Month: May 2015

Heart-failure patients who have problems understanding medical instructions may die sooner than those with a firmer grasp of what they need to do, a study finds. Heart failure means that the heart’s pumping action is weak. Treatment is complicated. People have to keep track of their weight. They often take many medicines. Heart failure can lead to repeat hospital stays and even death. The study included more than 1,300 people who had a recent hospital stay for heart failure. Before leaving, they filled out questionnaires on health literacy. They were asked about how well they could read and understand medical information. They also said how confident they felt about filling out medical forms. Researchers kept track of people for an average of 21 months.

Many Americans are sleep-deprived, and those with lower incomes are losing the most sleep. That’s the main message of a brief report issued April 2 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report was based on a national health survey from 2013. People were asked how many hours of sleep they get per night, on average. Lower-income people were more likely to report being sleep deprived. This was defined as less than 6 hours of sleep a night. About 35% of those with family incomes below poverty level were sleep deprived, compared with 28% of those with incomes at least 4 times the poverty level. All of these numbers are higher than some earlier surveys show. A study published in the journal Sleep in 2010 looked at past surveys that asked Americans about sleep habits. It found that about 7.6% of U.S.

Pharmacists may have a role to play in helping people on blood thinners take their pills on schedule, a new study finds. The study used information on outpatients in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. The 5,400 people in the study group got prescriptions for the drug dabigatran (Pradaxa). This blood thinner is prescribed for many people with an abnormal heart beat called atrial fibrillation. It helps to prevent clots that can cause strokes. Researchers interviewed pharmacists at 41 VA centers. They asked the pharmacists about how the VA center educated people about the drug and kept track of them. Practices varied. About 28% of those in the study did not take the medicine as directed. Patients were more likely to take their medicines correctly if pharmacists, rather than doctors’ offices, did the follow-up. They also were less likely to miss doses.

The number of newborns getting treated for narcotic withdrawal has sharply increased in the last decade, a new study suggests. The study looked at neonatal abstinence syndrome. This is a group of symptoms that affect newborns who were exposed to narcotics in the womb. These can be illegal drugs such as heroin. They also can be prescription opioid drugs such as oxycodone. In 2004, 7 of every 1,000 newborns were treated in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) for this condition. By 2013, that had risen to 27 of every 1,000. These newborns also stayed longer in the hospital. They accounted for 7 times as many NICU days in 2013 as in 2004. The average hospital stay rose from 13 to 19 days. The study was based on information from 299 NICU units in the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study online April 26.

Breast milk bought online may contain some cow’s milk, a new study finds. In the study, about 10% contained cow’s milk. Researchers bought 102 samples of human milk advertised online. They tested the DNA in each sample. DNA in 10 samples showed that they contained at least 10% cow’s milk. The authors said sellers could have added the cow’s milk to stretch out the amount of breast milk they could sell. A prior study by the same researchers found that milk bought from online sites also may contain germs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recommend buying milk online. It has not banned the practice, however. Milk banks are another way to obtain breast milk. They test and pasteurize the milk. But they can’t supply everyone. They usually are restricted to babies with medical issues. The journal Pediatrics published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it April 6.

Working up more of a sweat when you exercise may help you live longer, two new studies find. And for most people more vigorous exercise appears to be safe, a third study suggests. All of the studies focused on middle-aged or older adults. One included more than 204,000 people. Researchers kept track of them for more than 6 years. They were divided into groups based on how much of their exercise was vigorous, such as running, compared with moderate activity, such as brisk walking. Those who said up to 30% of their exercise was vigorous were 9% less likely to die during the study than those who did no vigorous activity. The death rate was 13% lower for those who did more than 30% vigorous exercise. A second study had similar results. The journal JAMA Internal Medicine published both of them. The journal Circulation published the third study, which looked at cardiac arrest risk.