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U.S. hospital stays for heart failure fell 30% in the last 10 years, a new study has found. But the death rate for these patients fell only slightly. Among those discharged in 2008, about 30% died within a year. That compares with 32% after similar hospital stays in 1998. The study was based on data for Medicare patients. The decline saved money for Medicare. Without it, hospital stays for heart failure would have cost $4.1 billion more in 2008, the study found. Many factors could have caused the improvement, experts told the Associated Press. Prevention and treatments are better, they said. More people also may be getting treatment in emergency rooms and clinics. They might not have to stay in the hospital. The nation’s new health care reform law requires hospitals to work harder to keep people with heart failure healthier after discharge.

In a new study, about half of sudden infant deaths occurred in babies who had been placed in unsafe sleeping positions. The study was presented October 17 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP also released expanded guidelines to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The new study looked at 91 recent SIDS cases or other unexplained infant deaths. Doctors have recommended putting babies on their backs to sleep for nearly 20 years. But in half of the deaths studied, the baby had been in some other position. About half were sharing a bed. Nearly 3 out of 4 were sleeping on a surface such as a sofa or pillow. The AAP says these practices are unsafe. MedPage Today wrote about the study. The AAP issued its new SIDS guidelines October 18. For the first time, they say that cribs should not have bumper pads.

Women who smoke tend to hit menopause a bit earlier than nonsmokers, a new research analysis finds. The study looked at 11 previous studies. They included about 6,000 women. On average, nonsmokers reached menopause between ages 46 and 51. In all but 2 of the studies, smokers hit menopause a bit earlier. The average age was 43 to 50. Researchers also looked at 5 other studies that included 43,000 women. They were grouped according to whether they had “early” or “late” menopause. The cutoff for “late” menopause was age 50 or 51. Women who smoked were 43% more likely to have early menopause. Early menopause has been linked with greater risk of several diseases, such as heart disease. But women with later menopause are thought to have a higher risk of breast cancer. The journal Menopause published the study online. Reuters Health news service wrote about it October 16.