Latest Health News

TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Many people don't realize that cancer patients are in constant need of blood supplies. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer can damage the body's ability to produce healthy blood cells and cause potentially life-threatening conditions. Blood transfusions help provide critical clotting factors, proteins and antibodies. Now, the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society want to remind the public to give blood for this vulnerable group of patients. "The Give Blood to Give Time partnership is a wonderful opportunity to harness the unique strengths of both organizations and provide a way for people to help give patients and their families the resources they need to fight back," said Gail McGovern, president and chief...

TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Having high blood pressure in a first pregnancy quadruples a woman's risk of heart attack or death from heart disease, a new study finds. About 2% to 8% of pregnant women with previously normal blood pressure develop a condition called preeclampsia, which includes high blood pressure that usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In this study, Rutgers University researchers analyzed heart disease in 6,360 women in New Jersey, aged 18 to 54, who were diagnosed with preeclampsia during their first pregnancy between 1999 and 2013. These women were compared to pregnant women without preeclampsia. Women with preeclampsia were four times more likely to suffer a heart attack or heart disease-related death, and more than two times more likely...

TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Being small at birth after a full-term pregnancy could leave you gasping for breath later on in life. Swedish researchers report that babies with low birth weights are more likely to have poor heart-lung (cardiorespiratory) fitness when they reach adulthood. Cardiorespiratory fitness -- the ability to supply oxygen to muscles during prolonged physical activity -- is key for good health and can lower the risk of disease and early death. Previous research has linked preterm delivery and related low birth weight with poorer cardiorespiratory fitness later in life. In this study, researchers at the Karolinska Institute investigated how low birth weight affects cardiorespiratory fitness in people who were born after a full-term pregnancy of 37...

TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Could stricter safety rules for rifles and shotguns help prevent suicide? Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore analyzed nearly 4,000 firearm suicides and found that long guns, not handguns, are more often the method of choice for youths and people in rural areas. Their analysis of Maryland data for 2003 to 2018 revealed that about 45% of children and teens used long guns such as rifles and shotguns to kill themselves, compared to 20% of seniors. "It's concerning to see that it's not just handguns, but long guns that are used commonly in youth suicide," said study author Dr. Paul Nestadt, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. "Many of the safety protections that we have in place around the country...