People with a 70% blockage in the carotid artery and symptoms such as a mini-stroke may want to have surgery to unblock the artery sooner rather than later. Other options include angioplasty with stent placement and blood-thinning medicines.
A heart-healthy diet is low in salt and saturated fats and high in soluble fiber and nutrients. Making heart-healthy changes to your diet is easy if you make one change a month.
People consuming two servings of fish per week had a lower risk of stroke compared to people who ate one serving or less. Omega-3 fatty acid intake, such as from dietary supplements, is not associated with lower risk for stroke.
Studies of two new Alzheimer’s drugs ended in disappointment. Intravenous versions of the drugs failed to help people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. But the studies also found reason to hope for better results with similar drugs.
A cup of beans or lentils each day, when combined with a low-glycemic diet, may help lower blood sugar levels and coronary artery disease risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. Legumes help dampen blood sugar responses and lower blood pressure.
Topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can bring weeks of pain relief without the risks of oral NSAIDs. Topicals are best for people who have occasional joint pain, when other methods of treatment have failed.
Is it true that women are more susceptible than men to the effects of alcohol, and if so, why is this?
The commonly used bone-strengthening drugs called bisphosphonates may provide the same level of benefit for men as they do for women. It appears the drug zoledronic acid (Reclast) significantly reduced spinal fractures in men with osteoporosis.
Prostate cancer screening should not be offered routinely to all men. For some men, the resulting treatment-which can produce side effects-is worse than the disease.
High-tech imaging tests that use computed tomography (CT) scans to determine heart health may play a valuable role in patients who are at intermediate risk. If the imaging test results are abnormal, that can push a person into a high-risk group.