If your shoulder hurts so much that you struggle to perform daily activities or even sleep at night, shoulder replacement might be your best option for relief. If you’re considering shoulder replacement, it’s important to consult a highly experienced surgeon, advises University of Iowa Health Care orthopedic surgeon Brendan Patterson, MD, MPH. “Patients should visit a surgeon with specialized…

A young boy’s family believes fate combined with expert health care saved his life, overcoming a rare cancer. Carter Schmidt had been healthy until he was 9 months old, when his mother, Tiffany, and his day care provider noticed he was pale, lethargic, and not eating. A blood draw taken at his local doctor’s office showed a high white blood cell count and low red blood cells. It also indicated a…

Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that starts in the upper chambers of the heart. As many as 6 million Americans have Afib, which develops as an abnormal, rapid heartbeat when the upper chambers beat rapidly and out of sync with the lower chambers. This makes it harder for the heart to pump blood efficiently throughout the body. Patients with Afib often describe…

Many fans of professional or college sports know sport psychology professionals can assist athletes with the games’ mental aspects. But many don't know that this resource is available—and helpful—for the casual athlete, too. Michael Berrebi, PhD, LMHC, a counselor and sport and performance specialist with University of Iowa Sports Medicine, shares how people can improve their performance and…

Maria Story, MD, has launched two significant programs while working with Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center: one bringing a home hemodialysis option to southeast Iowa for the first time, and one to help primary care physicians follow patients with chronic illness more effectively and efficiently from home.

For most patients who have knee replacement surgery, the procedure is remarkably successful. Overall, about 85% of people who have knee replacement surgery say they’re very satisfied with it. For others, responses can vary—from people who say the results were good but not quite as good as they’d hoped to fewer than 3% of patients who have a complication such as an infection or scar tissue. “I…

The UI Health Care team working to bring CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) education to schools has several statistics that show why the training is needed. But even better than that, they have proof that the training has helped save a life. “One of the first schools we designated a Heart Safe school had to put their plan into place when a student collapsed during the school day,”…

Many athletes who are committed to enhancing their performance use dietary supplements to boost their intake of certain vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients. Some supplement manufacturers make a variety of claims about their products, saying they can increase exercise efficiency, help athletes meet performance goals more quickly, or reduce the chances of injury. Some of these claims…

Smartwatches and wearable devices are gaining popularity as nifty gadgets to track steps or check weather updates and texts. They’re also wearable health aides that monitor heart rates—useful devices for people with atrial fibrillation (Afib) and other irregular heart rhythms. By continuously monitoring heart rates, smartwatches can detect abnormalities such as a heart rate that is too high or…