Get Healthy!

COVID Pandemic Shortened U.S. Life Expectancy by More Than a Year

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly shortened life expectancy in the United States, especially among Black people and Hispanics, a new study says.

With more than 336,000 COVID-19 deaths nationwide last year, researchers decided to examine the pandemic's impact on life expectancy.

The projection: Due to pandemic deaths, life expectanc...

AHA News: What Heart and Stroke Patients Should Know About COVID-19 Vaccines

Experts have a simple answer for heart and stroke patients questioning whether they need a COVID-19 vaccination. That answer: yes.

"People with all kinds of cardiovascular risk factors and disease should definitely get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19," said Dr. Mitchell Elkind, a professor of neurology and...

New Hope Against Diseases Marked by Progressive Scarring of Lung Tissue

FRIDAY, Jan. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- An inhaled medication might make every day physical activity a bit easier for patients with serious scarring of the lungs, a new clinical trial finds.

The study, published online Jan. 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved patients with high blood pressure i...

Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus 'Rescue' Plan

President-elect Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus "rescue" plan on Thursday that would pump $400 billion directly into efforts to fight the pandemic, with the rest focused on economic relief and state and local aid.

""I know what I just described will not come cheaply," Biden said during a speech Thursday night. "But failure t...

Pharmacy Chains Ready to Supply COVID-19 Vaccines to Americans

Now that federal guidelines have expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include people over 65 and those of all ages with underlying health conditions, drug stores say they are ready, willing and able to start giving the shots.

There's just one slight glitch: supply. But with two vaccines already available ...

3 Steps Could Nearly Eliminate COVID Infections on College Campuses: Study

A combination of mask use, social distancing and routine testing would eliminate nearly all COVID-19 infections on U.S. college campuses, a new study claims.

Using a computer model that simulated a semester of a mid-sized college (5,000 students and 1,000 faculty), researchers assessed the effectiveness and cost of 24 combinations of four ...

What Happened to the Flu This Year?

The United States has far fewer flu cases than normal, and experts say it's probably due to measures people are taking to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Flu season usually peaks between December and February. Influenza typically causes about 45 million illnesses, 810,000 hospitalizations and 61,000 deaths in the United States each year,...

Shorter COVID Quarantine for College Athletes a Good Idea, Study Finds

After SARS-CoV-2 exposure, a 14-day quarantine is standard among university athletes. But shorter quarantines for these athletes, along with mid-quarantine testing, may improve their compliance without increasing the risk that they'll infect others, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed data from 620 U.S. college athletes who tested p...

Science Reveals Top Marathon Runners' Secrets

What makes a marathoner great?

New research pinpoints the physical attributes of top marathon runners, and could help others improve their marathon performance.

Elite male distance runners were asked to run on treadmills at a range of speeds and also on an outdoor track at a speed of 13.1 miles per hour, comparable to completing...

Fresh Embryos Beat Frozen for IVF: Study

When it comes to in vitro fertilization, new research suggests fresh is best.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from 33,000 women who received fresh or frozen embryos derived from freshly retrieved donor eggs.

The data was from 370 in vitro fertilization clinics in the United States that account for more than 95% of all assist...

Program Helps Low-Income Women Get Needed Mammograms

Giving low-income women mammograms when they're hospitalized can boost their breast cancer screening rates, according to a new study.

Getting cancer screening tests can be challenging for low-income women due to factors such as a lack of transportation and not being able to take time off work, so researchers from Massachusetts General Hosp...

Members of Biden's Pandemic Response Team Optimistic About Vaccine Rollout

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's target of 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations delivered within the first 100 days of his administration isn't just a lofty goal, two members of his pandemic advisory board said Thursday.

Rather, it's a hard-nosed response to the daily toll that the coronavirus takes on American lives.

"We understand the...

What Will COVID-19 Look Like Years From Now?

THURSDAY, Jan. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The bad news? COVID-19 may be around for a long, long time. The good news? Even if it does, new research suggests it could very well end up being just another mild illness, bringing with it inconvenience and discomfort, but rarely hospitalization or death.

Why? The theory is ro...

Time to Angioplasty Is Crucial for Better Heart Attack Outcomes

When a heart attack begins, the time it takes until the blockage in a coronary artery is cleared is critical in preventing further damage to the heart, a new study warns.

The amount of damage is directly related to how long it takes from the start of a heart attack to when patients receive an artery-clearing ...

I've Already Had COVID-19, Do I Need the Vaccine?

Folks who've gotten through a COVID-19 infection might naturally question whether they need to get a coronavirus vaccination when their turn comes.

Experts say they really need the shot anyway, because even after having COVID they might be vulnerable to reinfection.

"We're encouraging people if they meet the other criteria to get imm...

'Mindfulness' on Your Mind? It Has Limits, Review Finds

Mindfulness is all the rage when it comes to boosting mental health, but new research suggests that it may not help everyone equally.

Practicing mindfulness meditation -- which involves paying close attention to what you are feeling in the moment -- may be better than doing nothing at all to improve anxiety, ...

Many Americans Don't See Links Between Racism,  Health Outcomes: Poll

Many Americans most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic don't believe that racism is associated with poorer health, a nationwide poll shows.

The ongoing poll of more than 4,000 lower- and middle-income Americans focuses on communities of color.

"It really struck us that -- despite the virus's spread across the country to all types of c...

Cancer Screening Fell Sharply Early in Pandemic, But Has Rebounded

As clinics closed for non-essential care and patients' COVID-19 fears kept them from check-ups, the United States saw a steep drop in cancer screenings and diagnoses during the first peak of the pandemic, a new report finds.

Researchers analyzed data on how many patients underwent cancer screening tests -- procedures such as mammograms, c...

Sperm Samples May Help Predict Autism Risk in Offspring

Biomarkers in sperm may help identify men at risk of fathering children with autism, researchers say.

For the study, investigators examined sperm epigenetics -- the molecular processes that affect gene expression -- in 13 men who fathered sons with autism and 13 who had children without the disorder.

The American and Spanish research...

U.S. COVID Vaccine Rollout Nears 1 Million Doses Per Day

One month after the United States began what has become a troubled rollout of a national COVID vaccination campaign, the effort is finally gathering real steam.

Close to a million doses -- over 951,000, to be more exact -- made their way into the arms of Americans in the past 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention re...