MIAMI (CBS4) – Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States, and more than 1,100 people die from it each day. So what if there was an easy way to spot trouble before it struck? Marie Johnson’s invention does that and it could save lives – all because she listened to her heart. Her rustic retreat at the end of a dirt road outside of Northfield, Minn., is just about the last place you’d think would be home to a medical breakthrough. But a garage startup is where Johnson bypasses the business world. “I believe we are going to save a lot of lives, reduce the number of widows and widowers, and little kids that don’t get to grow up with their father or mother. That’s my goal,” Johnson said. Johnson, 44, has spent the past decade developing a handheld device that can quickly detect heart blockages. Her company, AUM Cardiovascular, is about to launch FDA trials, which is a bright outlook for an invention born from one of life’s darkest moments. Johnson didn’t know it, but her project began just before she and her husband, Rob, were about to have their second child. “I just said to him, ‘I have this feeling that you are going to die and leave me with this baby,’” Johnson said. Johnson is a biomedical engineer, and science soon supported her premonition. “I was doing this project with the 3M Company to develop a computerized stethoscope, and I recorded all this information from him and discovered he had an anomaly,” she said. Rob went to his doctor, but aced a stress test. Nine months later, Johnson went to the YMCA to meet him for his usual workout. “There was an ambulance, and a body with a white sheet. And I turned to my daughter, who was 4 and said, ‘We have to pray, because someone has died here today,’” Johnson said. In that parking lot, police would tell Johnson she was a widow. “I mean, honestly, the whole world was spinning, and I just, just didn’t believe it,” she said. An autopsy showed a heart attack in Rob’s left anterior descending artery, commonly called “The Widow Maker,” because a blockage there usually causes sudden death. In her research, Johnson knew she heard something in her husband’s heart. That’s when she listened closer. “I remember sitting at my desk at 3 o’clock in the morning, all the lights were off, I just had the glow of my computer screen,” she said. “And I could hear God whisper.” Faith helped her form an algorithm that could pinpoint heart problems through sound. Johnson said just as you hear water rushing past rocks in a stream, the sound of blood rushing past a blockage is audible too, and her device picks up that current. “It listens to patients in a different way,” she said. “Sensors pick up turbulence in a narrowing artery.” Johnson named her device the CADence. The device fits it the palm of the hand and it takes measurements at four different places on the chest, which takes around two minutes. The information is then downloaded and analyzed. Cardiologists believe the CADence could change the way they practice. University of Minnesota Chief Cardiologist Dr. Bob Wilson said the CADence shows promise of replacing a treadmill stress test, because it’s easier and cheaper. He also said that its impact on medicine could be global. “I would hope they start using it in the university emergency room, tomorrow,” he said. Wilson became Johnson’s principle investigator. “It’s completely one of those ‘aha!’ moments that you have,” he said. Steve Kiemele, a Fargo venture capitalist and CFO of Linn Grove Ventures, says he’s more interested in the faith side of the story. He agreed to be one of Johnson’s three test subjects. However, when his test results came in, they were quite concerning. “The look on her face suggested…that [I] should see a doctor,” he said. So he went and the doctor did a stress test, which turned up nothing. Not convinced – especially in light of what happened to Johnson’s husband, Kiemele asked his doctor for a CT scan. Kiemele said the scan confirmed he had an issue in his left anterior descending artery (aka The Widow Maker). He says his life was saved by divine intervention. Johnson said God has been with her throughout her project. “I know that we were supposed to do this,” she said. Her husband only lived to be 41-years-old, but she thinks her invention will keep thousands of families together. “I think he’d be proud,” she said. In 2011, AUM Cardiovascular took the top $50,000 prize at the Minnesota Cup entrepreneurial competition, which called AUM the most promising company in Minnesota. Johnson’s company beat out more than 1,000 participants. She left her faculty position at the University of Minnesota’s Medical Device Fellows Program in 2009 to pursue her business full time, and is now remarried. “It’s joy, just remembering what a special guy he was,” she said. AUM Cardiology will begin clinical trials on the CADence across the country in June. Johnson says her device could hit the market by October 2013, pending FDA approval. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but at the heart of Johnson’s work, love is the lifeblood.

The notion of sprinkling algae into a protein shake or spreading it on toast probably seems foreign or just plain bizarre to most people. But, fortunately, many fresh and sea water dwellers have no problem using algae as an essential food source. And, in a roundabout way, humans end up deriving some of the benefits Related posts: Astaxanthin Update Chlorella and Spirulina Best of Chlorella and Spirulina Multivitamins in the News CoQ10 News and Research

MIAMI (CBS4) – The device is like a magic wand at work. It heats up the skin, plumping up the collagen that’s there and creating new collagen to get rid of the droopy and the flabby. CBS4′s Cynthia Demos reveals a pair of legs to viewers and asked them if the legs belonged to a 20, 30 or 40-yer old? “How old are you Janie,” she asked the woman whose legs were on display. “I’m over 50,” Janie answered. She credits her you looking legs to six treatments, plus ongoing visits to the  Tripollar. “I go to the gym, bike, walk, play tennis, golf, but it’s still 50-year old skin. It needed something. But I didn’t think there was any help for it,” she told Demos. Janie is so happy with the results on legs, she’s now doing her neck. “It’s making fliberblast to make new collagen,” explained Dr. Jason Pozner of Boca Raton. He is one of the only plastic surgeons in South Florida to use this device. “When you do a facelift, you take skin that’s lousy and pull it to a new position. You do nothing to correct the damaged skin,” explained Pozner. He said this procedure is not for people with cellulite. “I look at these devices mainly as loose skin devices,” Pozner told Demos. He said this is a prime example of how the world of plastic surgery is moving towards non invasive procedures. “Every day someone comes into my office and tightens up their body like this (pulls back skin)… there are no surgeries that do this,” said Pozner. Then he showed a “before” picture of the neck. He said, “this neck is in need of serious tightening.” Then he showed the “after” picture. “Turning back the clock,” he pointed out. Janie thinks so. She would not allow the doctor to take any before pictures of her. But as far as the after pictures go… after the walk in, walk out procedure that takes 10 to 30 minutes, she said “take as many photos as you like!” The procedure costs about $300 to $400 per treatment, and you need about 6 to 8 treatments in total, as well as monthly follow-up visits. Perfect candidates are 35 to 55… have very  little sun damage and are non-smokers.

MIAMI (CBS4) – It’s an itchy debilitating rash that can break out when your skin touches a usually harmless substance. It can happen at any age, lead to infection and even scaring and blood poisoning. But this hidden allergy is often tough to figure out. “It all started in the 9th grade. We didn’t know what was going on,” Jennifer Schottenloher said. “We were going to the doctor and they were treating it for staph.” But the itching, painful red blotches all over her body didn’t have anything to do with a staph infection. She was treated improperly for a year until finally she went to another doctor who told Jennifer she had the ‘hidden allergy’, she’s allergic to nickel. The problem is a serious one. The symptoms are a rash, bumps, itching, redness, dry patches that feel like a burn, blisters and draining fluid. For Jennifer the primary culprit, but hardly the only one, was her jewelry. “My friend got me this ring and I’m not allowed to wear it. My finger turned green and it got really swollen,” said Jennifer. You can develop the allergy when you’re your young, middle age, or retirement age. It’s more common in women and the problem is everywhere. There’s nickel in watches, zippers, bra hooks, belt buckles, hairpins, eyeglass frames, coins, knives, forks, paper clips, pens, keys, tools, dental fillings, batteries even your cell phones and make up. “Even the door knobs at school are metal and my hands get really swollen. Sometimes it wouldn’t kick in til the day after or a couple days later,” said Jennifer. Allergy specialist Dr. Kathryn Eisermann said this is ‘hidden’ or so confusing because your symptoms may not show up for seven days and it doesn’t stop with what you wear. Foods like soy, legumes, oatmeal, chocolate, nuts, dried fruit and even tap water contain nickel. The first liter of tap water out of the faucet has the highest level. Overall, 15 percent of Americans will have an allergy to nickel, but likely will go months or years without knowing what’s causing their problem. Some country’s like Denmark have outlawed Nickel in products. It’s an offense punishable by prison time. In the U.S., however, you’re on your own; but the diagnosis may not be as difficult to make as you think. There is a test kit you can buy to see if there is nickel in a product. A doctor will do a more specific patch test on you to test you for all kinds of allergies. That’s how Jennifer’s nickel allergy was diagnosed. Knowing the problem is having power said the doctor. “You know what it is, go after it and avoid it,” said Dr. Eisermann. Jennifer says that’s fine with her. After going a year without the proper diagnosis she at least knows how to control her hidden allergy one clothing item and one bite of food at a time. “I had to throw away all the jewelry. The jewelry I love,” Jennifer said. Aside from staying away from items or foods with nickel, there is a way to treat the breakouts and blistering with antihistamines, oral steroids or oral cortisone just in case you come in contact with the wrong item.

MIAMI  (CBSMiami) – Zurale Cali, a Florida mother, is fighting to bring her special needs, 5-year-old son home from a place, she says, he should have never been placed: a nursing home. Now, she and hundreds of other families in a similar situation have filed a class-action lawsuit against the state in hopes of receiving the proper home care they say their children deserve: 24-hour nursing care at home. In addition to caring for the frail and aging, a handful of Florida nursing homes also house medically fragile children. Some of them were born with medical conditions, while others were left severely injured after an accident. Attorney Matt Dietz is leading the legal team representing more than 250 children including Andi Cali suing the state of Florida for unnecessarily institutionalizing the children. Doctors say Andi needs 24-7 care to stay alive and the state says he can only get it  –in a nursing home. If he’s cared for at home, the state would provide only a fraction of the needed nursing care. On average Medicare pays nursing homes as much as 500 a night per child. “Nursing homes are not made for children. A parent should not have a gun placed to their head. Take less care or your child’s going to go  into a nursing home,” Dietz told Gillen. Cali’s son Andi nearly drowned during a bath as a baby. The accident left Andi with brain damage and neurologically devastated. He breathes with the help of a ventilator. Cali’s mother feels her little boy is trapped living in a Tampa nursing home. CBS4 News Chief Investigative Reporter Michele Gillen asked Cali, “Do you believe he should be living in a nursing home?” “No. Never, never, never,” Cali said wiping away tears. Cali says that for 3 years, she has been begging the state to let her to take her child home and care for him with his family. She’s not alone. Many experts echo her sentiments. Marjorie Evans is CEO and founder of Broward Children’s Center, a one-of-its-kind facility in the state that cares for medically fragile children. The program is designed to aggressively help them improve so they can return to their families or group homes. Gillen asked Evans, “What breaks your heart when you go to bed at night?” “It breaks my heart the children can go into a nursing home at three or 4 months old and come out at 85, if there’s no intervention,” Evans said. Gillen asked Evans, “Putting a child into a nursing home to you, is akin to what?” Evans replied, “Oh, it’s a life sentence.” Dietz agrees. “Children should not be in nursing homes,” Dietz said. “We have come so far to go back to a time when children are institutionalized and warehoused like goods.” Dietz says without proper intervention and in-depth therapies children have little chance of advancing — of ever getting out of the nursing home. “They graduate from being in the pediatric ward to the adult ward and they never leave,” Dietz said. At the nursing home where Andi lives, his mother fills in the gaps. Andi can’t move his arms, fingers or legs on his own. His mother said her son receives 35 minutes of physical therapy one time a week. So his mother is constantly massaging his muscles to prevent his limbs from atrophying. An hour drive away, the rest of Andy’s family awaits him. They’ve prepared a special room, with a heavenly touch, outfitting  the house for his wheelchair, hoping he will come home. “I am going to be thankful in my heart forever,” his mother said of the day her son comes home. But on most nights, Cali leaves him behind with a gut wrenching feeling as she prepares to leave him overnight in the nursing home. She places an angel in his arms and takes with her a prayer that he will be safe until her return. CBS4 News reached out to all parties named in the lawsuit including the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. All have declined to comment citing pending litigation. CBS4 News has learned that the Department of Justice is investigating whether the housing of the children in nursing homes is a violation of their civil rights.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Childhood obesity continues to be a major problem in the United States. David DiPlasquale of Coconut Creek battled obesity and bullying as a child. But he changed his life and has now created a program to help kids, men and women to lose weight and get back on track. “I was always tormented for being overweight,” said DiPlasquale. He keeps old pictures of himself as a reminder of what he used to look like as a kid. “I really didn’t care at that young of an age, but it was in the back of my mind that I really didn’t like being overweight, but boy, I really enjoyed eating those foods,” said DiPlasquale. Growing up, DiPlasquale remembers being picked on his size. “Always bullied, yeah. There was always someone doing something not nice to me. And my nickname because I’m DiPlasquale, I was Depot. Depot meaning a large individual.” DiPlasquale is no longer looked at as “depot” for his size. He used the nickname and bullying as fuel to work and study health and fitness to change his body. He would go on to win body building competition after competition. His trophies and pictures are reminders of his own personal journey and rewards of overcoming obesity. “I was powerless you know, when I was struggling trying to figure things out. But with my brain and studying and taking in information from everywhere that I learned, I gave myself empowerment, I studied nutrition on my own, plus what I learned and created the most amazing way to get in shape,” said DiPlasquale. His plan is called “Get On Track Fitness” and it has changed the lives of thousands of people especially kids who, like him, battle weight issues. “ “I’m trying to help young kids in schools now that was like I was when I was a kid. Changing lives, I mean crazy changing lives of young and old people that are retiring getting healthy,” said DiPlasquale. DiPlasquale’s program includes a unique nutritional routine that doesn’t require the person to stop eating tasty food. “It’s effortless, it’s just a plan of action,” said DiPlasquale. “There’s a science to it that I studied. But every year, I refined and refined how to get in better shape without feeling restricted in foods that we should be eating.” His plan does require exercise of at least an hour a day walking on the treadmill up and down an incline. And it’s a program DiPlasquale believes anyone can transform their body no matter what age. “You have to be dedicated to change your life. The older you get, the harder it is to accept change. But if you do accept change, behind change is hidden opportunity and this is where we are successful.”

MIAMI (CBS4) – Artwork isn’t the only made by hand. Now it can be made from your saliva. DNA portraits are gaining popularity. So much so, they have been featured on the CBS hit series “CSI”. This kind of art is literally inside the eye of the beholder. “The DNA portrait idea evolved into any kind of personalized art including fingerprints, and even art made from your lips, what we call Kiss Portraits,” said Adrian Salamunovic, Co-founder of DNA11 and Canvas Pop.   ”The first step is our customers come to our website, DNA11.com and they choose the size and the color of the artwork. The company then ship the customer a DNA collection kit which consists of a mouth swap and a DNA collection card. Their customers swab their mouth, transfer it over to this collection card, which they then ship back to the company. “We then take that DNA collection card, isolate the DNA through doing a series of washes,” said Nazim Ahmed , Co-founder of DNA11 and Canvas Pop. They then use that DNA and zero in on eight specific sequences that are unique to all individuals. “We then replicate those sequences and separate then through a process called gel electrical,” said Ahmed. The final result is a completely unique DNA image for every individual. “The final stage is to take the DNA and strain it and then photograph it using a digital camera. That’s the image that our designers use as a basis to create our customers artwork,” said Ahmed. Their designers then use these raw images and apply a series of different filters on it that turn them into worthy pieces of artwork. “We then print the pieces on canvas, frame them and ship them to our customers,” said Ahmed. The artwork was even featured on an episode of CSI New York. Canvas Pop was started in 2009 in response to actual customers wanting to see if they could print other things than just photographs. The artwork starts at $200.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – More case of whooping cough have been confirmed across South Florida. The Florida Department of Health reported Wednesday that 15 cases had been reported in Miami-Dade and four cases had been reported in Monroe County. Over the weekend, Broward County’s health department reported four confirmed cases; three school age children and one adult. The DOH urges parents, childcare workers and healthcare providers to verify the children they care for are properly immunized against pertussis, a respiratory disease more commonly known as whooping cough. Since January, numerous counties in Florida have seen a spike in whooping cough cases. That’s also in line with outbreaks that have been happening in multiple states across the countries. Most cases of whooping cough impact children, but adults have also been known to contract the disease. The disease is highly contagious and targets the respiratory system. Most people develop symptoms of whooping cough in a week to 10 days after being exposed. But, the disease can lie dormant for a long as six weeks before beginning to affect someone. The symptoms usually begin with cold-like symptoms and can also include a mild cough or fever. After a week or two, severe coughing can begin. The severe coughing fits can be followed by vomiting. Whooping cough is the most dangerous for babies. In an infant, the cough can be minimal or not present, but the disease can cause babies to stop breathing. The disease is treated with antibiotics. Whooping cough vaccines are given to adults when requested and are part of the normal vaccines children get. You can still get the disease even if you are vaccinated, but the infection is usually much less severe.

A certain New York Times article is causing a buzz, for good reason - it features a handful of brides-to-be who seemingly will stop at nothing to lose weight in time for their big day. The article profiles women on the KEN (ketogenic enteral nutrition) diet, which involves using a feeding tube for 10 days at a cost of $1500 . The diet, popular in Europe and offered through doctors’ offices, involves being fed an 800-calorie liquid diet through a tube running through your nose and nothing else. Experts say that the KEN diet is not healthy (obviously), since users aren’t getting adequate calories and nutrition while they’re on the feeding tube. Brides-to-be, however, think of it as a quick fix – one June bride in the article had to remove her feeding tube after losing weight too rapidly. In response to the news of the KEN diet, we asked on Facebook what you thought was the best strategy you used to lose weight for your wedding , and thankfully, many answers were more sensible: by exercising and eating healthfully. But with all the pressure to drop pounds in time for your big event, sometimes perceived a necessity, it can lead brides to do crazy (and unhealthy) things! From all-juice cleansing to the HCG diet , tell us, did you do something drastic to lose weight for your wedding? Did You Crash Diet to Lose Weight For Your Wedding? Yes – I needed to drop pounds fast. No – I just ate right and exercised during my engagement. I didn’t want to lose weight for my wedding.

Looking to lighten things up a little for your upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebrations? The fun and festive holiday is just around the corner, but all the food can get a little overwhelming. Whether you’re planning a big bash or you want to try a lighter version of these sometimes calorie-laden foods, we’ve got you covered. The next time you crave some Mexican fare, tempt your taste buds with these 12 healthier recipes. View Slideshow ›