Social engagement, or how connected you are to other people, can be as important to healthy aging as not smoking or maintaining a good weight. Social engagement may also help to preserve memory. Volunteering is a good way to foster social connection.
A nasal saline wash may help prevent sinusitis flare-ups. A steroid nasal spray may also help.
Taking a daily multivitamin does not reduce the rate of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, revascularization, or death. It may lower the risk of cancer by 8%.
Researchers have been studying the use of stem cells to repair damage caused by a heart attack. Some studies show that stem cell therapy can reduce scar tissue and improve the heart’s function.
Light-to-moderate smoking doubles the risk of sudden death in women. In women with heart disease, quitting smoking lowers the risk to that of nonsmokers in 15 to 20 years.
Hormone therapy is no longer recommended for chronic disease prevention, although experts say many women can still use it early in menopause to relieve symptoms.
A pill that contains several different heart medications is being investigated as a way to help people take the medicines they need.
After receiving a bioprosthetic heart valve, using warfarin for three to six months can lower the risk of a blood clot without increasing the risk of unwanted bleeding.
CT scanning has many health benefits but also carries a small risk of causing cancer over a lifetime of exposure. The risks for older adults are very small. At any age, it is still wise to limit CT scans to what you need.
Problems in manufacturing occasionally occur with both generic and brand-name drugs. FDA protocols enable problems to be caught quickly and remedied immediately.