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Help others, help yourself? Why volunteering can be good for you
Marcia Trenholm doesn't need a scientific study to understand why volunteering is good for her. Two days a week, the retired insurance company auditor gives her time to the University of Massachusetts Boston Pension Action Center, helping clients track down lost benefits. Other times, she can be found at a local senior center, serving as a certified guide for people who are new to Medicare.
When she passed out at 38, doctors blamed stress. The problem was her heart.
By the time Sheena Fannin and her two sons, ages 6 and 9, arrived home from soccer practice it was already getting late. She rushed to get them to bed. Her husband, Michael, was traveling, so she tucked them in alone. Sheena went downstairs to check her calendar for the...
Children can have high blood pressure, too. Here's what to know.
High blood pressure – sometimes referred to as "the silent killer" because it can do serious heart and brain damage before symptoms appear – is common in adults. Among U.S. children and adolescents, up to 5% have high blood pressure – also known as hypertension – and as many as 18% have elevated blood pressure, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association published recently in its journal Hypertension.
She boarded a cruise ship. Then she had a stroke.
Shelley Davis packed shorts, bathing suits and sunscreen for a weeklong cruise with her husband, Greg, and their 13- and 15-year-old daughters. The morning before boarding the ship in Port Canaveral, Florida, the family from Mesa, Arizona, soaked up the sunshine and played in an arcade. When it came time to board the bus for the cruise terminal, Shelley had a headache. Once on board the ship, she headed straight to her stateroom for a nap.
People who follow these 8 heart health metrics may live years longer
People who strongly adhere to a set of cardiovascular health metrics may live close to a decade longer than those who don't, new research suggests. The study, published Monday in Circulation, found people with higher scores for cardiovascular health lived up to nine years longer on average than those with the lowest scores. The scores measure adherence to a set of lifestyle behaviors and health factors developed by the American Heart Association known as Life's Essential 8.
To prevent heart disease in women, a 'one-size-fits-all approach' might not work
Health care teams and researchers need to do a better job of incorporating racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and sex-specific factors when evaluating heart disease risk in women, a new report says. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published Monday in its journal Circulation, said that although cardiovascular disease is...
Scheduling birth before a mother's due date may prevent preeclampsia
More than half of all preeclampsia cases that occur near the end of pregnancy may be prevented by inducing birth or delivering the baby by cesarean section in the final weeks, new research suggests. The study, which relied on computer modeling to predict risk, was published Monday in the American...
She was 28 and went into cardiac arrest at work. CPR and an AED saved her life.
Heather Baker was 28 and a school administrator in Pecatonica, Illinois, when she walked into a conference room for a meeting. She was chatting and joking with her colleagues when she was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "The whole room was spinning," she said. She tried to tell...
How the food culture of Puerto Rico shaped this nutrition expert
Long before she was a nutrition professional, Josiemer Mattei was a girl living in Puerto Rico. "I had the advantage and amazing experience of growing up near a farm, where I was able to know where my food was coming from, how it is grown and how it should taste," said Mattei, now an associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Mom of 2 young boys was waiting for pizza when her heart stopped
LaNysha Adams of Silver Spring, Maryland, was lying on the sofa watching TV when her husband, David Foss, went out to pick up a pizza for dinner. When he returned not 15 minutes later, she was in a daze. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was drooling. Their 3-year-old son, Davidson, was in the crib next to her.
Discrimination linked to higher risk of death, particularly from cardiovascular disease
Experiencing discrimination may increase the chance of dying, especially from cardiovascular-related causes, according to a new study that followed participants for nearly two decades. Previous studies have found links between discrimination and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. For the new study, published Wednesday in the American Heart...
What's up with carrots? Let's root out the truth
If you think of carrots as stodgy old tubers, something more fit for rabbits than healthy humans, you're in for a bunch of surprises. Carrots can be a significant source of crucial nutrients, said Sherry Tanumihardjo, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These days, they're popping up in a whole palette of colors. They're also convenient and versatile.
Families need good communication following a sudden cardiac death
When a person dies suddenly from cardiac arrest – especially if they are young – family members often struggle to understand what happened. How well death investigators and health care professionals communicate with family members about the causes of sudden cardiac deaths may influence their decision to seek screening for inherited heart conditions, according to a new study, published Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Blood vessels – not just brain cells – can affect brain health, new report finds
Brain cells have a complex relationship with the blood vessels around them that can greatly affect the vessels' ability to function, according to a new science report from the American Heart Association. The scientific statement, published Monday in the AHA journal Stroke, highlights new and emerging concepts on how blood...
Explaining cardiovascular risk disparities among young people with Type 1 diabetes
Black and Hispanic children with Type 1 diabetes are more likely than their white peers to develop stiffened arteries – a precursor to heart disease and stroke – during the first decade of their diabetes diagnosis, new research finds. All of the higher risk for Hispanic children –...
Missouri man turns heart disease diagnosis into public service message
Don Young already had been through an excruciating ordeal with throat cancer that included removal of his larynx, multiple hospitalizations and a doctor's prediction of six months to live – all while in his 40s. Then came heart trouble. It started in the middle of the night when he...
Weight loss may aid health even if some pounds return
People who lost weight through an intensive behavioral weight loss program saw health benefits, possibly even if they later regained some weight, according to a new analysis of more than 100 studies. Researchers found that compared with those who did not, people who went through an intensive weight loss program...
Irregular sleep schedule linked to high blood pressure
People with irregular sleep patterns may face substantially higher odds of high blood pressure than those who stick to a schedule, even when they get the recommended amount of sleep each night, new research suggests. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Hypertension, found people who slept in on the...
A decade after her baby's heart surgery, a surgeon fixed the same problem in her heart
Cynthia Felix Jeffers was a baby when her 12-day-old sister died from a congenital heart defect. She was 22 when her brother, a week shy of 20, died from the same condition. Cynthia, meanwhile, grew up in New York City being told there was nothing wrong with her heart. Doctors insisted her shortness of breath was caused by asthma. Even though inhalers provided no relief, tests showed her heart was fine.
What to do when a genetic test result signals possible heart risk
It's getting easier than ever to stumble across single genes linked to potential heart risks, but deciding what to do with such findings requires caution, says a new report aimed at helping health care professionals and their patients navigate the process. The report, published Monday as a scientific statement from...
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Heart and Stroke News: Stories about people, science and health, from American Heart Association News.
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