Get Healthy!

Millions of Americans With Heart Disease Use Pot, Bringing Potential Harm

Over 2 million Americans with heart disease have used marijuana, despite evidence that it might be harmful to them, a new research review finds.

The report, published in the Jan. 28 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, comes at a time when many states are legalizing medicinal or recreational marijuana use....

Many Gun Owners Leave Weapons Unlocked at Home

Four in 10 gun owners have at least one gun at home that isn't locked up, even if there are children in the home, a new survey suggests.

To come to that conclusion, researchers questioned nearly 3,000 people while they waited for a free gun storage device (lockbox or trigger lock) at public gun safety events in 10 cities in Washington ...

Family Therapy Best for Youth at Risk for Bipolar Disorder

Therapy for the entire family might help kids and teens vulnerable to bipolar disorder stay healthy longer, new research suggests.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Colorado and Stanford University studied 127 young people from ages 9 to 17.

They analyzed two types of treatment that...

'Kangaroo Care' Reduces Infant Deaths

Low birth weight babies stand a better chance of surviving when their mothers hold them close throughout the day, a new study finds.

This technique is called kangaroo care because it mimics how kangaroos shield their babies in their pouch.

In women, it involves holding the newborn tightly to her body with the help of a scarf...

What Parents Overlook When Their Teen Is a Heavy Gamer

Most American parents believe their teens spend too much time playing video games, but many underestimate the actual amount, a new survey shows.

The poll of nearly 1,000 parents with at least one child aged 13 to 18 found that 86% said their teen spends too much time gaming.

Among parents of daily gamers, 54% report t...

Even in a Wealthy Country, Going Hungry Can Mean Shorter Lifespan

"Food insecurity" -- not having enough money to afford sufficient food -- increases the risk of premature death, new research suggests.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 510,000 adults in Canada between 2005 and 2017. Over the study period, nearly 25,500 people died prematurely. The average life expectancy in Cana...

Just 2% of Patients Who Need It Get Anti-Opioid Drug Naloxone

Naloxone can prevent opioid overdose deaths, but only a tiny percentage of Americans at risk are prescribed the lifesaving drug.

That's the key finding from an analysis of nationwide data on adults with private health insurance.

The researchers found that while naloxone (Evzio, Narcan) prescriptions in this group rose betwee...

Screening for Chinese Coronavirus to Start at 3 Major Airports: CDC

Travelers from China will now have to undergo enhanced screening at three major U.S. airports for symptoms of a new coronavirus that has caused an outbreak of pneumonia in China, federal health officials said Friday.

The three airports -- San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) -- receive the most travelers from centr...

How Lack of Insurance Affects Breast Cancer Survival

Minority women with breast cancer are less likely to have insurance, which could lower their odds of survival, researchers say.

"Having adequate health insurance for all could reduce the persistent racial outcome disparities in breast cancer," said study lead author Dr. Naomi Ko, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Sch...

Even Untrained Dogs Seem to Know Human Gestures

There's more evidence that the canine-human bond is a tight one: New research finds that stray dogs pick up on human commands, even though they haven't been trained.

Of the untrained dogs in the study, 80% went to the place a person pointed to. This suggests dogs understand complex gestures by watching humans, which might be a clu...

Do You Take Warfarin? Time of Day Might Not Matter

Patients taking the blood thinner warfarin have been told that it should be taken at night, but a new study found the time of day doesn't matter.

"Whether warfarin is taken in the morning, or the evening, its therapeutic effect is the same," said lead researcher Dr. Scott Garrison, an associate professor of family medicine at the Univ...

Fish Oil Supplements Might Help Men Become Dads

Couples struggling to get pregnant might want to add a little more fish in their diet, a new study says.

Young men who take fish oil supplements appear to have better sperm quality and higher testosterone levels than those who don't, as well as larger testicles, researchers report.

Although it wasn't tested as part of the stu...

How Mom-to-Be's Worry Over Birth Defects Can Harm Baby

Hearing that your unborn baby has congenital heart disease can be traumatic, but now new research suggests that if you experience stress, anxiety or depression afterward it could affect your baby's brain development.

Congenital heart disease (structural problems with the heart) is the one of the most common birth defects.

"We...

AHA News: Before Grabbing a Grapefruit, Understand Its Power

Grapefruit looks sweet and friendly, but you might have heard it possesses powers far beyond those of ordinary produce.

Some of that reputation is fact, and some is myth.

Facts first: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, half a medium grapefruit has only 41 calories and nearly half a day's recommended supply of ...

College Students Picking Pot Over Drinking in States Where It's Legal

Are college students choosing marijuana instead of booze when both are legal?

New research suggests they are: In states where pot is legal, college kids use it more, but binge-drink less.

In states with legal marijuana, college students were 18% more likely to use it in the past month than in states where it's illegal, Or...

Fewer Childhood Cancer Survivors Getting Hit by Heart Troubles

Since the 1970s, serious heart disease among childhood cancer survivors had declined remarkably, a new study finds.

The decline suggests that efforts to make cancer treatments, including radiation, less toxic are paying off, researchers say.

For the study, researchers led by Dr. Daniel Mulrooney, from St. Jude Children's Re...

Sepsis Causes Far More Deaths Worldwide Than Thought

Sepsis kills more than twice as many people worldwide as once believed, and children in poor regions account for an excessive number of such deaths, researchers say.

Sepsis is an out-of-control immune response to infection that harms organs. People who survive sepsis can have lifelong disabilities.

In 2017, there were 48.9 mi...

Could a Switch to Skim Milk Add Years to Your Life?

If you want to slow down the aging process, it might not hurt to replace whole milk with skim, new research suggests.

The study of over 5,800 U.S. adults found that those who regularly indulged in higher-fat milk had shorter telomeres in their cells -- a sign of accelerated "biological aging."

The ...

How Palliative Care Remade End-of-Life Care at New York Hospitals

Providing palliative care in hospitals led to a 10% reduction in intensive care unit use by dying patients, a new study finds.

Palliative care aims to provide relief from symptoms and stress of a serious illness.

Researchers say that ICU use at the end of life is considered an indicator of poor quality of care. The study's...

'Intensity' of U.S. Binge Drinking Is on the Rise

While the frequency at which Americans binge drink has declined slightly over the past decade, the number of drinks they imbibe during a binge is rising to dangerous levels, new research shows.

In the new study, binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks on one occasion by men or four or more drinks for women.

Between ...