Home for the Holidays: Why ER Visits Spike Around Christmas
Experts discuss this phenomenon and share tips on how to safely make it through the holidays.
Medical Notes: May 29, 2022
AI can predict fatal heart attacks. Lack of patient diversity in Alzheimer's research threatens accurate diagnosing in people of color. 1 in 3 Americans will develop a substance use disorder. And finally, is religion the downfall of consumerism?
Why We Don’t Stop Preventable Heart Attacks
Heart disease is often preventable, but how people look at it often keeps them from doing as much about it as they could. Often this is a result of myth and misinformation. An expert physician discusses some of the most harmful of these myths.
Medical Notes: August 8, 2021
A new study shows that antibiotic exposure early in life could alter a child’s brain development. Then, the stress of the pandemic has led to a sharp increase in teenage eating disorders. And finally, researchers have found a potentially lifesaving heart attack treatment in a most unusual place.
Genes and High Cholesterol
More than 100 million Americans have high cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease. Most people think of their diets as the main cause, but genetics also play a role in both good and bad ways. A noted expert discusses how scientists are harnessing cholesterol genes to lower the risk of heart attacks.
Broken Heart Syndrome
When a person suffers a severe emotional shock, they may suffer what looks like a heart attack but is actually what doctors call “stress cardiomyopathy.” Most patients recover but the condition can be fatal, confirming that it is possible to die of a broken heart. An expert explains.
Christmas in the E.R.: It’s No Holiday
Winter in general, and the holidays in particular, are the busiest time of year in hospital emergency departments, even in places where it doesn’t snow. Experts discuss the increase in deaths of all kinds, including the “Merry Christmas Coronary” and possible reasons those deaths bounce up.
Medical Notes: Week of November 10, 2019
The largest study of its kind is strengthening the link between football and the brain disorder CTE. Then, a new study in the journal Radiology shows that complications due to cortisone shots are much more common than previously thought. Finally, another study is proving that dog owners live longer.
Medical Notes: Week of July 28, 2019
A new study from Drake University show that EpiPens contained the required dose of epinephrine more than two years after their expiration date. Then, a new virtual biopsy device that creates digital images of skin lesions non-invasively and at a fraction of the cost. And finally, with the right skill, your Alexa or Google Home devices could detect the …
Medical Notes: Week of April 14, 2019
A major study showing a daily aspirin does nothing to prolong life, and increases risk in gastrointestinal bleeding. Then, soda with sugar and the connection to heart death and increased cancer risks. Then, how preventive road maintenance can save drivers costs. And finally, eating nuts to maintain brain function as you age.
Silent Heart Attack
Heart attacks that produce few if any symptoms may be mistaken for indigestion or simple malaise, but they can be more serious than heart attacks that bring crushing pain because they often don't bring a victim to the hospital for lifesaving help. Experts discuss.
Medical Notes: Week of July 15, 2018
Everybody loves a home-cooked meal, but what if your stove was slowly poisoning you? Then, the average human life expectancy has increased dramatically. Plus, researchers have cured diabetes in mice by putting insulin-producing cells into a tiny device. Also, older people who have trouble falling asleep are more likely to have cognitive troubles later. Then, …
