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 >

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 >

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 >

Chronic kidney disease may carry an increased risk of dementia, according to a Swedish study. In people with chronic kidney disease, the bean-shaped organs gradually lose their ability to filter waste from the blood and eliminate fluids. “Even a mild reduction in kidney function has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and…  read on >  read on >

Poor mental health after a heart attack may increase young and middle-aged adults’ risk of another heart attack or death a few years later, a new study suggests. The study included 283 heart attack survivors, aged 18 to 61 with an average age of 51, who completed questionnaires that assessed depression, anxiety, anger, stress and…  read on >  read on >