amount can also indicate a greater need to see a specialist in maternal fetal medicine.
"We tell expectant mothers to follow a good diet and take prenatal vitamins, but unfortunately, women with certain high-risk factors cannot do much else to alter their condition significantly," says Rosa Won, M.D., a perinatologist (high risk specialist) with the John Muir Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. "What we can do to help is keep an eye on mother and fetus, and monitor both closely."
Dr. Won and Jeff Traynor, M.D., perinatologist and medical director of John Muir's Maternal-Fetal Medicine Department, provide high-risk pregnancy support services at the John Muir Birth Center and round-the-clock assistance to highrisk patients in Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley. Most women are referred by their primary obstetrician or infertility specialist, if they know about a history that puts them and their babies at risk. The specialists work with a woman's physician to minimize risks and help ensure a healthier pregnancy, says Dr. Traynor. "When a woman's doctor contacts us, we start with a consultation to assess her pregnancy risks, then we will either comanage her pregnancy with her physician or assume her care if the situation dictates the need for a higher level of care."
Before and throughout her pregnancy, a high-risk patient receives preconception counseling, ultrasound services, first- and second-trimester screenings for genetic defects, and inpatient and outpatient consulting for medical diseases during pregnancy.
For those who deliver at the John Muir Birth Center, nurses who are specifically trained in high-risk prenatal care assist the perinatologists in the care of complicated pregnancies. Neonatal and pediatric specialists also are available to provide care for the newborn after delivery.
The John Muir Birth Center offers some of the best technology, but good TLC is just as important, says Dr. Won. "Our excellent nurses and physicians work together in a collaborative way to make the labor and delivery process a memorable event.
"Even if we don't actually deliver their babies, many new mothers come back to show us photos," Dr. Won adds. "To us, that's the biggest reward of a job well done."
A New Prenatal Screening Test
Technological advances have led to a new test that detects Down syndrome and the typically lethal condition trisomy 18 earlier and with greater accuracy. The newer test, known as first trimester screening, can identify fetuses at risk for these genetic disorders as early as 11 weeks (nine weeks after conception). Previous blood test screening had to be performed between 16 and 20 weeks. "It is so beneficial because it gives women better information earlier in their pregnancy and time to consider the effects," says Jeff Traynor, M.D., John Muir Health's medical director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
The screening uses an ultrasound test called nuchal translucency to measure a fluid-filled space in the back of the fetus' neck, followed by a blood test to measure levels of a protein called pregnancy-associated plasma protein A and a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin. Studies show that the test detects 83 percent of Down syndrome cases and 80 percent of trisomy 18 cases, compared to 65 percent to 70 percent for previous screening tests done later in pregnancy.
Copyright © 2007 by John Muir Health. WH is published quarterly by John Muir Health as a community service and is not intended for the purpose of diagnosing or prescribing. WH Editorial Advisory Board: American Heart Association and the Office on Women's Health, U.S. Public Health Service. Produced by DCP.