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What Hispanic people – and everyone – should know about clinical trials
Despite its rapid growth, the Hispanic and Latino population in the United States continues to be underrepresented in clinical trials designed to help prevent and treat diseases. Hispanic people make up about 19% of the nation's population, census data shows, but they represent just a small portion of participants in...
Heart problem found as a teen flared in her 30s when she was pregnant
As a teenager, Claire Sprouse spent hours in the ballet studio perfecting her pliés, then performing on stage. At 16, she started having chest pains. The problem indeed turned out to be relatively minor – joints inflamed from overuse; all she needed was rest. However, something else happened during her visit to the pediatrician.
Dizziness during pregnancy: When is it a concern?
Pregnancy often causes discomfort, whether it be morning sickness, backaches or swollen feet. But sometimes, health experts warn, a seemingly minor symptom could be a flag for something more. Take dizziness. "It's common, especially in the first trimester," said Dr. Silvana Ribaudo, an attending physician and assistant clinical professor in...
Dizzy on the golf course, pastor was having a stroke that took days to diagnose
On his way to the golf course one day last July, Nick Reed couldn't get cool. He figured it had to do with the heat advisory in place. Still, the air conditioning blasting inside his pickup truck should've helped. By the time he arrived at the first tee, Reed felt...
High stress during adolescence tied to obesity, high blood pressure in adulthood
Young adults who reported consistently high levels of stress beginning in adolescence were more likely to develop cardiometabolic risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure, than their peers who felt less stress as they grew up, new research suggests. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the...
Beyond breathing: How COVID-19 affects your heart, brain and other organs
It's easy to be complacent about COVID-19. Most people experience only mild issues – fever and coughing, maybe congestion and shortness of breath. But the coronavirus is capable of causing much more than a simple respiratory illness, affecting organs throughout the body, experts say. "We see people have symptoms...
Monitoring lesser-known numbers in a blood screening can help heart health
When you get the results from a routine blood screening, some familiar terms and numbers may jump out: cholesterol levels that point to a risk for heart disease, for example, and A1C, a blood sugar measurement used to diagnose diabetes. But are there other numbers that merit a closer look?
Hours after saying 'I do,' the bride was rushed to the hospital
The morning of her wedding, Amy Deike had a dull headache. It was easy enough to push through. The ceremony went off so perfectly that a full rainbow appeared behind Amy and her husband, Matthew, as they posed for photos. The reception was great, too. Many guests commented on how much fun they were having.
Sweet on chocolate? It's what's inside – cocoa powder – that counts
It's a headline sure to make people keep reading: Is chocolate good for you?. Almost everyone wants the answer to be yes, of course. But there isn't a simple response to be swallowed whole. So, like a good bar of chocolate, let's break it into bite-sized pieces. Chocolate actually starts...
Drug- and alcohol-related heart disease and stroke deaths rising
While deaths from cardiovascular disease were falling over the first two decades of this century, those involving substance use rose an average of 4% per year, according to new research. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed mortality trends using Centers for Disease Control...
The road home was long for 27-year-old who had a stroke during the pandemic
As the manager of a medical clinic in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dana Schwartzberg's job was tough during the best of times. So when the clinic was set to reopen following a shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, she was bracing for an especially challenging time. Then again, the lockdown had...
What motivates a motivation expert? Competition, for one.
It's that time of year, when people start making – and almost immediately breaking – New Year's resolutions. But one person you won't find declaring "New Year, New Me!" is motivational expert Dr. Philip Gable. "I don't do it, not anymore," said Gable, a professor of psychology at...
After two heart procedures, she's celebrating her 70th birthday with a half-marathon
Geneva Humdy was retired and living in Costa Rica when a tour guide and friend scheduled a 5,000-foot hike up to a dramatic vista: an overlook of the Continental Divide where the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea can be seen. Humdy was 66 and recently retired from her career as...
A fastball to the chest sent college baseball player into cardiac arrest
Standing in the batter's box during an October 2022 practice at Iona University in New Rochelle, New York, Nick DiCarlo was planning to bunt the next pitch and run to first base. Instead, the fastball that came toward DiCarlo at 80-plus miles per hour hit him in the chest. He...
Women, Black men less likely to receive lifesaving heart failure treatments
Access to potentially lifesaving heart failure treatments has increased in recent years, but women and Black men remain far less likely to receive them, new research suggests. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found racial and gender disparities in who receives advanced treatments for a type of heart failure called heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or HFrEF.
The ripple effects of Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest still strong a year later
Whenever Quentin Tomlin heads out to play high school football, his mother, Laura, knows one thing is for sure: The team won't take the field without access to an automated external defibrillator, or AED. Laura Tomlin knows because she purchased the device, which can shock a heart into a normal...
To make healthy New Year's resolutions stick, keep them modest and manageable
It's almost a new year, a time when many people resolve to accomplish big things – say, run a marathon or lose 50 pounds – then watch those noble intentions melt away before the winter snow. Is there a better way to make our resolutions stick?. "What happens...
Grapes can bring good health in the new year – and some luck, too
Celebrations to ring in the new year are as varied as they are colorful, quirky and, often, tasty. A tradition from Latin America has people who hope to travel running around the block with a suitcase, while a Nordic custom involves breaking plates to bring good luck. Some people burn effigies to bid farewell to the past year, while others put coins in their shoes to encourage extra cash to come their way. Many put on underwear of different colors, hoping for health, happiness, prosperity, and even love and passion.
Feeling sick? The do's and don'ts to help you get better and protect others when you have a virus
Winter's arrival and the drop in temperatures that come with it means it's a good time to take stock of what to do – and what not to do – when you're feeling sick. Colds, influenza and other respiratory illnesses tend to be more common during colder months, when viruses spread more easily because people are indoors more and in closer proximity to others. So far, doctor's offices and hospitals across the U.S. have been busy, said Dr. Trish Perl, a professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Physicians at the Dallas hospital have been "quite active," she said, and not just with cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
'It's so much more than a scar': Model now flaunts remnant of her heart surgery
For as long as she can remember, Andrianna Acosta went out of her way to hide the 8-inch scar that stretches from near her collarbone down to her belly button. In most photos of her younger self, she's wearing high-collared shirts, turtleneck tops and hoodies. "Growing up, I was extremely...
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Heart and Stroke News: Stories about people, science and health, from American Heart Association News.
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