Fighting cancer can be a lonely battle, and new research shows that the coronavirus pandemic has made the experience even more isolating. Studies conducted before the pandemic found that 32% to 47% of cancer patients were lonely, but in late May of 2020 roughly 53% of 606 cancer patients reported loneliness. Those who were lonely… read on > read on >
New research gives insight into why people with epilepsy are at increased risk of sudden death during sleep. The study found that both sleep and epileptic seizures work together to slow heart rate, and that seizures also disrupt the body’s natural regulation of sleep-related changes. These factors can sometimes lead to sudden unexpected death in… read on > read on >
Call it a silver lining of the pandemic: Asthma attacks fell sharply among Black and Hispanic Americans in the months after the coronavirus first surfaced. The study included nearly 1,200 participants who provided information about their asthma through monthly online, phone or mail questionnaires for 15 months between the first half of 2019 and first… read on > read on >
As kids get ready for summer camp, parents might be fretting about exposure to COVID-19, but a doctors’ group says they also need to make sure their campers will be protected from allergy and asthma triggers. “The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has issued guidelines for keeping campers and staff protected from COVID-19. At… read on > read on >
Heart defects are often – but not always – detected at birth, so it’s important to pay attention when a child gets dizzy, passes out or says her heart is “beeping.” These and other warning signs, such as an apparent change in fitness, shouldn’t be overlooked, an expert says. Evaluating a child who has these… read on > read on >
Rates of colon cancer among young Americans are on the rise, and a new study suggests that drinking too many sugary beverages may be to blame — at least for women. Women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, fruity drinks or sports and energy drinks per day had double the risk… read on > read on >
Nearly one in five Americans with high blood pressure use medications that can cause blood pressure to spike, a preliminary study shows. The researchers said the findings are concerning, given how many people have difficulty controlling their high blood pressure. “A large number of Americans are not meeting their blood pressure goals,” said lead researcher… read on > read on >
FRIDAY, May 7, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — When 81-year-old Dick Connery had back surgery in 2019, his son Tim Connery became his primary caregiver. Tim moved in temporarily, ran errands and kept his dad company. Then, Tim said, “in the blink of an eye, things changed.” One morning, about three weeks after Dick’s… read on > read on >
FRIDAY, May 7, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — Barbara Stopfer hasn’t had much of a social life since her husband died six years ago. She stopped seeing coworkers, too, after her heart condition required her to cut back her hours and work remotely. But the 79-year-old stayed connected to people at her residential community… read on > read on >
Air pollution isn’t hard on the hearts of adults only, suggests a new analysis that found it can raise blood pressure in kids as young as 5. Children experienced increases in blood pressure if they had short-term exposure to air polluted with coarser particles or long-term exposure to finer airborne particles, and that also happened… read on > read on >
