Harvard Health Content API

Although women have a lower risk of heart disease compared with men, lowering blood pressure could save women’s lives, says a study. It included 9,357 people with an average age of about 53. Their blood pressure readings were monitored, sometimes 24 hours a day. After about 11 years, 1,245 of them had died. Of those, 472 died of cardiovascular disease. The women in the study had two-thirds the risk of cardiovascular problems or of death, compared with the men. But 36% of heart-related problems, including heart-related deaths, were preventable in women. Only 24% were preventable in men. The study appears in the March issue of the journal Hypertension. HealthDay News wrote about it January 25.

A breast cancer drug might also reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer, a small study suggests. Researchers looked at records for 6,655 women with breast cancer. Just under half of them took the drug tamoxifen. This drug blocks the effects of the hormone estrogen. It fights breast tumors that grow in response to estrogen. Of the total group of women, 40 also developed lung cancer. Those who took tamoxifen were 87% less likely to die of lung cancer than those who did not take it. Because of the study’s design and small size, researchers could not say if tamoxifen caused the lower death rate. The journal Cancer published the study online. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about the research January 24.

Fever-related seizures seem to be on the rise among young children after they receive a flu shot. U.S. health officials are trying to find out why. There have been 36 reports of such seizures this flu season. The Associated Press wrote about them January 20. All occurred within a day of when the children received the FluZone flu shot. The children were 6 months to 2 years old. All recovered, but 10 of them did have a stay in the hospital. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is trying to find out if the shot caused the seizures. They could have been caused by something else. This type of seizure is also called a febrile seizure. The child shakes and loses consciousness. Usually, the seizure lasts a minute or two. Children often recover quickly. The FDA has not changed its advice on using the vaccine.

A drug prescribed for depression also may decrease hot flashes, a study suggests. The study included 205 women. All were beginning menopause or had completed it in the last year. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group took escitalopram (Lexapro), a depression medicine. The other took identical placebo (fake) pills. After 8 weeks, 55% of the women in the escitalopram group said their hot flashes were reduced by at least half. About 36% of those in the placebo group had such a decrease. Women who got the real drug were also more likely to say their hot flashes were less severe or bothersome than before. Researchers said the drug could be an option for women who don’t want to take hormones for hot flashes. Hormones are effective but have risks. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study.