People suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea are at a greater risk of catching COVID-19, a new study finds. But researchers at Kaiser Permanente Southern California also found that the longer patients used a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask while sleeping, the more their COVID-19 risk dropped. For the study, a team led by… read on > read on >
Commonly used beta blocker heart medicine may also reduce the risk of knee and hip osteoarthritis and pain, a new study suggests. “Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and affects 15% of the general population,” said study co-authors Georgina Nakafero and Abhishek Abhishek, from the University of Nottingham in England. In a joint… read on > read on >
When it comes to taking a daily aspirin to cut heart patients’ risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study finds dosing doesn’t matter. Researchers looked at more than 15,000 heart disease patients at 40 health centers across the United States who took either 81 milligrams (mg) or 325 mg of daily aspirin for… read on > read on >
New insight into a rare and dangerous disorder that can occur in kids with COVID-19 could improve treatment of the condition, researchers say. Many children infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) go undiagnosed or have no symptoms, but about one in 1,000 develop a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) within… read on > read on >
Scientists report they have pinpointed 64 regions in the DNA of humans that increase a person’s risk of bipolar disorder, more than twice the number previously identified. The researchers, who called this the largest investigation of bipolar disorder to date, also discovered overlap in the genetic roots of bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders. They… read on > read on >
Getting heart failure patients into cardiac rehabilitation sooner rather than later after a hospitalization is tied to a better prognosis, new research shows. “Typically, cardiac rehabilitation programs require patients to be stable for six weeks after a hospitalization,” explained cardiologist Dr. Benjamin Hirsh, who wasn’t connected to the new research. “This study challenges this rule… read on > read on >
A simple surgery may help lower the risk for strokes by more than a third in patients with atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat, a new trial finds. The reduction in stroke risk is achieved by blocking the left atrial appendage, an unused, finger-like tissue that traps blood in the upper chamber of the heart… read on > read on >
Virtual doctor visits for children grew this past year during the pandemic, but a new poll shows U.S. parents are divided on whether they will continue using this option in the future. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan found that about one in five children had… read on > read on >
Though obesity by itself can drive up heart disease risk, new research suggests diabetes and heart disease risk is especially high when combined with a tendency to stay up late at night. The finding stems from a comparison of sleep patterns and disease in 172 middle-aged people as part of an ongoing obesity prevention study… read on > read on >
In new evidence that illustrates that health issues rarely exist in a vacuum, a new study finds a link between heart health and brain function. Existing evidence suggests that having heart disease raises one’s risk of dementia, and vice versa, but a team of researchers based in London wanted to find out if this connection… read on > read on >
