Stroke
If You Are on Medicare & Overweight You May…
Juliette Cubanski, Tricia Neuman, Nolan Sroczynski, and Anthony Damico Published: Apr 24, 2024 This article was originally published on the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) website at this link. The FDA…
Gut Microbiota Linked to Stroke Severity
We have been hearing increasingly about connections between the brain and the gut microbiota. Research from the Cleveland Clinic has demonstrated two fascinating links. First, scientists found that th…
Bright Outdoor Light Exposure Overnight Raises R…
You may have heard advice to lower light levels as bedtime approaches. People exposed to bright light indoors have lower levels of melatonin, a hormone essential for sleep. But interior lighting is no…
FDA Approves Heart Benefits for Wegovy Weight Lo…
Obesity is a world-wide problem. It’s no wonder, then, that injectable drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) have become incredibly popular. Wegovy just got a…
Refined Grains Increase the Risk of Stroke
The glycemic index of a food tells us how quickly it raises blood sugar. The glycemic load of a diet also takes into account how much blood-sugar-boosting food is being eaten. Refined grains usually h…
Do You Have Micro Particles of Plastic in Your A…
Plastic is everywhere! It's found in nearly all packaging of consumer goods. If you want to buy juice, the likelihood is it will be in plastic. Water? Right again! Almost all water bottles are made of…
Can Physical Training Help People Recover from a…
Like a heart attack, a stroke is a serious medical emergency that requires immediate attention. In a stroke, the brain does not get enough oxygen, usually because a blood clot is blocking an important…
Can Stopping Aspirin or Eliquis Suddenly Lead to…
Stopping drugs that have anticoagulant properties can be tricky. That's because there can be an increased risk of blood clots after stopping aspirin or apixaban (Eliquis) too fast. But doctors routine…
You Have Likely Been the Victim of Diagnostic Mi…
Some mistakes are worse than others. When Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had a mid-cabin door plug blow out shortly after takeoff on January 5, 2024, there were a lot of unhappy passengers. The flight wa…
Healthy Eating Can Help Prevent Heart Disease
We have heard for years that eating a well-balanced diet will have positive health benefits. Three decades of data demonstrate that healthy eating patterns reduce heart disease (JAMA Internal Medicine…
FDA Review of Ancient Drug (Colchicine) Spikes P…
Wild saffron, aka autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), has been used for over 3,000 years to ease inflammation. An ancient Egyptian papyrus recorded its use for pain and swelling. A Greek physician us…
Can You Stay in the Sweet Spot for Your Warfarin…
Warfarin is a classic anticoagulant that is used to prevent strokes and deep vein blood clots. Doctors know a lot about this old inexpensive drug, but they also know getting the warfarin dose just rig…
Why Haven’t You Been Tested for Lp(a) Levels?
Have you tired of reading about Lp(a) and heart disease? I do not blame you, but this risk factor has been ignored for so long that it is time to get caught up. A study published in the Journal of the…
Show 1355: Uncovering the Shocking Dangers of Mi…
When you develop a health problem with symptoms that trouble you, the first step is to find out what it is. Diagnosis may be the most basic task a doctor or other healthcare provider undertakes. That …
How to Stay Healthy with a Mediterranean Diet
Would you like to be able to improve your health by what you put on your plate? Health professionals and patients alike may doubt that diet can be as powerful as pills. When it comes to important bene…
What Are the Health Benefits of Coffee and Choco…
Americans have a puritanical streak. This way of thinking suggests that if something hurts or tastes bad, it must be good for you. Conversely, if it tastes good, you might conclude it's bad for you. T…
The Cardiac Effects of COVID-19 Are Really Scary…
There is good news, at last, regarding COVID. According to the CDC, the number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached the lowest level since the pandemic took off. Hospitals are one of th…
Dog Owners Get Survival Benefit
We are dog lovers, along with 85 million other American families. If your household includes a canine member, you may be getting an unexpected survival benefit. A study and a meta-analysis published i…
Show 1307: Cocoa Compounds and the COSMOS Trial …
This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, we explore the power of cocoa compounds to help heart health. Our first guest is Harvard’s Dr. JoAnn Manson, lead investigator of the COSMOS trial.…
Dairy Fat and Olive Oil Are Friends, Not Foes
Do you remember your high school biology class? You learned that there are three building blocks of nutrition: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For decades you have been told that fat is the enemy. I…
The Salt Wars Rage On | How Do You Cope with the…
Americans have been told for more than 50 years that they should cut back on salt. Doing so was supposed to help lower blood pressure. That in turn would theoretically reduce the risk of heart failure…
Is Hard Water Good for the Heart and Brain?
I have been intrigued with hard water since the 1950s. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania (Bucks County to be precise). Our well water was incredibly “hard.” In other words, it had a lot of dissolved…
Will You Live Longer If You Sip Green Tea?
Is coffee or tea your beverage of choice? A study from China, where a lot of people prefer tea, suggests that you might want to sip green tea. Recently, a symposium sponsored by the US Tea Council sum…
Should You Take Aspirin for your Heart? Does You…
Aspirin is well over 100 years old, but scientists are still trying to figure out if it should be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) was created …
Why Grandma Was Right About Vegetables
Your grandmother may have told you to eat your vegetables. Ours certainly urged us to do so. If she did, she was right. Vegetables and fruits are good sources of flavanols, plant compounds that appear…
Active Seniors Have Fewer Heart Attacks and Stro…
Many studies have shown that moderate to vigorous exercise can help ward off heart attacks and strokes in middle-aged people. Now research shows that older women also benefit if they are active in the…
Will Certo and Grape Juice Help Your Sore Knees?
People with sore joints face a terrible dilemma. Pain interferes with quality of life. On the other hand, medications like diclofenac and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can make p…
How Dangerous Is It to Stop Taking Aspirin?
Aspirin gets very little respect. Perhaps that's because it is well over 100 years old, or because it is inexpensive and available over the counter. Whatever the reason, it's our observation that peop…
What Is the Best Time to Go to Sleep?
When do you go to sleep? Are you a night owl or an early bird? The answer to that question has implications for your risk of cardiovascular disease. Finding a Good Time to Go to Sleep: A new study in …
For Preventing Stroke, Type of Fat Matters More …
The type of fat in your diet is far more important than the amount, according to a new analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (AHA Scientific Ses…
Do You Really Have High Blood Pressure?
Have you been told you have high blood pressure? Doctors recognize that untreated hypertension can increase your chance of developing heart disease, kidney damage or stroke. Consequently, you should t…
Getting Systolic Blood Pressure Under 130 Makes …
How important is strict blood pressure control to prevent strokes, heart attacks and other adverse cardiac events? A large randomized, controlled trial from China confirms that getting systolic blood …
You Are What You Eat: Is Your Diet Killing You?
For years, researchers have sought to answer the question: Is our diet killing us? Unfortunately, too often what we eat and what we skip contributes to disease and death. We’ve all heard that what w…
Show 1265: The Advantages of Whole Brain Living
Is it true that we only use 10 percent of our brains? That seems to be a myth, along with the relegation of logic to the left brain and emotion to the right. How can we engage in whole brain living? H…
People with Cardiovascular Disease Do Better Eat…
Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer throughout the world. People at high risk are often prescribed a number of medications to control cholesterol, lower blood pressure and prevent blo…
Show 1239: How Can We Prevent Diagnostic Disaste…
It seems obvious that to provide the proper treatment, a doctor first needs to know what is wrong. However, although medical experts have been focusing on improving diagnosis in medicine for more than…
How Can You Save Your Brain if a Stroke Strikes?
Quick, what are the symptoms of a stroke? You must know this to save your brain or the brain of someone you love! For years, neurologists have been encouraging people who might suspect they are having…
Show 1213: How Does COVID-19 Affect Your Heart?
What comes to mind when you think of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus? Chances are, you think of the lungs. There’s been a tremendous amount of attention to the breathing difficu…
Show 1201: Hard-to-Diagnose Conditions Can Be De…
Diagnosis is a crucial first step for medical treatment. In some situations, recognizing the condition as soon as possible makes a big difference in the outcome. However, doctors may have difficulty w…
Should You Take Aspirin or Shun the Wonder Drug?
Aspirin is one of our oldest medications. The Bayer company first began marketing aspirin in 1899. But Chinese healers were using willow bark, the precursor to modern-day aspirin, as far back as 500 B…