Latest Health News

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Understanding your risk of heart disease can be as cutting-edge as the latest advances in genetic science – or as down-to-earth as a conversation with grandma. For inherited heart disease specialists, those factors overlap.Families can share a risk for several forms of heart disease, said Dr. Euan Ashley, director of the Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease in California. Common conditions such as stroke, high blood pressure, heart attack and diabetes have genetic components, he said.Dr. Sharlene Day, an associate professor of medicine and genetics at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, said discussion of inherited heart disease usually refers to a specific condition – something that runs in families due to a...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary data from seven U.S. states show that the arrival of the Delta variant in July may be fueling a rise in breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated.At least 1 in every 5 new COVID-19 cases in six of these states have involved vaccinated people, with higher percentages of hospitalizations and deaths among these folks than had previously been seen in all seven states, The New York Times reported.Still, the absolute numbers of vaccinated people made sick by COVID-19 remains very low, experts said, and the vaccines are still very potent weapons against severe disease.If breakthrough infections are becoming more common, "it's also going to demonstrate how well these vaccines are working and that they're preventing...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Amid a surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, a mask mandate for travelers and employees on U.S. airline flights and public transportation will be extended until Jan. 18, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Tuesday.Airline industry representatives have been briefed about the extension and the TSA planned to discuss it with unions on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.The mask order was first issued by the Biden administration on Jan. 29 and is based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 pandemic guidelines. It was set to expire on Sept. 13.The extension will be strictly enforced by U.S. airlines, according to the industry trade group, Airlines for America,...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to amputations of toes, feet or legs, though it isn't inevitable.But your race and where you live might play a big part in whether amputation is your fate if you are diagnosed with the blood sugar disorder, new research suggests."If you go to the experts that are there to help you live a [healthy] lifestyle with diabetes, this does not have to happen to you," said Dr. David Alper, a member of the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Northeast Leadership Board and trustee of the American Podiatric Medical Association.Researchers reported recently in the ADA journal Diabetes Care that minor lower extremity amputations rose among American adults with diabetes between 2009 and 2017, while major amputations...