Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

It’s unnecessary to clean inside the ears unless someone has a blockage of earwax. Experts advise against using home earwax removal tools. Such tools include tiny cameras, scoopers, or vacuums that are placed into the ear. The safer, tried-and-true method of earwax removal involves placing a few drops of earwax lubricant (oil-based drops), water, or hydrogen peroxide in the affected ear, and then allowing it to dissolve the earwax and drain from the ear. If that doesn’t work, a doctor can remove earwax.

Carbohydrates include fiber, starches, and sugars. The healthiest sources include whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, which are rich in fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. Starches, the most commonly consumed form of carbohydrate, make up a large part of cereal grains such as rice, wheat, and corn; root vegetables such as potatoes and sweet potatoes; and vegetables like peas and winter squashes. Low-quality carbohydrate choices include sodas, candy, and sugary desserts.

Any type of eye-related surgery can trigger dry eye disease, which causes a burning, gritty, or itchy feeling in the eyes. Treatments typically start with over-the-counter remedies such as preservative-free artificial tears, eye gels or ointments used at night, and warm compresses or heated eye masks. If those approaches don’t relieve discomfort, doctors can prescribe a number of treatments, such as prescription eye drops or nasal sprays, tear duct implants to help retain tears, special heat treatments, or amniotic membranes that help reduce inflammation.

Atrial fibrillation and supraventricular tachycardia are rapid, abnormal heart rhythms that originate in the upper part of the heart. But they tend to arise at different ages, and they require different treatments.

About one in five medications taken by older people is inappropriate. Many of these are heart drugs that are potentially harmful, have no clear benefit, or aren’t as good as other options. These should be stopped or switched. One common example is low-dose aspirin, which is advised only for people who’ve had or are at high risk for a heart attack. Other drugs that may need to be stopped or replaced include beta blockers, warfarin, and older diabetes drugs.

High levels of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a)—a variant of LDL (bad) cholesterol— may triple the risk of a heart attack, even among healthy people with no other known risks for heart disease.

In a 2024 study by Harvard researchers, people who reported feeling persistently lonely had a 56% higher risk of experiencing a stroke compared with people who did not report feelings of loneliness.

Getting an electrocardiogram (ECG) prior to undergoing noncardiac surgery should be the exception rather than the rule. About half of surgeries are low-risk and pose very little danger for the heart. Asking about a person’s symptoms during physical activity—for example, whether they can walk up a flight of stairs without feeling winded—is a better gauge of their risk than the findings from an ECG. But presurgical ECGs make sense for older, inactive people with heart disease. The results can reveal signs of reduced blood flow to the heart or an unstable electrical heart rhythm that may require treatment before surgery.

Mobile ECG devices are small, handheld devices that people can use to record a simple ECG at home. They are designed to detect heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation.

Following a Mediterranean eating pattern is linked to longer life—a finding at least partly explained by such heart-related improvements as decreases in body mass index, inflammation, triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, and insulin resistance.