Depression and a Higher Risk of Stroke
People with depression know that it can be frustratingly persistent, requiring various kinds of treatment, often more than once. Now, a new study suggests that people with long-term depression face...
View ArticleFDA Bans Trans Fat … in Three Years
By the early 1990s, scientific evidence was overwhelming that the artificial fat known as “trans” fat was a huge risk factor for heart disease, and in 2006, the FDA required food manufacturers to...
View ArticleSmoking-Related Cancers Aren’t Limited to the Lungs
According to JAMA Internal Medicine, half of the 346,000 people 35 and older who died from cancer in 2011 had a history of smoking cigarettes. But what’s truly remarkable about the new research is that...
View ArticleA Wise Man Analyzes the Renewed Attention on Statins
A couple of years ago, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology revised the guidelines for prescribing statins, drugs that compromise the body’s ability to produce...
View ArticleBlood Thinners Are Widely Misused in Nursing Homes
Coumadin is a commonly prescribed drug for treating blood clots and reducing the risk of developing them. It helps reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and embolisms (clots) forming in the legs or...
View ArticleProviders Remain Too Much in Love with Angioplasty and Stents
Although some people in cardiac distress need invasive procedures to survive, some heart treatments are overused, and the cost continues to mount. As explained by patient safety advocate John James in...
View ArticleBlood Pressure Study Halted Early for All the Right Reasons
The words “legendary,” “miraculous” and “unique” are so overused in common conversation they’ve almost lost their meaning. Describing a health study as “landmark” falls into the same category. Except...
View ArticleToo Many Older People Take Statins
In the last couple of years, the class of medications known as statins has gotten a lot of attention, most recently this month when NPR reported concern over the popularity of prescribing statins for...
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Teens inundated with e-cigarette ads, which pay off for Big Tobacco
Here’s a disturbing trend: Teenagers are getting inundated with advertisements touting electronic or so-called e-cigarettes. Health authorities at the same time note that “vaping” is a growing way for...
View ArticleSkepticism is wise about “brain” toys & games for kids, seniors
Yes, the ancient adage caveat emptor still rules in the high-tech age. It may have sounded so simple, nice, and sweet to plunk grandma and grandpa in front of a computer screen to let them run a...
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New normal reclassifies millions as having high blood pressure, so now what?
Did you feel yourself just get less well? U.S. heart experts have just issued new guidelines on what Americans’ optimal blood pressure should be—effectively and suddenly shifting just under half of the...
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It’s not a stretch: Avoid those over-use boo-boos, older yogis are warned
For seniors who may be rushing to squeeze in a few more pretzel-twisting sessions to ease their stress from a hectic holiday season, this is a gentle reminder: Take it easy with the yoga. It can be...
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Why are some ER doctors refusing to give stroke patients ‘brain-saving’ care?
It’s no April Fool joke: Emergency doctors across the country, according to the New York Times, have been defying widely accepted standards of care and withholding a drug that rigorous clinical trials...
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Common sense on kids and concussions, adult heart disease, frats and booze
Common sense and moderation can matter a ton in maintaining good health, as recent news reports show, particularly with kids and concussions, middle-aged adults and heart disease, and collegiate...
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In celebrity death and diagnosis, cautions for all on stroke and cancer
For Americans of a certain age, the power of celebrity and sad news — the early death of acting heart-throb Luke Perry and the announced Stage 4 cancer diagnosis of game show host Alex Trebek — may...
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San Francisco, Beverly Hills blaze new regulatory path with e-cigarette bans
Cities are daring to tread where federal regulators have not: They’re cracking down on vaping and its potential harm, particularly to the young, by banning e-cigarettes and tobacco products. San...
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