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WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- A tool widely used by doctors to help determine who needs clot-busting therapy after a stroke has some missing pieces, according to new research that suggests adding a few simple tests could help improve treatment for people who have less common strokes in the back of the brain.Published Wednesday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, the study shows modifying the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale to include tests for symptoms that occur when people have posterior circulation strokes could identify more people with potentially disabling symptoms in need of immediate treatment who may not be getting it."The current stroke scale that is widely used is biased towards anterior circulation strokes, those...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Margarine has gotten a bad rap for years, but a U.S. ban on partially hydrogenated oils may have made it a healthier choice than butter, a new study suggests.Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned such oils in 2018, margarine contained these oils, which are heavy in trans fats and raise bad ("LDL") cholesterol levels while lowering good ("HDL") cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. "Margarines are a better option than butter for heart health, with tub and squeeze margarines being the best options," said lead researcher Cecily Weber, a dietetic intern at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, in Minneapolis. The study team "also found that...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in the United States and could trigger a huge wave of COVID infections as early as January, federal health officials said Tuesday.In just one week there was a sevenfold spike in the highly contagious variant's presence across the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That could strain an already overworked health system in many areas as the Delta variant continues to surge.That was the worst-case scenario presented in a new analysis discussed by agency officials during a media briefing Tuesday.The early signs are worrying: From Dec. 4 to Dec. 11, the Omicron variant likely jumped from a mere 0.4 percent of new infections in the United States to 2.9 percent,...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- "Medicare For All" gets tossed around a lot by advocates of universal health coverage, but a new study finds that today's Medicare is far from free for seniors and people with disabilities.Instead, a large number of beneficiaries are sliding into medical debt and delaying needed health care due to financial holes in the system, according to findings published online Dec. 10 in JAMA Health Forum.Nearly 11% of Medicare beneficiaries said they struggle to pay their medical bills and have delayed care because they can't afford it, according to researchers who analyzed data from a regular federal survey of current Medicare beneficiaries."People sort of imagine the Medicare population is well taken care of in this regard, in terms of being able to...