Latest Health News

24May
2023

Large Study Supports Less Invasive Way to Treat 'Leaky' Heart Valves

Large Study Supports Less Invasive Way to Treat `Leaky` Heart ValvesWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When one of the heart’s valves springs a big leak, that can spell big trouble.The good news: The condition, known as degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR), is treatable using a minimally invasive intervention known as TEER (transcatheter edge-to-edge repair), a procedure that involves the insertion of a small clip to enable proper valve closure and blood flow.The better news? A new real-world analysis is the first to definitively conclude that the vast majority of patients who undergo the procedure do well afterwards.That should reassure the more than 2 million Americans who have been diagnosed with DMR.“Treatment was successful in nearly 9 out of every 10 patients in whom TEER was used to repair their mitral valve,” study lead author...

Hi-Tech Implant Helps Paralyzed Man Walk More Naturally

24 May 2023
Hi-Tech Implant Helps Paralyzed Man Walk More NaturallyWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A Dutch man with paralyzed legs can now stand and walk, thanks to a wireless brain-spine interface that responds to his thoughts by moving his legs.Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, suffered a spinal cord injury 11 years ago from a bike accident in China that left him unable to walk.Oskam now has a brain implant that picks up signals of movement that, in a healthy person, would travel down the spinal cord and cause the legs to move. Instead, that implant transmits those signals wirelessly to a second implant located in his lower spine, which then stimulates the muscles of the leg into action, researchers reportThis experimental high-tech “digital bridge” between the brain and spine allowed Oskam to pick up a paint brush just the other day and perform a...

Illicit Use of Ketamine Keeps Rising in U.S.

24 May 2023
Illicit Use of Ketamine Keeps Rising in U.S.WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Seizures of illicit ketamine by drug enforcement agents have surged throughout the United States, growing 349% from 2017 through 2022, a new study finds.Rising use of ketamine could increase the likelihood that people who use the drug recreationally may instead get a potentially harmful version of the substance, researchers say. “This dramatic rise in ketamine seizures by law enforcement may be indicative of rising nonmedical and recreational use,” said study co-author Joseph Palamar, a researcher in the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research at NYU School of Global Public Health. "Unlike illegal ketamine years ago, most illegally obtained ketamine today is not pharmaceutical grade and is sold in powder form, which may increase the risk...

More Older Americans Use Online 'Patient Portals' to...

24 May 2023
More Older Americans Use Online `Patient Portals` to Access CareWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Older Americans are increasingly likely to log into “patient portals” to access their health care information — but confidence levels vary. About 78% of people aged 50 to 80 now use at least one patient portal, according to the new University of Michigan (U-M) National Poll on Healthy Aging. Five years ago, just 51% in this age range used patient portals, the researchers said. The poll also found that 55% of those who used patient portals had done so in the past month. About 49% had accounts on more than one portal. This surge is partly due to the increase in use of telehealth visits, said Denise Anthony, the U-M School of Public Health professor who worked on the poll.“This change makes access to secure portals even more important...

Most Americans Don't Know What 988 Suicide Crisis Hotline Is For: Poll

24 May 2023
Most Americans Don`t Know What 988 Suicide Crisis Hotline Is For: PollWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Only 13% of American adults understand the purpose of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline nearly a year after its widely publicized launch, a new survey from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows.“There is an opportunity and a need for state and local leaders to launch inclusive awareness campaigns in the months ahead,” lead researcher and Pew senior manager Tracy Velázquez said in a statement, CNN reported. “The federal government’s most recent investment into 988 shows a commitment to building a strong crisis care infrastructure in the country — one that is critically important, given the many people experiencing mental health and substance use issues,” Velázquez added.The 988 line began last year after it was changed from...

AHA News: Young Woman Shocked by Implanted Defibrillator While Making a TikTok Video

24 May 2023
AHA News: Young Woman Shocked by Implanted Defibrillator While Making a TikTok VideoWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- Mary "Micky" Foos was in her garage creating a TikTok video of her dancing when she felt like she was hit from behind by an out-of-control vehicle."I was expecting to turn around and see a truck through my garage door," the 25-year-old said. "But when I turned around, there was nothing there. I was so confused."The shock came from the defibrillator in her chest. The device saved her life by detecting an abnormal heart rhythm and correcting it.After the jolt, Micky's ears rang and she felt lightheaded. She stumbled into the kitchen and collapsed. Her roommates called 911.Micky had supraventricular tachycardia, an electrical problem with her heart that results in a fast heart rate. Doctors performed an ablation to destroy the...

Opioid Overdose Survivors Face Higher Odds for Death in Following Year

24 May 2023
Opioid Overdose Survivors Face Higher Odds for Death in Following YearWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Surviving a trip to the emergency room for an opioid overdose dramatically increases a patient's odds of dying in the year after, U.S. health officials reported Tuesday.Of nearly 287,000 emergency room visits in 2016, more than 8,300 were for opioid overdoses. Of these, nearly 500 patients were dead from a drug overdose in the following year and 400 died from other causes, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."If you're presenting in the emergency room, and you survived an overdose, you are at greater risk of dying of a drug overdose within a year of discharge," said lead researcher Merianne Spencer, an epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.Fentanyl was the cause of...

Salmonella Infections in 6 States Linked to Papa Murphy's Raw Cookie Dough

24 May 2023
Salmonella Infections in 6 States Linked to Papa Murphy`s Raw Cookie DoughWEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that a salmonella outbreak involving 18 people in six states has been linked to Papa Murphy's raw cookie doughTwo individuals were hospitalized in connection with the infections, the CDC said in its alert. No one has died. Those sickened were in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah and Missouri. Illnesses were reported between February and May, according to the CDC.In interviews with some of the sick people, the agency learned that several reported having eaten the dough. Investigators are now working to determine what ingredient within the dough may be contaminated.It’s likely that more people are ill in the outbreak than investigators know about because some...

Standard Tests May Underestimate Severity of Sleep Apnea...

WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to diagnosing sleep apnea, current screening methods may put Black patients at a disadvantage, new research suggests.Obstructive sleep...

Biological Secrets of the Woman Who Can't Feel Pain

WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A unique genetic brew has benefitted a Scottish woman who lives virtually pain-free, heals more rapidly and experiences reduced anxiety and fear,...
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