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MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- It’s a brutal reality that confronts many recovering stroke patients: After six months or so of rehab, any arm and hand movement not yet restored is unlikely to return.But new cutting-edge research aims to use electrical stimulation to jumpstart stroke-interrupted communication between the brain and the spinal cord, restoring lost motor control. The technique is already widely used as a treatment for chronic pain.Preliminary testing in patients who have had moderate to severe strokes suggests it can return significant arm and hand function to patients who, in some cases, haven’t had any upper limb control in years.“Most of the time [stroke patients] get physical therapy, improve a little bit, and then remain with permanent deficits which...

MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- Running the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, Dr. Steven Lome kept his eyes locked on two runners ahead of him.They were his oldest kids, 16-year-old Jadyn and 14-year-old Ian. Both are on their high school's cross-country team and, Lome said, "both are way faster than me." His goal was to keep them in sight as long as possible.Three miles in, Lome could still see them. Then something else caught his attention. About 30 feet ahead of him, a man collapsed.Lome darted to him. He and two other people trained in CPR took turns doing chest compressions. They did it for about six minutes, waiting for an automated external defibrillator to arrive. A single shock restored a sustainable rhythm.As an ambulance sped the man toward the hospital,...

MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- Hot flashes and night sweats – they are the hallmark symptoms of menopause.But there's something else happening to women entering their late 40s and early 50s that they can't see or feel and may not even know about: Their cardiovascular disease risks are rising."As women transition through menopause, they experience a lot of changes," said Samar El Khoudary, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health.They produce less estrogen. They accumulate more belly fat. Excess abdominal fat is part of a cluster of symptoms that becomes more common after menopause. Known as metabolic syndrome, it is when a person has at least three of the following: abdominal obesity; high triglycerides; low...

MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- You're in your doctor's office, and the nurse checks your blood pressure as a matter of course. But your numbers are high, and the doctor steps in with some advice, and possibly a prescription for medications that can lower it.So, now that you have high blood pressure, what is it and what can you do about it?The American Heart Association (AHA) describes blood pressure as the measure of the force pumping blood through the arteries, which carry blood from the heart throughout the body.Measured by two numbers, the top number (the systolic pressure) is the force of the blood when your heart pumps, and the bottom number (diastolic pressure) is when your heart is resting and filling with blood.Normal blood pressure can vary from individual to...