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MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Aggressively treating high blood pressure might reduce the risk of a type of irregular heartbeat, according to a new study. Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, can lead to stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular complications. The condition is on the rise, with an estimated 12.1 million Americans expected to have it in 2030. The most common modifiable risk factor for AFib is high blood pressure, which affects 46% of U.S. adults. The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, sought to find out if intensively lowering a person's blood pressure to normal might prevent them from developing AFib. The study included 8,022 people who had high blood pressure and were at increased risk of...

MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday it will crack down on the fraudulent COVID-19 antibody tests that have flooded the market. Companies selling coronavirus antibody tests will be required to submit data proving accuracy within the next 10 days, or their products could be yanked from public circulation, FDA officials said. Since mid-March, dozens of manufacturers have been allowed to sell antibody tests without providing any evidence they are accurate, under the initial policy announced by the FDA. The intent of the initial policy was to support "the availability of antibody tests, which are an important tool in our fight against the coronavirus," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn explained during a media...

MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Twice as many women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy may be at an increased risk for heart and kidney disease than once thought, a new study suggests. For the study, researchers collected data on more than 9,800 pregnancies among more than 7,500 women in Olmsted County, Minn., who gave birth between 1976 and 1982. During that time, 659 women had 719 high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy, including preeclampsia, a serious complication marked by high blood pressure and signs of organ damage. Women under age 20 and older than 35 had the highest rates of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. Over 36 years of follow-up, 571 women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) developed a chronic condition such as...

MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The virus that causes COVID-19 typically strikes the lungs with full force, but new research shows it can also cause frostbite-like patches on the hands and toes, and rashes on the body. The condition has recently been dubbed "COVID toes." Fortunately, it isn't serious and the lesions usually disappear on their own, said Dr. Esther Freeman, director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "One of the more surprising findings in this epidemic has been the lesions that we're seeing on people's toes and hands," she said. Freeman noted that COVID toes aren't caused by exposure to cold, as is frostbite or chilblains. Rather it seems to be an inflammation of the circulatory system that shows up as a skin rash....