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Flu Shot Lowers Heart Risks, Even if You Get the Flu
The influenza vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of a flu-related heart attack or stroke, even among folks who become infected after vaccination, a new study reports. The systemic inflammation caused by a flu infection is known to increase short-term risk of heart...
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CDC Warns of Rising Health Threats of Herb Kava
Poison center calls about the herbal drug kava have surged in the United States in recent years, a new study says. Calls rose 383% between 2011 and 2025 as kava became more widely known and available in the U.S., researchers reported in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control...
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Low Birth Weight May Raise Early Stroke Risk
Being born especially tiny might confer a long-term rise in risk for stroke at a relatively young age, new data suggests. The Swedish study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, but the association suggests that doctors might want to consider birth weight as a factor when...
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Dr. Crandall: Digital 'Twin' Hearts Improve Treatment
A new medical breakthrough could change how doctors treat life-threatening heart conditions - by creating "digital twins" of patients' hearts. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed highly detailed virtual replicas of patients' diseased hearts that allow...
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Science-Backed Benefits of Chocolate
If the Easter Bunny leaves you a basket filled with dark chocolate treats, go ahead and enjoy - in moderation. While chocolate goodies can be high in sugar and calories, dark chocolate also contains antioxidants and minerals that offer notable health benefits. To get the...
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Doctors Fix Irregular Heartbeat With Digital 'Twin'
Scientists created virtual replicas of patients' diseased hearts so precise that blocking a dangerous irregular heartbeat in these digital "twins" showed doctors how to better treat the real thing. One of the first clinical trials of these custom models suggests it might...
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Common Blood Pressure Drug Boosts Cancer Therapy
Researchers at Dartmouth College have found that adding the common blood pressure drug telmisartan to a widely used cancer treatment boosted its effectiveness. The medication enhanced the cancer-fighting power of olaparib, a targeted therapy known as a PARP inhibitor,...
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High Sodium Intake May Trigger New Heart Failure
Most folks know that too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it may be even more dangerous than thought. A Vanderbilt University team found that excessive sodium intake was a direct, independent trigger for new-onset heart failure among a...
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American Heart Association Urges Plant-Based Protein
The American Heart Association's new nutrition guidance, released on Tuesday, emphasized a dietary pattern rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, prioritizing plant-based protein over meat. It also suggested limiting the use of sugar, salt and ultra-processed foods and...
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Review: Nicotine E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit
E-cigarettes loaded with nicotine can help people quit smoking, a new evidence review has concluded. Nicotine vapes produce quit rates 20% to 40% higher than traditional nicotine replacement therapies like patches or gum, researchers recently reported in the journal...
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Sex Enhancement Chocolates Recalled
Two chocolate products marketed for sexual enhancement are being recalled because they were found to contain hidden prescription drug ingredients. The recall involves "Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate" and "ilum Sex Chocolate," sold by the company Gear Isle, according to the...
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Short Bursts of Exercise Lower Disease Risk
As it turns out, you don't need long workouts to improve your health. Just a few minutes of more intense activity each day may help lower your risk of serious diseases. That's according to a study published March 29 in the European Heart Journal, which looked at data from...
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Lower Cholesterol Cuts Risks From Clogged Arteries
Aggressively lowering high cholesterol can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by about a third among people with clogged arteries, a new study says. The results support updated guidelines that call for cutting "bad" LDL cholesterol levels to less than 55 mg/dL among...
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Heart Deaths Higher During Cold Weather Than Heat
Seniors and people with heart problems need to exercise more caution during cold snaps compared to heat waves, a new study says. Folks are at much greater risk for heart attacks, strokes and other heart health problems during colder weather, researchers reported in the...
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Women's Bone Loss Tied to Heart Health
A woman's heart health appears to be linked to her bone health, a new study says.Women scoring high on a newly developed heart risk calculator have nearly twice the odds of suffering a broken hip, researchers reported March 27 in the journal The Lancet Regional...
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Small Daily Habits Add Up to Better Heart Health
Even small improvements to your daily habits - a few minutes more sleep, a couple extra minutes of exercise, a daily side serving of veggies - can lower your risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure, a new study says. People who slept 11 minutes more, performed an...
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Study: Choice of Alcohol Influences Risk of Death
Too much alcohol of any type is bad for a person's health, but some booze is more harmful than others, a new study says. Beer, cider and liquor all appear to increase people's risk of an early death, even at low levels of imbibing, researchers are slated to report Saturday...
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Thymus Gland Key to Fighting Cancer, Heart Disease
For decades, medical students were taught that the thymus - a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the upper chest - was essentially inactive once a person hit puberty. But new research suggests this overlooked organ may actually be a master switch for how well people age and...
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Dr. Crandall to Newsmax: New Cholesterol Guidelines
New cholesterol guidelines are encouraging doctors to rethink when patients should be screened and treated for heart disease risk , shifting the focus to earlier prevention.
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Hypertension Deaths Quadruple Among Young Women
High blood pressure-related deaths are skyrocketing among young women, with rates up more than fourfold during the past two decades, a new study says. Nearly 5 of every 100,000 deaths among 25- to 44-year-old women in 2023 owed to heart disease caused by high blood pressure,...
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Early Exercise Provides the Most Health Benefits
"Early bird" exercise provides better health benefits for people, a new study says. People who regularly exercise in the early morning are significantly less likely to develop clogged arteries, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or obesity, researchers are slated to report...
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Stopping GLP-1s Increases Heart Risks
Taking GLP-1 drugs for diabetes has been shown to lower the risk of adverse heart events, but a new analysis found that going off the medication - even for a few months - may increase the odds of heart attack, stroke or death."Stopping GLP-1 drugs can rapidly erode and...
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Premature Menopause Increases Heart Disease Risk
Premature menopause can increase a woman's long-term risk of heart disease from clogged arteries by 40%, a new study says. This risk is particularly important among Black women, as they are three times more likely to experience menopause prior to age 40, researchers reported...
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Ultra-Processed Foods Raise Heart Attack, Stroke Risk
Munching down loads of ultra-processed foods can increase your risk of suffering or dying from a heart attack, stroke or heart disease, a new study says. Each additional daily serving of ultra-processed foods increases a person's risk of a major cardiac event by 5%,...
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Belly Fat Affects Heart Failure Risk More Than Weight
Want to figure out your heart health risk Look at your belly fat, not your body mass index, a new study says. Excess fat stored around the waist is more strongly associated with heart failure risk than BMI, an estimate of body fat based on height and weight, researchers will...