Latest Health News

29Jun
2020

Wildfire Smoke Causes Rapid Damage to Your Health: Study

Wildfire Smoke Causes Rapid Damage to Your Health: StudyMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Wildfire smoke has an almost immediate harmful effect on the heart and lungs, researchers say. Using data from wildfire seasons between 2010 and 2015 in British Columbia, Canada, the researchers linked exposure to elevated levels of fine particles in smoke with ambulance dispatches for heart and lung conditions. Dispatches rose within an hour of exposure to wildfire smoke, the investigators found. In addition, the findings showed that among people with diabetes, the risk of health issues rose within 48 hours of smoke exposure. The study included more than 670,000 ambulance dispatch calls from more than 500,000 people. The report was published June 24 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. "We have long known about the harmful...

Even Small Reductions in Air Pollution Help The Heart

29 June 2020
Even Small Reductions in Air Pollution Help The HeartMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution is a major risk factor for heart disease and death, but even small reductions in pollution levels can reduce the threat, a new study shows. Researchers analyzed data from more than 157,000 adults, aged 35 to 70, in 21 countries. Between 2003 and 2018, more than 9,100 people had heart disease events, including more than 4,000 heart attacks and more than 4,100 strokes. More than 3,200 deaths were attributed to heart disease. For every 10 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in PM2.5 pollution, heart events rose 5%, the study found. PM2.5 pollution is caused by airborne particles under 2.5 microns in size. After factoring in in the wide range of PM2.5 levels worldwide, researchers concluded that...

Preterm Birth Ups Mom's Long-Term Heart Disease Risk: Study

29 June 2020
Preterm Birth Ups Mom`s Long-Term Heart Disease Risk: StudyMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Over a lifetime, women who've had a preterm delivery have a higher risk of heart disease, new research suggests. The findings point to the fact that doctors should include a woman's reproductive history in assessments of heart disease risk, according to the researchers. "Preterm delivery should now be recognized as an independent risk factor for IHD [ischemic heart disease] across the life course," said study co-leader Dr. Casey Crump, a professor of family medicine and community health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Nearly 10% of babies born in the United States are delivered preterm (before 37 weeks of pregnancy). For the new study, Crump and his colleagues analyzed data from millions of Swedish women...

Intestinal Illness Spurs Recall of Bagged Salads Sold at...

29 June 2020
Intestinal Illness Spurs Recall of Bagged Salads Sold at Walmart, AldiMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Bagged salad mixes sold at Walmart and other stores are linked with an outbreak of intestinal illness in eight Midwestern states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. More than 200 people in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin who reported eating the salad mix have come down with cyclosporiasis, an illness caused by a microscopic parasite. At least 23 people have been hospitalized, the CDC said Monday. No deaths have been reported. The salads contain iceberg lettuce, carrots and red cabbage, and were produced by Illinois-based Fresh Express. Besides Walmart, the recalled salads were sold at Aldi, Hy-Vee and Jewel-Osco in the Midwest. People who were sickened range from...

A Drink or Two a Day Might Be Good for Your Brain: Study

29 June 2020
A Drink or Two a Day Might Be Good for Your Brain: StudyMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Love a glass of wine with dinner? There's good news for you from a study that finds "moderate" alcohol consumption -- a glass or two per day -- might actually preserve your memory and thinking skills. This held true for both men and women, the researchers said. There was one caveat, however: The study of nearly 20,000 Americans tracked for an average of nine years found that the brain benefit from alcohol mostly applied to white people, not Black people. The reasons for that remain unclear, according to a team led by Changwei Li, an epidemiologist at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, in Athens. Among whites, however, low to moderate drinking "was significantly associated with a consistently high cognitive function...

How Insurance Plans Keep Black Patients From Cancer Care

29 June 2020
How Insurance Plans Keep Black Patients From Cancer CareMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Health insurance plans with high deductibles may be taking a financial toll on Black patients, according to a new study of cancer survivors. The researchers said the findings point to yet another reason for racial health disparities in the United States: High deductibles may make it harder for Black patients, in particular, to afford medications or see a doctor. "Just because we've expanded health insurance coverage doesn't mean people have access to the care they need," said lead researcher Megan Cole, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health. And for Black patients, she said, high deductibles may only compound the structural inequities that they already face. Deductibles are the set amount of money a person has...

AHA News: Routine Checkup Led to Open-Heart Surgery – at Age 6

29 June 2020
AHA News: Routine Checkup Led to Open-Heart Surgery – at Age 6MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- In May 2016, Angela Grinstead Ahmad took her 6-year-old son, Alec Ahmad, for a routine checkup. After hearing Alec's heart make a troubling sound, the pediatrician said they needed to see a cardiologist. At first, Angela wasn't overly concerned. Alec had a slight heart murmur as a baby, but no complications since. A week later, an echocardiogram showed the right side of Alec's heart was enlarged. The cardiologist ordered an MRI without suggesting what could be wrong. Angela scrambled to find a hospital that could do one soon. The earliest she could find was three weeks out and in Los Angeles, an hour from their home in Irvine, California. The family sidelined Alec from club soccer and other physical activities. It was tough for...

COVID Drug Remdesivir Could Cost Up to $3,120 Per Patient, Maker Says

29 June 2020
COVID Drug Remdesivir Could Cost Up to $3,120 Per Patient, Maker SaysMONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The maker of remdesivir, the first drug that showed promise in treating coronavirus infections, will charge U.S. hospitals $3,120 for a patient with private insurance, the drug company announced Monday. Because of how the U.S. health care system is designed and the discounts that government health care programs like the VA and Medicaid will expect, the price for private insurance companies will be $520 per vial, Gilead Sciences explained in a letter. Most COVID-19 patients would need six vials of the drug over five days, the company said. A lower price -- $390 per vial -- will be offered to other governments in developed countries around the world, Gilead added. "As the world continues to reel from the human, social and economic impact of...

Ad Displays in Stores Boost Teen Vaping Rates: Canadian...

MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Canadian provinces that allow retail displays promoting e-cigarettes had nearly three times the teen vaping rate, a new study found. Until May 2018,...

Hispanic Americans Being Hit Hard By COVID-19

MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 is being diagnosed in Hispanic communities at a disproportionately high rate, a new study of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area...
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