MONDAY, March 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Patients who have high triglycerides and take cholesterol-lowering statins to lower their risk for heart attack or stroke can cut that risk by another 30 percent by adding a high-dose omega-3 fatty acid pill, investigators report. The prescription drug, called Vascepa, is notContinue Reading
SUNDAY, March 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Tucking a pacemaker inside an antibiotic-soaked mesh envelope before implanting it inside your body can drastically reduce your risk of a dangerous infection, a new study shows. About 1.7 million patients receive cardiac implants like pacemakers or defibrillators every year worldwide, and doctorsContinue Reading
SATURDAY, March 16, 2019 (HealthDay News) — People who’ve already had a heart attack or stroke can cut their odds for another one in half if they regularly take cholesterol-lowering statins. Yet new research found that only about 6 percent of patients take these drugs as prescribed by their doctor.Continue Reading
TUESDAY, March 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Vaccines are big news in the United States these days. Measles outbreaks in unvaccinated clusters around the country have highlighted the importance of immunization, reviving debate over whether vaccines should be required for all children. Meanwhile, the flu continues to plague all partsContinue Reading
FRIDAY, March 8, 2019 (HealthDay News) — People taking blood pressure medications have faced a frightening and bewildering series of pharmaceutical recalls in recent months, as trace amounts of cancer-causing chemicals have been discovered in individual batches of drugs. But experts from the nation’s leading heart groups are urging patientsContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2019 (HealthDay News) — New research uncovers more damage wrought by the opioid epidemic: Cases of a dangerous heart infection linked to injection drug use have spiked in recent years at an Ohio medical center. Researchers found that admissions for infective endocarditis at The Ohio State UniversityContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Feb. 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — For older adults with a urinary tract infection (UTI), antibiotic treatment should begin immediately to prevent serious complications, a new British study finds. Delaying or withholding antibiotics in this age group can increase the risk of bloodstream infection (sepsis) and death, researchers reportedContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Feb. 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Americans aren’t out of the woods yet, as the flu season continues to spread across the country, health officials reported Friday. One major shift that’s occurred is in the viruses that are circulating. At the start of the flu season, the predominant strainContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Feb. 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) — U.S. opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled in the last two decades, and the highest rates are now seen in eight Eastern states, a new study shows. Those states are: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio. The researchers also foundContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Feb. 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Infections with two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) are showing marked declines among American women, and rising vaccination rates could be driving the trend. That’s the finding from a new study involving thousands of U.S. women who tested positive forContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Feb. 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — It’s a ranking that no country would want to have: A new study shows America has taken the lead in drug overdose deaths, with rates almost four times higher than in 17 other wealthy nations. Drug overdose deaths in the United States haveContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — While the vast majority of American parents support legal medical marijuana, they want pot dispensaries banned near schools or day care centers, according to a new national survey. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital poll was conducted by the University of Michigan. Not onlyContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Feb. 15, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Insurance rules that limit access to the addiction treatment medication buprenorphine may be worsening the U.S. opioid epidemic, a new study suggests. “Buprenorphine is a safe and effective treatment that decreases deaths due to opioids and stops heroin and other opioid use. PeopleContinue Reading
(HealthDay News) — When a person truly needs an antibiotic, the benefits of taking one outweigh the risks of side effects and antibiotic resistance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But is an antibiotic always needed? The CDC offers this information: Antibiotics are not effective on viruses,Continue Reading