One healthy habit can reduce stroke risk in women by a fourth; two, by a third; three or four, by nearly half; and four by almost two-thirds.
The American College of Physicians has new guidelines for incontinence urging doctors to first prescribe pill-free treatments.
Some medications can impair thinking skills as a side effect, especially a group of drugs called anticholinergics. These block the effects of a neurotransmitter responsible for stimulation and activity in the brain.
Winter is tough on the skin. This is because people are indoors with forced, hot air, which decreases humidity and causes dry skin.
Thousands of family medicine practices are switching to a new model of health care delivery called a patient-centered medical home.
A strain of influenza that often causes severe disease is the one seen most often so far in this flu season, health officials say. And this year’s flu vaccine may not protect against all of them. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the alert December 3. It said that the H3N2 flu strain is found in most virus samples tested this fall. And about half of those have mutated from the strain that is included in vaccines. Shots may offer less protection against these mutated strains, the CDC said. H3 viruses were widespread during the 3 deadliest flu seasons of the last decade. The CDC said people still should get flu shots because they are the best protection available. In some cases, the CDC recommended quick use of antiviral medicines.
Being in surgery for a longer time may increase the risk of forming a dangerous blood clot, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at information about 1.4 million people. All of them had surgery under general anesthesia in a 6-year period. Those surgeries were done at 315 hospitals. After surgery, just under 1% of the patients developed blood clots. About 0.7% developed a clot in the body’s deep veins. This is called a deep vein thrombosis. Most of these clots occur in the legs. About 0.3% of those in the study developed a pulmonary embolism. This is a clot that travels to the lungs. Clots were 27% more likely to occur after the longest surgeries than after average-length surgeries. The risk of clots was lowest after the shortest surgeries. The journal JAMA Surgery published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it December 3.
I am a 47-year-old man. According to a health examination done recently for life insurance, my LDL cholesterol was 62 mg/dL. Is this too low? Should I try to raise it?