health-letter
Although aspirin is cheap and available over the counter, fewer than half of the people with cardiovascular disease in the United States are prescribed aspirin therapy. This may be because it can have side effects.
Bariatric surgery can reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes. Bariatric surgery might not make type 1 diabetes easier to control, but it could help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Aspirin during a heart attack can help save your life. Chewing one regular-strength adult 325-milligram (mg) aspirin, and swallowing it, should be sufficient.
The amount of total knee replacements in the United States has more than doubled since 1991. This may reflect an expanding pool of older adults and a desire to maintain a more active lifestyle that is possible only if arthritic knees are replaced.
How much daily vitamin D is needed for bone health is controversial. Harvard experts recommend 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day (up to 2,000 IU in those at risk for vitamin D deficiency) plus 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium.
The best way to navigate the holiday buffet is with advance planning. Dietitians advise eating before attending parties, using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate at buffets, and sipping water between bites.
Pelvic organ prolapse is getting national attention because of complications from surgical mesh sometimes used in surgery. Finding a urogynecologic surgeon can ensure successful treatment.
Prescription medicines may cause problems with sleep. The fix may be to adjust the type or dose of medication or seek sleep behavior therapy.
The greater your midlife fitness level, the lower your odds are of developing chronic diseases such as heart failure, stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Despite theoretical reasons to worry that biologic response modifiers may raise cancer risk, it appears they don’t significantly raise the risk of malignancy. The drugs can dramatically improve inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis.