Though they often dread social events, many introverts find they’re not as bad as feared and some have learned to fake an outgoing personality to get through the experience. In the business world, socializing is a key to success, said Erik Helzer, who led a team that examined the psychological implications for both introverts and…  read on >

Every home chef will find that cooking healthfully is easier with a well-made set of knives. When shopping, let quality, not quantity, be your guide. You can master most any cutting task with just three knives. The workhorse is the chef’s knife, about eight to 10 inches long. It’s the all-purpose knife you’ll use every…  read on >

Tucking a pacemaker inside an antibiotic-soaked mesh envelope before implanting it inside your body can drastically reduce your risk of a dangerous infection, a new study shows. About 1.7 million patients receive cardiac implants like pacemakers or defibrillators every year worldwide, and doctors use preoperative antibiotics to lower the chances of infection. Nonetheless, about 1.2…  read on >

Children often visit the pediatrician for skin rashes. From viruses to allergies, rashes have a multitude of causes. To ease discomfort, KidsHealth tells parents: Do not rub the skin. Pat it dry after a bath or shower. Do not scratch or scrub the skin. Leave the rash exposed to air. Source: HealthDay

People who’ve already had a heart attack or stroke can cut their odds for another one in half if they regularly take cholesterol-lowering statins. Yet new research found that only about 6 percent of patients take these drugs as prescribed by their doctor. “Very few patients were optimally compliant. We found that the less compliant…  read on >

Many older Americans have the worrisome and potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation, or “a-fib,” and they’re typically offered medicines or a surgery called ablation to correct it. Which works best? Two new trials may have the answer. Researchers say ablation and medicines perform similarly in protecting a-fib patients from stroke, death and…  read on >

A groundbreaking new study holds heartening news for older Americans. Since the mid-1990s, the number of seniors who suffered a heart attack or died from one dropped dramatically — evidence that campaigns to prevent heart attacks and improve patient care are paying off, Yale University researchers said. The study of more than 4 million Medicare…  read on >

Think exercise has to be high-intensity to make a difference to your health? Think again. New research shows that even routine housework and gardening can help older women’s hearts. “For older women, any and all movement counts towards better cardiovascular health,” said Dr. David Goff. He’s director of the division of cardiovascular sciences at the…  read on >

Precious few treatment guidelines for heart patients are supported by the best scientific evidence, a new study shows. Less than one in 10 recommendations are based on results from multiple randomized controlled trials (considered the “gold standard”), and that percentage has actually dropped in the past decade, the researchers reported. For the study, the investigators…  read on >