Heart disease is the leading killer of Americans, but many are still able to survive heart attacks. What determines who is able to overcome an attack and who succumbs? A team of researchers from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical …
blood pressure
Low-Salt Diets Reduce Heart Disease Risk, Right? A Study Disagrees
The government’s recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans had some familiar recommendations for health: eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise more and lower the amount of salt you eat.
Genetic Testing for Kids: Is It a Good Idea?
With the advent of new genetic tests, it’s increasingly easy to gauge whether you’re predisposed to developing certain conditions — diabetes, say, or breast cancer. For adults, that knowledge can be simultaneously …
Smoking Ban at NYC Apartments? Health Experts Would Likely Approve
When the WSJ‘s Craig Karmin reported yesterday that at least half a dozen Manhattan co-ops may begin prohibiting residents from lighting up at home come spring, more than a handful of New Yorkers were no doubt peeved. Still, at …
Apple Shapes May Not Be At Higher Risk of Heart Disease After All
If you’re one of those people who tends to put on weight around your middle, what doctors call an “apple shape” — what the rest of us call a beer belly — you’ve probably been told that you’re at higher risk of heart disease. …
Pet Detective: A Dog that Sniffs Out Colon Cancer
Your pet pooch already lowers your blood pressure and provides emotional support. What if it could also identify your early-stage colon cancer?
Storytelling May Help Lower Blood Pressure
Everyone likes a good story, but can a compelling narrative save lives?
CDC: More Adults Are Aware and Treating Their High Blood Pressure
The rate of high blood pressure among American adults has plateaued over the last 10 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But compared to 10 years ago, more of those …
Black Men With High Blood Pressure, See Your Barber?
Black men have the highest rate of hypertension-related death of any group in the U.S. (three times the rate of white men), partly because high blood pressure goes untreated in so many African Americans.
The ‘Other’ Salt: 5 Foods Rich in Potassium
A recent report shows that consuming just 4.7 grams of “good salt” (potassium) is the equivalent of cutting out 4 grams of “bad salt” (sodium) in terms of reducing blood pressure.
But there are only so many bananas (.5g each) …
More Americans have blood pressure under control
We’re a stressed out society, and between the faltering economy and juggling the pressures of everyday life, it’s no wonder that 65 million of Americans suffer from hypertension.
High blood pressure is a combined product of stress, obesity, a high sodium diet, and some genetic factors that keep the pressure on blood vessels …
Brazilian health minister recommends having more sex
As part of a national campaign against high blood pressure, Brazil’s minister of health Jose Temporao offered some tips for simple ways to improve health—among them, dancing, routine blood pressure screening, and more time in the sack, the Associated Press reports. Nearly a quarter of Brazilians had high blood pressure in 2009,
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Four risk factors reducing U.S. life expectancy
A new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington suggests that four preventable risk factors—high blood pressure, smoking, high blood sugar and overweight/obesity—are significantly reducing life expectancy across the U.S. In the new
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