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MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- For actor Timothy Omundson, art imitates life. After suffering a stroke that almost killed him, he was hired to play Gregory, a character on NBC's comedy-drama "This Is Us" who is recovering from a major stroke. Just as Gregory was learning to walk again, so was Omundson. "It was a huge milestone for me," he said. "On the way to filming, my wife pulled the car over and said, 'Two years ago, you almost died, and now we're going to the set of the No. 1 show on TV.' … I'm not back yet, but I'm on the road to getting there." Before the stroke, life was good for the Missouri-born thespian. Married, with two teenage daughters, Omundson was flourishing in his career as a character actor in TV series like "Judging Amy," "Xena: Warrior...

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People with sickle cell disease are at increased risk for severe complications from COVID-19, an expert says. "Many patients experience a pain crisis, also known as a vaso-occlusive crisis, early in COVID-19 infection before respiratory symptoms develop," said Dr. Jennie Hart, clinical director of pediatric hematology/oncology at Herman and Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore. COVID-19 can cause severe inflammation and lung injury. And that can have a greater impact on people with sickle cell disease, a group of inherited red blood cell disorders, Hart said. People with the disease, which most commonly affects Black people, have misshapen red cells that can get stuck and clog blood flow, inhibiting oxygen delivery,...

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A tuberculosis vaccine may help reduce the risk of death from COVID-19, researchers suggest. Developing countries have lower-than-expected COVID-19 death rates, and a TB vaccine given in countries with high rates of tuberculosis might play a significant role in reducing COVID-19 death rates, according to authors of a new study. The vaccine, which is routinely given to children in countries where TB infection is common, is called Bacille Calmette-Guérin, or BCG for short. It is not widely used in the United States. "In our initial research, we found that countries with high rates of BCG vaccinations had lower rates of mortality," said Luis Escobar, an assistant professor in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech....

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals have put in place strict no-visitation rules meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but these precautions have led to another heart-wrenching dilemma. People are dying alone, gasping their last breath without any family or friends there to provide comfort. Now, some experts are arguing this shouldn't be the case, and that hospitals need to come up with plans that allow dying people the emotional solace of a loved one as they pass. "We believe strongly it's an awful experience having one's loved one so critically ill, but to be alone and separated and not be able to be with them as they're dying," said Martha Curley, chair of pediatric nursing at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We need to really think about how to change...