Health News
From Sexy to Gross
Every day, some 4,000 teenagers smoke their first cigarette. About 1,000 of them will become addicted daily smokers.
Their new tobacco addiction will add to the $200 billion burden that smoking costs the United States every year.
And with their first puff, these youngsters start the clock ticking toward an unhealthy - and likely fatal future.
To combat this disturbing public health menace, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring all cigarette packaging to be wrapped in graphic and sometimes disturbing images starting next year.
Death Rate Lower for Stroke Patients with Therapy
Following a stroke, many people feel the need to reevaluate their lives, consider life expectations and ponder how it might affect the lifestyle they had lived previously.
Cardiac Patients Not Getting Needed Drugs
Millions suffer some from some type of heart disease; from high cholesterol to more complicated heart issues. For many patients treatment is as easy as a simple daily medication.
Smoking Drug Chantix Risky for Heart Patients
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials recently warned smokers with a history of heart disease that taking smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) could could put them at added risk for a heart attack or peripheral vascular disease.
New Data Discovered in Blood Clot Formation
Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered new elements of the blood clot formation process, a finding that could lead to new methods for preventing heart attacks and strokes.
Calls for Vulnerable Plaque Research
Hoping to spark action, the European Society of Cardiology Working Group of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology has published a position paper to bring fatty plaques into the forefront, as well as the need for more therapies to reduce that accumulation.
Olive Oil May Prevent Strokes
Olive oil has always been known as a healthier oil, much preferred as compared to vegetable oil and other widely available cooking oils. New research suggests another benefit of olive oil may be preventing strokes in older individuals.
Stopping a Second Stroke
Diabetes patients are at risk for all sorts of heart problems, including stroke. If a diabetic has had a stroke in the past, the chance of another stroke is even higher.
Hispanic Women Have Greater Heart Risk
With an increase in gestational diabetes in recent years, researchers had grown concerned that could spell lingering heart disease concerns for many new mothers. A recent study shows that is not the case except for certain high-risk populations.
(UPDATE 12/15) FDA Announces New Safety Recommendations For High-Dose Simvastatin
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today is announcing safety label changes for the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin because the highest approved dose--80 milligram (mg)--has been associated with an elevated risk of muscle injury or myopathy , particularly during the first 12 months of use.