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WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Adults who had rough childhoods have higher odds for heart disease. That's the conclusion from a look at more than 3,600 people who were followed from the mid-1980s through 2018. Researchers found that those who experienced the most trauma, abuse, neglect and family dysfunction in childhood were 50% more likely to have had a heart attack, stroke or other heart problem in their 50s and 60s. The Northwestern University study, published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, is the first to examine how childhood family environment affects heart disease risk in older middle age. Children with troubled home lives are at increased risk of stress, smoking, anxiety, depression and physical inactivity that continues into...

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People suffering from regular migraines despite medication might consider investing in a yoga mat. That's according to a new trial that tested the effects of a gentle yoga practice -- with slow-paced physical postures, breathing exercises and relaxation. Researchers found that people who added the practice to their usual migraine medication suffered about half as many headache attacks as they normally did. In contrast, study patients who stuck with medication alone saw only a small decline in migraine flare-ups. The findings appear in the May 6 online issue of the journal Neurology. Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people have migraine headaches, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. For people who suffer frequent episodes, there...

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As more evidence emerges that COVID-19 is tied to an increased risk of dangerous blood clots, new research suggests that giving patients blood thinners may improve their odds of survival. "Using anticoagulants should be considered when patients get admitted to the ER and have tested positive for COVID-19, to possibly improve outcomes," study senior author Dr. Valentin Fuster, physician-in-chief at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said in a hospital news release. His team found that the big risk with the use of blood thinners -- bleeding -- was low in the group of patients studied. "However, each case should be evaluated on an individualized basis to account for potential bleeding risk," Fuster stressed. Over the past few weeks,...

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic, researchers say religion may provide protection from so-called deaths of despair, new research suggests. The study, conducted in 2018-2019, found that those who attend worship services once a week are less likely to die by suicide, drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning. "These results are perhaps especially striking amidst the present COVID-19 pandemic," study lead author Ying Chen, a data scientist at Harvard University's Institute for Quantitative Social Science, said in a university news release. Previous research has shown that religion may play a part in lowering risks related to despair, such as heavy drinking, substance misuse and suicide, researchers say. "Despair is something that...