Latest Health News

TUESDAY, Oct. 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Men still outnumber women in stroke therapy clinical trials, which means women may end up receiving less effective treatment, researchers say. For the new study, investigators analyzed 281 stroke trials that included at least 100 patients each and were conducted between 1990 and 2020. Of the nearly 590,000 total participants, 37.4% were women. However, the average rate of stroke among women in the countries where the studies were conducted was 48%, according to the report published online Oct. 13 in the journal Neurology. "Making sure there are enough women in clinical studies to accurately reflect the proportion of women who have strokes may have implications for future treatment recommendations for women affected by this serious condition,"...

MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans diagnosed with "broken heart" syndrome has steadily risen in the past 15 years — with the vast majority being women, a new study finds.The condition, which doctors call stress cardiomyopathy, appears similar to a heart attack — with symptoms such as chest pain and breathlessness. But its cause is entirely different: Experts believe it reflects a temporary weakness in the heart muscle owing to a surge in stress hormones. The condition got its nickname because it may arise within days of an emotionally difficult event, like the death of a loved one or a divorce. But other stressful situations, from a traffic accident to undergoing surgery, can also be triggers.Most people fully recover from this type of broken heart,...

MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A common group of bacteria may be causing deadly pneumonia or anthrax-like disease among metalworkers in the southern United States, health officials report.The bacteria, called Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), naturally occurs in soil and dust. B. cereus can cause food poisoning and anthrax-like disease, but why it singles out welders and other metalworkers is a mystery, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Also a puzzle is why it has only been reported in Gulf Coast states. "In the past, long-term exposure to welding and metalworking fumes has been associated with various forms of lung injury that can cause changes in lung function and increase susceptibility to lung infections, including fatal...

MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 could now face thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical costs, according to a new report.In 2020, most health insurance companies waived co-pays, deductibles and other cost-sharing for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but many stopped doing that early this year, the University of Michigan researchers noted."Many insurers claim that it is justified to charge patients for COVID-19 hospitalizations now that COVID-19 vaccines are widely available," said study lead author Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, a health policy researcher and pediatrician at Michigan Medicine, in Ann Arbor."However, some people hospitalized for COVID-19 aren't eligible for vaccines, such as young children, while others are vaccinated patients who...