Health News

Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has found. Read More

A novel device to treat a common heart problem that can lead to stroke shows promise, according to a new study. Read More

Stress following Hurricane Katrina may still be causing heart attacks years after the storm slammed Louisiana, according to a new study. Read More

Seven out of 10 Americans should restrict their salt consumption, but very few of them do, according to a new government study. About 145 million U.S. adults are thought to be more sensitive to salt _ a group that includes anyone with high blood pressure, African-Americans and everyone older than 40. Read More

Doctors are puzzling over what seems to be an increase in the number of children with kidney stones, a condition some blame on kids' love of cheeseburgers, fries and other salty foods. Read More

Watch out for Fluffy and Fido! Cats and dogs are a factor in more than 86,000 serious falls each year, according to the first government study of pet-related tumbles. Such incidents are relatively rare, accounting for just about 1 percent of injuries from falls. The vast majority cause only minor injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More

Circumcision not only protects against HIV in heterosexual men, but it also helps prevent two other sexually transmitted infections, a large new study found. Circumcised males reduced their risk of infection with HPV, or human papillomavirus, by 35 percent and herpes by 28 percent. However, researchers found circumcision had no effect on the transmission of syphilis. Read More

The health insurance industry offered Tuesday for the first time to curb its controversial practice of charging higher premiums to people with a history of medical problems. The offer from America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a potentially significant shift in the debate over reforming the nation's health care system to rein in costs and cover an estimated 48 million uninsured people. It was contained in a letter to key senators. Read More

The largest study of its kind finds that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat and processed meats face a greater risk of death from heart disease and cancer. The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts. Read More

The health care costs of Alzheimer's disease patients are more than triple those of other older people, and that doesn't even include the billions of hours of unpaid care from family members, a new report suggests. Read More

Surgeons have transplanted a hand onto a Marine who was hurt in a training accident, and he has some movement in his fingers, according to the hospital where the operation occurred. Read More

Turn a bit red when you drink a mere half bottle of beer? If you're of East Asian descent, consider that a warning: You may be at higher risk of alcohol-caused esophageal cancer. Researchers reported the link Monday in hopes of increasing awareness that the inherited flushing trait _ found in about a third of people from Japan, China and Korea _ offers valuable health information. Read More

In a study testing treatments for leg ulcers, British doctors found that a surprising, yet perhaps revolting, option works just as well as standard treatment: maggots. Read More

Screening for prostate cancer doesn't necessarily save lives, and any benefits can come at a high price, according to two, big long-awaited studies. The findings are unlikely to end the debate over the usefulness of routine testing. Read More

One in 100 black men and women develop heart failure before age 50, according to one of the first long-term studies to look at the life-threatening condition in younger adults. The research suggests blacks in that age group suffer the condition at a rate 20 times higher than whites do _ an astounding difference more pronounced than earlier studies had indicated. Read More

Being obese can take years off your life and in some cases may be as dangerous as smoking, a new study says. British researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed 57 studies mostly in Europe and North America, following nearly one million people for an average of 10 to 15 years. During that time, about 100,000 of those people died. Read More

A so-called "smart drug" popular with young people may carry more of an addiction risk than thought, a small government study suggests. Scans of 10 healthy men showed that the prescription drug Provigil caused changes in the brain's pleasure center, very much like potentially habit-forming classic stimulants. Modafinil, the drug's generic name, is sometimes used as an illegal study aid by college students. Read More

The Obama administration and key congressional Democrats are taking a hard look at the nation's medical malpractice system as part of a broader health care overhaul. Read More

The largest study of its kind finds that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat and processed meats face a greater risk of death from heart disease and cancer. The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts. Read More

Remember the baby boom? No, not the one after World War II. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history _ and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. Read More