Health Quest 4
"Stress and anxiety can cause very real physical symptoms, which
may resemble known medical conditions," says Dr. Marylinn Markarian,
psychiatrist with the Health Quest Medical Practice Division of Behavioral
Health. "I often see symptoms cluster around digestive problems,
including constipation, irritable bowel and nausea."
However, digestive distress is far from the only physical side effect of
stress. Markarian says that stress, as well as anxiety and depression,
can cause:
• Clusters of symptoms that include cardiovascular and breathing
problems, such as palpitations, shortness of breath or heaviness
of the chest.
• Breathing problems in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, such as emphysema; these sometimes result in panic attacks,
making breathing even more difficult.
• An intensification of chronic pain.
• Neurological symptoms that mimic stroke.
• Pseudoseizures, which are seizures similar to those seen in people
with epilepsy.
"A thorough medical examination is advised initially, to make sure
there is not a serious medical cause for your symptoms," Markarian says.
"However, remain open to the idea that symptoms may be caused or
worsened by stress."
IS STRESS MAKING YOU SICK? TALK TO YOUR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER ABOUT
MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS. TO FIND A PROVIDER, VISIT HEALTHQUEST.ORG/
FINDADOCTOR.
Stress can make you feel awful — and not just emotionally.
FEELING
STRESSED
?
YOUR CHOICE
Your Birth,
Each one of the three birth centers
at Health Quest provides high-tech,
high-touch birthing experiences
designed to foster successful
deliveries and healthy bonds
between parents and infants.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MATERNITY
SERVICES AT NDH, PHC OR VBMC, VISIT
HEALTHQUEST.ORG/BIRTHCENTER.
30 YEARS OF NEW ARRIVALS
e Neugarten Family Birth Center at Northern
Dutchess Hospital was the first hospital-based
Birth Center in New York state and will celebrate
30 years of service in September.
"For 30 years, we've supported each mom's
right to customize her birth," says Pamela
Rhodes, R.N., chief nursing officer and
vice president of patient services at NDH.
"e combination of advanced medical and
surgical offerings with the progressive options
of a birth center supports an extremely
personalized experience."
FAMILYFRIENDLY BIRTHS
Board-certified ob-gyn physicians,
midwives and the neonatologist on the
medical staff of Putnam Hospital Center,
along with the nurses on the Birthing
Center staff, are dedicated to providing an
excellent patient and family experience.
In addition to state-of-the-art obstetric
care in private rooms and birthing suites,
the Birthing Center provides a host of
childbirth education classes for the entire
family, including grandparents and siblings.
SPECIALIZED CARE
e maternity unit at Vassar Brothers
Medical Center is the largest of its kind
between New York City and Albany.
e mid-Hudson Valley's only Level III
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, VBMC is also
the region's only provider of maternal-fetal
medicine, which is dedicated to ensuring
healthy deliveries for women with high-risk
pregnancies.
