Substituting potassium-containing salt substitutes for regular salt can help lower blood pressure as well as the risk of stroke. But people should also check the sodium content in foods and eat more potassium-rich produce.
TV medical dramas often portray treatments for heart attacks and cardiac arrest. While the timelines are often accelerated and certain aspects may be dramatized to engage viewers, the medical details are, for the most part, factual and authentic. Writers and producers routinely rely on health care experts — including Harvard doctors — to make sure the information is accurate. For people with heart disease, seeing how emergency physicians treat urgent conditions may show them what to expect.
Monitoring daily step count can encourage people to be more active. When it comes to assessing fitness or risk for major illnesses, though, is a new measurement that combines both average steps and heart rate better?
Marketed as a natural remedy for an enlarged prostate, saw palmetto is a top-selling dietary supplement. By one estimate, more than a third of all US adults who take supplements use saw palmetto. But experts at Harvard say men should view its supposed benefits for prostate health skeptically.
Thyroid nodules are common. Learn what they are, why they happen, and how doctors determine whether they need monitoring, biopsy, or surgery.