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Howard G. Smith, M.D. is a former radio medical editor and talk show host in the Boston Metro area. His "Medical Minute" of health and wellness news and commentary was a regular weekday feature on WBZ-AM, WRKO-AM, and WMRE-AM. His popular two-way talk show, Dr. Howard Smith OnCall, was regularly heard Sunday morning and middays on WBZ.

Dr. Smith has adopted audio and video podcasting as conduits for HEALTH NEWS YOU SHOULD USE. Based on the latest medical, health, and wellness literature these reports provide practical information you can use to keep yourself and your family healthy. Many reports have video versions, and Dr. Smith’s YouTube Channel may be found at: http://bit.ly/2rNw6XQ

Trained at Harvard Medical School and a long-time faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital, he practiced Pediatric Otolaryngology for 40 years in Boston, Southern California, and in central Connecticut.  He is now based in New York City.

If you have questions or suggestions about this content, please email the doctor at drhowardsmith.reports@gmail.com or leave him a message at 516-778-8864.  His website is: www.drhowardsmith.com.

Please note that the news, views, commentary, and opinions that Dr. Smith provides are for informational purposes only. Any changes that you or members of your family contemplate making to lifestyle, diet, medications, or medical therapy should always be discussed beforehand with personal physicians who have been supervising your care.

Apr 11, 2019

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/GF0b2eu17dM

Young people and adults with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder suffer from flashback-induced anxiety attacks that send the entire body into orbit.  Controlling the breathing rate using an electronic device helps those with PTSD relax, suppress anxiety, and better manage their symptoms.

Clinical researchers from Atlanta’s Emory University reported their success with just such a gadget to the American Physiological Society’s spring meeting this week.  A stand-alone device called the RESPeRATE was used in a group of subjects with verified PTSD, and control subjects were given sham devices to use.  The working device produces tones to help the user pace the breathing to ever slower rates while the sham device maintained a normal rate of 14 breaths per minute.

The PSTD subjects with most severe symptoms showed significant improvements in their heart rates, blood pressures, and sympathetic nervous system activity when they used the device.  This translates into relief from the effects of their flashbacks and anxiety attacks,

The RESPeRATE device is pricey at over $300 on Amazon.  If you feel that you would benefit from this type of self-help, I’d suggest trying an smartphone/pad app called Breathe2Relax.   It has not only breathing exercises but also other relaxation coaching.

American Physiological Society. "Device-guided breathing lowers heart rate, sympathetic activity in people with PTSD: Study finds greatest improvements in those with severe symptoms." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 April 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190407144213.htm.

https://www.amazon.com/RESPeRATE-Ultra-Pressure-Hypertension-Reduction/dp/B0022NI1NG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=RESPeRATE&qid=1554750866&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://breathe2relax.soft112.com

#PTSD #posttraumaticstress #breathing #anxiety #flashbacks