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High blood pressure in pregnancy a risk factor for early heart disease

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A new study has revealed a significant link between a common pregnancy complication and early heart disease in women.

Researchers found that women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were at higher risk of developing coronary artery disease at an earlier age. In addition, they found that women with these disorders were ...Read more

Blood Pressure Level Fluctuates After Getting Off All Medications

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 89 and in good health. For six months, my systolic blood pressure was 113 mm Hg. Then, 10 days ago, it dropped to 88 mm Hg for a week. For today and the past week, it's been 187/93 mm Hg. I was on a blood pressure medication, but my doctor took me off of it when my blood pressure was low. I am currently off of all ...Read more

The power of resiliency to increase longevity

Resiliency, the ability to cope with and overcome challenging life circumstances, may be an important key to living to be 100 or older. That's the conclusion of researchers in a new study in the Journal of Internal Medicine. They discovered that while African Americans have higher death rates than whites before age 80, after 80, that flips. Once...Read more

Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Maryland health department sued for leaving mentally ill criminal defendants 'languishing in jails'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A disability rights group is suing Maryland’s health secretary and health department in federal court for leaving mentally ill people accused of crimes to languish in jail rather than admitting them to psychiatric hospitals as required by state law.

Filed Thursday, the lawsuit by Disability Rights Maryland claims Health Secretary Dr. Laura ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

More young Americans seeking permanent contraception in post-Roe era, experts say

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Following the Dobbs Supreme Court decision ending the national protections for abortion rights, more young Americans are seeking options for permanent contraception, a new study has found.

Researchers saw an increase in two medical procedures for permanent sterilization among adults ages 19 to 26 following the leaked ruling in May 2022, ...Read more

David Joles/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota ERs stressed by 'quad-demic' of COVID, flu, RSV, norovirus

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Patients are piling up in Minnesota emergency rooms once again, but it’s not just from COVID-19.

State health officials say influenza is making a comeback, combining with COVID, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to put more pressure on Minnesota hospitals than they’ve faced since the end of the pandemic. Thursday’s weekly ...Read more

Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Two Baltimore district courthouses cleared from Legionella

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

BALTIMORE — The first two district courthouses in Baltimore found to have water contaminated with Legionella bacteria since November have now been cleared after the latest round of remediation and retesting.

Results received Wednesday from the tests conducted at the 5800 Wabash Ave. and 700 E. Patapsco Ave. courthouses on Dec. 30 have found ...Read more

Ayrton Breckenridge/Star Tribune/TNS

New FDA rules to cut racial bias in some, but not all, devices to measure oxygen in the blood

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MINNEAPOLIS — At a CVS store in a racially diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn Center, the only devices available to shoppers to measure their blood-oxygen levels are virtually unregulated fingertip oximeters that may be less accurate in people with darker skin.

So-called “health and wellness” pulse oximeters available online and at ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Nedra Rhone: Goodbye, dry January. Hello, drink water January

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Many of us resolve to do better, live better and be better in January, a time when we set goals and intentions for the future.

For that reason, I’ve always looked forward to January. But lately, the first month of the year has started to feel different.

Dry January. Veganuary. No spend January.

Everyone is swearing off some perceived vice �...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Digital heart twin offers potential new tool for treating dangerous heart rhythms

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Using computers to make a digital replica of the heart – a digital heart twin – can successfully identify problem areas deep in the heart muscle of people with a serious heart rhythm disorder, a new study finds. The research lays the groundwork for a new way of treating a life-threatening condition often caused by prior heart attacks or ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Health care is Newsom's biggest unfinished project. Trump complicates that task

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Six years after he entered office vowing to be California’s “health care governor,” Democrat Gavin Newsom has steered tens of billions in public funding to safety net services for the state’s neediest residents while engineering rules to make health care more accessible and affordable for all Californians.

More ...Read more

Alana Adams/Alana Adams/TNS

Health insurers limit coverage of prosthetic limbs, questioning their medical necessity

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

When Michael Adams was researching health insurance options in 2023, he had one very specific requirement: coverage for prosthetic limbs.

Adams, 51, lost his right leg to cancer 40 years ago, and he has worn out more legs than he can count. He picked a gold plan on the Colorado health insurance marketplace that covered prosthetics, including ...Read more

Lynn Arditi/The Public’s Radio/Lynn Arditi/The Public’s Radio/TNS

Stimulant users are caught in fatal 'fourth wave' of opioid epidemic

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising “free” cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. KFF Health News is identifying him by his initials because he fears being arrested for using illegal drugs.

It had been several hours since his ...Read more

Agnes Bun/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Syringe exchange fears hobble fight against West Virginia HIV outbreak

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than three years have passed since federal health officials arrived in central Appalachia to assess an alarming outbreak of HIV spread mostly between people who inject opioids or methamphetamine.

Infectious disease experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a list of recommendations following ...Read more

Patient Feels Ignored When It Comes To Anesthesia Concerns

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: Next month, I am scheduled for cataract surgery. The procedure has been approved by my cardiologist and my primary doctor. I am pretty healthy, feel like I'm doing OK, and have been told so by my medical providers.

My problem is that no one seems to be listening to me. I have repeatedly said that I have a problem with ...Read more

Tai one on

As you start the new year (and recover from holiday celebrations), it's smart to tai one on. By doing tai chi, that is. If you're still mentally sharp, tai chi can improve your ability to multitask, manage your time, and make decisions. And if you have mild cognitive impairment, tai chi can slow your cognitive decline more than other types of ...Read more

Reading as Therapy, Physical and Psychological

Health Advice / Scott LaFee /

A good book (and this particular news feature) can quite literally change the way you think and feel. There's actual scientific evidence -- at least for the part about reading a good book. We're happily assuming the latter.

Researchers have found that reading can rewire neural pathways, increase brain connectivity and, in essence, make you ...Read more

Stress Tests And Calcium Score Tests Are Complementary

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 81-year-old man (5 feet, 2 inches tall at 122 pounds) in good health, except that I have Type 2 diabetes. My A1C level has been in the range of 6.3% to 6.8% for the past five years with the help of metformin. Five times a week, I walk on a treadmill for 15 minutes (about a mile) with 25 minutes of stretching exercises, ...Read more

Steady pressure can be good -- steady blood pressure, that is

Everyone's blood pressure fluctuates -- depending on activities, stress, what and when you eat, medications (ibuprofen, for example), and the position of your body. That's normal -- as long as the fluctuations aren't too great and don't cause symptoms like shortness of breath, loss of balance or brain fog. If the variations are significant and ...Read more

Sour news on sweet drinks

The average American, whether young or old, consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day, or around 270 extra, empty calories. About 50% of those calories come from downing sugary drinks.

We've said over and over that added sugars and syrups are a risky indulgence -- fueling inflammation, obesity, diabetes, some cancers and heart disease. ...Read more