The American Heart Association and Go Red for Women

 


Dr. Erol Onel is the vice president of Heron Therapeutics in La Jolla, California. Also a dedicated philanthropist, Dr. Erol Onel gives blood every September 11 as a personal tribute and supports numerous charities, including the American Heart Association (AHA).

The nonprofit AHA is dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke through research and support. The organization is one of the oldest in the nation, founded in 1924, and has been growing ever since. The AHA has many programs and research opportunities to assist in its mission.

One of these programs is Go Red for Women, which advocates for greater awareness of cardiovascular diseases occurring in women. Research has been largely structured around men with heart disease, so information about women with heart disease is lacking. Go Red for Women works to create more options and support for women with cardiovascular diseases. To learn more, visit www.goredforwomen.org.

Understanding Post-Surgical Pain

Dr. Erol Onel, a physician well-versed in the clinical process for drug approval, works for Heron Therapeutics, where he focuses on developing a new non-opioid drug to treat post-operative pain. In preparation for his medical career, Dr. Erol Onel earned his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

Patients about to undergo surgery often experience anxiety and uncertainty regarding the amount of pain they may experience following the procedure. The degree and type of discomfort will naturally depend on the details of the surgery. For example, long surgical incisions may be more painful than shorter ones, and more invasive surgeries will likely produce post-operative sensations distinct from and perhaps longer-lasting than minimally-invasive procedures. 

Post-surgical pain management is important not only for the comfort of patients but also for their recovery. For example, a patient who has his or her pain under control will likely become ambulatory sooner, and studies show that the sooner patients begin to move around following surgery, the less likely they are to suffer serious complications like blood clots and infections. 

Doctors have a wide variety of pain-management drugs available to them. These vary in strength, and include medications delivered by mouth or by IV.

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