7 Facts About Heart Disease In The US

Do you know, heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in the US. To avoid such situation, it’s really important to keep a check on your heart condition regularly. Moreover, make sure to undergo complete body checkup once or twice a year to avoid such situation. Here are more facts about heart disease that you must know.

¹⁾                Every year approx. 610,000 people die of heart disease in the US i.e., 1 in every 4 deaths.

²⁾                Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of heart disease. It kills more than 370,000 people every year.

3)      High cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (47%) have at least one of these three risk factors. The various other medical conditions and lifestyle choices that increases the risk of heart disease are:  

·         Overweight and obesity

·         Physical inactivity

·         Diabetes

·         Poor diet

·         Excessive alcohol use

4)      About 47% of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside a hospital. This means that many people are not able to recognize the early symptoms of heart disease and don’t act on them. .

5)      In a 2005 survey, the major symptom of heart attack was chest pain. Approx. 92% of the experience chest pain before heart attack. Only 27% of the respondents were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack.

6)      Between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in men.

7)      Heart disease costs the United States about $200 billion each year, including the cost of medications, health care services, and lost productivity.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. It’s because of the expensive medicines. Most of the people avoid taking heart disease medicines as they’re quite expensive. If any member of your family or any of your friend is suffering from heart disease, tell them to use free prescription discount cards to buy their prescription medications, These Rx cards will help them to get medications at low prices. 

3 Prescription Drugs To Treat Constipation

Most of the people prefer to treat chronic constipation with natural remedies.  Taking a proper ‘fruits and vegetables’ diet, minimum eight cups of water a day c and exercise along with over the counter laxatives can help to treat chronic constipation. If in case over-the-counter laxatives such as Colace, Metamucil, Milk of Magnesia, and Citrucel don't help, make sure to consult with your healthcare provider.

Here are some prescription drugs that you can use to treat your chronic constipation are:

1)   Lactulose – Lactulose is a prescription laxative available with a variety of brand names such as Duphalac, Chronulac, Cephula, and more, used in the treatment of constipation.  Lactulose draws water into the bowel to soften the stool. However, lactulose overdose can lead to various side effects such as diarrhea, gas, stomach cramps, and upset stomach etc.

2)    Linaclotide – Linaclotide is an FDA approved drug with a trade name Linzess. You can take this drug once in a day on an empty stomach, prior 30 minutes your first meal of the day. It helps relieve constipation by helping bowel movements occur more often. This drug is not recommended for children of age 17 years and younger. The most common side effect of Linzess is diarrhea.

3) Lubiprostone – Lubiprostone is an FDA approved drug used to treat chronic constipation. It is marketed in the US with a trade name of Amitiza. Amitiza softens the stool by increasing its water content in the bowel, so the stool can pass easily. You can take this medicine twice in a day with your food. Various side effects that you might experience with Lubiprostone are headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

If you’re suffering from chronic constipation and your doctor has prescribed any of these prescription drugs, you can use free prescription discount cards to buy your medications. These Rx cards will help you buy your medications without burning a hole in your pocket.

Symptoms Of Drug Overdose

Drug overdoses can be accidental or intentional. They occur when an individual takes medicine more than the recommended dose. 

Accidental overdoses result from either a young child or an adult swallows a medication mistakenly, or mistakenly ingest the incorrect medication, or take the wrong dose of a medication. 

Intentional overdoses are for a desired effect, either to get high or to harm oneself.

Drug Overdose Symptoms:

Different medications have different side effects on the body and side effects may vary from person to person. There are chances that large overdoses of some medications cause only minimal effects, while smaller overdoses of other medications can cause severe effects, resulting in death. A single dose of some medications can be lethal an individual. Some overdoses may worsen a person's chronic disease. Here are some drug overdose symptoms that you must need to know:

• Confusion, sleepiness, and coma (when someone cannot be aroused) are the most common symptoms.
• Cool and sweaty skin, or hot and dry skin.
• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea are possible. Vomiting blood, or blood in bowel movements, can be life threatening.
• Shortness of breath, chest pain due to heart or lung damage. Breathing may get slow, rapid, shallow, or deep.
• Specific drugs can damage specific organs, depending on the drug.

To avoid drug overdose, make sure to take your medicines as prescribed by your doctor. When you fill your prescription at the pharmacy, make sure that your pharmacist must have the same information as your doctor regarding your medications and past reactions you have had. You can also buy your medicines by using free prescription discount cards. This will help you to keep a check on your medicines. Moreover, this free Rx card can help you a lot of money your prescription drugs. You can avail these card easily from your nearest pharmacies.

Top 5 Selling Prescription Drugs In The US

The cost of prescription drugs is rising continuously in the U.S. One of the biggest reasons behind continuous increase in prescription drugs price is the greater number of specialty drugs introduced by bio pharmaceutical companies in the market. These drugs are used to treat complex or rare chronic conditions. Many of them are biologic i.e., drugs are derived from living cells.

The flip side of the continuous rise in prescription drugs is that pharmaceutical companies are making a lot of money. Here are the top five selling prescription drugs of 2016.

1. Humira® (adalimumab)

Manufacturer: AbbVie

2016 sales: $16.078 billion

2015 sales: $14.012 billion

% Change: 14.7%

2. Harvoni® (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg)

Manufacturer: Gilead Sciences

2016 sales: $9.081 billion

2015 sales: $13.864 billion

% Change: (34.5%)

3. Enbrel® (etanercept)

Sponsor(s): Amgen and Pfizer

2016 sales: $8.874 billion ($5.965 billion Amgen + $2.909 billion Pfizer)

2015 sales: $8.697 billion ($5.364 billion Amgen + $3.333 billion Pfizer)

% Change: 2.0%

4. Rituxan® (rituximab, MabThera)

Sponsor(s): Roche (Genentech) and Biogen

2016 sales: $8.583 billion ($7.268 billion [CHF 7.300 billion] Roche + $1.315 billion Biogen)

2015 sales: $8.354 billion ($7.015 billion [CHF 7.045 billion] Roche + $1.339 billion Biogen)

% Change: 2.7%

5. Remicade® (infliximab)

Sponsor(s): Johnson & Johnson and Merck

2016 sales: $7.829 billion ($6.561 billion J&J + $1.268 billion Merck)

2015 sales: $8.760 billion ($6.966 billion J&J + $1.794 billion Merck)

% Change: (10.6%)

If you are suffering from chronic pain and need to buy any of these medications, you can use free prescription discount cards to buy your medications. These Rx cards help you save 70-80% of money on prescription drugs. The cards are available for free and are acceptable at almost every pharmacy in the US. Feel free to download Rx cards and use them to buy your prescription medications.

How You Can Refill Your Prescription Early?

One of the weirdest situations a pharmacist might experience when patients demand to refill their prescription sooner than the expected date. This practice is quite challenging for the pharmacists.

Pharmacists often confront with individuals who want to misuse drugs and requests for early refill, month after month. This is a sign of drug addiction that may eventually lead to drug overdose and death.

Individual scan make various excuses to refill medications such as medication was stolen, lost, will be out of town on vacation when the prescription is due for a refill, or  prescriber told the patient to take more medication without providing a new prescription to the pharmacy. Whatever the reason for the request, controlled substances always present the possibility of abuse.

To avoid drug abuse, the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration has enforced some laws to refill prescription drugs.  The various rules to buy prescription drugs are:

·      Prescriptions for schedule II controlled substances cannot be refilled, needs a new prescription

·    Prescriptions for schedules III and IV controlled substances may be refilled up to five times in six   months.

·    Prescriptions for schedule V controlled substances need practitioner’s prescription to be refilled. 

Where you need a prescription to buy medications, you can use free discount cardsto refill prescription early at any pharmacy even if you still have a supply of medication on hand. That’s the benefit of using discount cards – there are no restrictions or refill too soon limitations.

If you have a prescription, you can refill your prescription medications by using the free Rx cards. Moreover, these cards will also help you avail a discount up to 70% on your prescription drugs. You can get these cards from local pharmacies and many pharmaceutical companies. In addition to it, you can also use these cards with your insurance plan. 

Types of Back and Neck Pain Prescription Medications

The most common type of pain that every human faces at least once in their life is back or neck pain. There are many over-the-counter (non-prescription) and prescription medications that are available to manage and relieve this kind of pain. However, it is imperative to figure out the cause behind the pain, before you take any medication.

Pain management is a critical factor for people recovering from back or neck pain. Before you can go ahead and start looking for medication options, you need to figure out the cause. It can be narrowed down by carefully monitoring your symptoms and lifestyle. See a doctor immediately if the pain persists for more than 3 days.

Remember that acute or chronic back/neck pain can lead to depression, sleep disorders, difficulty in exercising etc. It can disrupt your whole professional life as well as personal life. Consult a doctor and get right pain medications to manage your pain.

There are 3 different type of pain relievers:

1.   Oral pain medications –They can be in the form of pill or liquid. They work differently but both have unique benefits. Some medications are only available by prescription. This includes narcotic pain medications that help alleviate pain. Oral steroids is another form of non-narcotic pain medication that can help with back/neck pain.

2.   Topical pain medications - These are generally applied on the skin to reduce localized pain that happen due to a sore muscle or an arthritic joint. They are readily available as OTC medication. Some popular topical pain relievers in the US are Zostrix, Arthricare, Icy Hot, Aspercreme etc.

3.    Injections–This type of pain relieving medication is generally used to treat high level of pain and instant relief. Prescription is a must to get this type of medication.

Most of the prescription - oral and injection (narcotic) based pain medications have addictive and intoxicating properties. So, a prescription from a doctor is must to attain these medications. As they cost quite high, some people may have a hard time affording these medications. There are Prescription discount cards available online that can help you get some discounts on these kind of medications.

Tips To Save On Your Pet’s Medications

Pets are part of our lives and our families for years. But when they get sick, they can leave you hurt emotionally and can burn a hole in your pocket. So what can be done?Here are some ideas that can help you during your tough times i.e., when your pet is sick.

Tips to Save Money On Pets Medications

If you’re tired of drug-sticker-shock at your vet and looking for ways to save money on your pet medications, use these easy tips:

·     Make Sure That You Vet Writes Prescription For Your Pet’s Medication – This will let you buy medications for your pet from reputed pharmacies. If your vet is not offering you prescription or asking for extra fee, find another vet.

·     Take Help Of Prescription Discount Cards – If your pet is suffering from long term chronic health issue, you can use prescription discount card to buy your pet’s medications. Ask your vet to offer a prescription that you can show to pharmacy that accepts freeprescription discount cards.These RX cards will help you get a discount of 70-85% on your pet’s prescription medications.

·    Use For Human Drug Equivalent – If your vet is prescribing you expensive antibiotics, ask them whether there’s a less expensive medication or ask for a human alternative prescription with a less expensive generic. Most antibiotics fit this category.

·     Buy Medications Online – If you buy online, make sure to order from the site that belongs to Vet-VIPPS accredited pharmacies. Vet-VIPPS (Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites,) a program run by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. These sites comply with federal and state licensing requirements and quality assurance.

We hope these tips will help you buy medications for your pets at less cost. If you have any queries, share your issues with us in the comment section below. 

THE FACTS ABOUT RISING PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

Drug prices in the United States are too high and continue to rise steeply. The unsustainable cost of prescription drugs not only puts pressure on the health care system but increasingly; patients, employers, and providers are paying prices that are too high.

Some facts about the rising cost of prescription drugs

• Today, the expenditure of prescription drugs is 20 times of health care costs

• The cost of prescription drugs is increasing faster than any other part of the health care dollar.

• American spending on prescription drugs increased by 13.1% in the year 2014—the largest annual increase since 2003. The spending rose to another 12.2 percent in the year 2015.

• Specialty drug (drugs that require special handling, administration, or monitoring) pricing alone is far beating the Consumer Price Index. Moreover, specialty drugs are expected to increase to 44% of overall drug spending by the year 2017.

• Spending on 10 breakthrough drugs alone will cost just three government programs nearly $50 billion over a decade.

• According to a recent AARP report, the annual retail cost of widely-used specialty prescription drug therapies in 2013 was around $53,384 annually. This is more than an average of the US household income ($52,250) for the same time period.

• Spending on specialty medicines increased by $54 billion over the last five years, accounting for73%of all medicine spending growth.

• Prices are rising on some common drugs, too. Four of the top 10 prescription drugs in the US have increased in price by more than 100 percent since 2011.

How can you afford prescription drugs?

If you want to buy prescription drugs without burning a hole in your pocket, download free prescription discount cards. These prescription cards will help you to save up to 75-80% of your money on prescription drugs. The cards are acceptable at the majority of the pharmacies of the US. 

Few Facts About Migraine

Migraine is a neurological disease characterized by recurrent headaches that are moderate to severe. The headache affect one half of the head, is pulsating in nature, and last from two to 72 hours. 

Facts about migraine

•  Migraine is the 3rd most prevalent disease in the world
• Approx. 38 Millions of Americans are suffering from migraine.  
• Approximately 1 in 4 US households includes someone who is dealing with migraine.
• 6% of men, 18% of American women, and 10% of children experience migraines.    
• It ismost common between the age group of 25 and 55.
• About 90% of migraine sufferers have a family history of migraine.

Migraine is not just a bad headache

•  Migraine results in severe recurring pain, usually on one side of the head.
• Few of the disabling symptoms of migraine are –  nausea, dizziness, vomiting, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face.
•  Approx. 25% of the migraine sufferers also have a visual disturbance called an aura, usually lasts less than an hour.

Migraine disproportionately affects women

•  28 million women have migraine in the US
•  85% of chronic migraine sufferers are women.
• Roughly 1 in 4 women experience migraine in their lives.
• Women are three times more prone to migraine in adulthood than men.
• About half of female sufferers have more than one attack each month, and a quarter experience 4 or more severe attacks per month.
• More severe and more frequent attacks often result from fluctuations in estrogen levels.

Migraine affects kids, too 

•  Migraine often goes undiagnosed in children.
•  Approximately 10% of the children of school-age suffer from migraine.
•  Half of the migraine sufferers have their first attack before the 12 years age.
• In childhood, boys suffer from migraine more often than girls; as adolescence approaches, the incidence increases more rapidly in girls than in boys.
• A child who has one parent with migraine has a 50% chance of inheriting it, and the chances rise to 75%, if both parents have migraine. 

If you suffer from chronic migraine attacks and take prescription medications daily, you can use free prescription discount cards to buy your prescription drugs.