Joint pain isn’t always caused by arthritis. Sometimes the culprit is bursitis. It occurs when fluid-filled sacs near the joints called bursae become inflamed, most commonly at the shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, or even the buttocks.
Stress leads to shorter telomeres. People with shorter telomeres are at greater risk for several major diseases, including heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Increased eye pressure isn’t always an accurate way to detect glaucoma. Sometimes you can have normal eye pressure and still have the condition. That’s called normal-tension glaucoma (NTG).
Nutrition Facts labels can help people make better food choices. Key to reading a label is to note serving size and calories per serving, but ignore percent daily values.
It appears that activities such as reading a book or writing can help slow the rate of memory decline in old age.
Use of blood thinners requires caution with other drugs, especially painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Taking blood thinners and NSAIDs together can raise the risk of bleeding.
It’s normal to feel sad sometimes, but symptoms of depression should not be ignored, especially if you suspect you are depressed. Waiting to see if symptoms pass can make depression worse.
Whole-body CT scans, routine ECG screening, coronary calcium scores, chest screenings, and tuberculosis skin tests are not recommended unless a person has symptoms or risk factors of disease.
Heart patients with a positive outlook may be less likely to die early. And that might be because they’re also more likely to exercise, a new study finds. The study included 607 people with coronary artery disease. They were given a standard survey called the Global Mood Scale. It measured the ability to feel and show positive attitudes such as enthusiasm, joy and pleasure. They also were asked about their exercise habits. People with positive attitudes were twice as likely to exercise regularly as those with negative attitudes. Researchers kept track of people for 5 years. During this time, people with positive attitudes were 42% less likely than to die from any cause. The journal Circulation published the study September 11. MedPage Today wrote about it.