Running out of hot water during your shower might be a good thing. A cold shower — even just for a few minutes — can work as therapy to help you heal, recover and generally feel good, especially after exercise. “Cold showers are a convenient way for a weekend warrior, amateur athlete or anyone who… Continue reading Why Cold Showers Could Be Good for You
Tag: guidelines
Kids and High Blood Pressure
New guidelines that classified more children as having elevated blood pressure are better at predicting which kids are likely to develop heart disease when they reach adulthood, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. The guidelines were issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2017 and endorsed by the… Continue reading Kids and High Blood Pressure
An Overlooked Condition: Perimenopause
Researchers have developed the first-ever guidelines on diagnosing and treating perimenopausal depression, the time immediately before menopause when hormones are in decline. According to a news release from the University of Illinois at Chicago, perimenopausal depression remains under-recognized and clinical recommendations on treating it have been lacking until now. The researchers published the guidelines simultaneously… Continue reading An Overlooked Condition: Perimenopause
How Safe Are Electronic Health Records?
Four years after publication by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), voluntary guidelines designed to increase the safety of e-health records have yet to be implemented fully, according to a new survey. The findings appeared recently in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. “Less than 20 percent of… Continue reading How Safe Are Electronic Health Records?
Top Cardiologist Disagrees with New Hypertension Guidelines
Last November, a panel of medical professionals issued guideline that redefine blood pressure readings. Now, one of the nation’s leading cardiologists is challenging them, saying that the lowered numbers may lead to unnecessarily aggressive blood pressure treatments. Robert A. Phillips, M.D., Ph.D., Houston Methodist Hospital’s chief medical officer, said that while patients at higher risk… Continue reading Top Cardiologist Disagrees with New Hypertension Guidelines
Hypertension and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing
Guidelines used to evaluate peak blood pressure during cardiopulmonary exercise testing were last updated in 1996 and may need to be revised to take into account age and gender, according to new data from the University of Illinois at Chicago. “This is the first systemic effort to establish maximum exercise blood pressure norms in more… Continue reading Hypertension and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing
New Guidelines for Managing Blood Transfusions
After analyzing data from clinical trials about approaches to blood transfusions, experts from Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic and NYU Langone Medical Center have come up with recommendations that reduce blood use as well as improve patient safety. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, also provides a how-to guide for launching a patient blood management… Continue reading New Guidelines for Managing Blood Transfusions
Alzheimer’s Caregiving Tips: Going Out
People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease may still enjoy going out to places they enjoyed in the past. For example, the person might enjoy going to a favorite restaurant, park, shopping mall, swimming pool, museum, or theater. Keep going on these outings as long as you are comfortable with them. Here, from the… Continue reading Alzheimer’s Caregiving Tips: Going Out
Stopping the Spread of “Dog Diseases”
Guidelines for how to avoid “dog disease” – illnesses spread by our furry friends – are now available thanks to an effort led by experts from the Ohio State University. The advice, which appears in a user-friendly guide and in a scientific paper in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, is intended to… Continue reading Stopping the Spread of “Dog Diseases”
Guidelines Have Little Effect on Prostate-Cancer Screenings
Although health officials have published controversial prostate cancer screening guidelines, the guidelines didn’t significant change the number of screenings given to men, according to an extensive review by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The study, published in the journal Cancer, covered more than 275,000 visits at the facility. Revised guidelines from the United States… Continue reading Guidelines Have Little Effect on Prostate-Cancer Screenings
New Guidelines on Prescribing Opioids
Editor’s Note: The abuse of prescription opioids is one of the most crucial public-health issues today. According to the latest statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as one in four non-cancer patients who are prescribed painkillers in a primary-care setting is addicted to drugs. Every day, more than… Continue reading New Guidelines on Prescribing Opioids
A New Nutrition Picture for Older Adults
Experts have drawn up a new nutrition icon for seniors, with an emphasis on meeting older adults’ nutritional needs in terms of federal government’s 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines. Nutrition scientists at the Jean Mayer U. S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University, with support from AARP Foundation, introduced… Continue reading A New Nutrition Picture for Older Adults
New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Experts have developed guidelines aimed at avoiding conflicts between physicians caring for patients with advanced illness, and the families of those patients. “Neither individual clinicians nor families should be given unchecked authority to determine what treatments will be given to a patient,” explained Douglas White, M.D., M.A.S., UPMC Chair for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine,… Continue reading New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
New Blood Pressure Guidelines Could Save Lives and Money
Adhering to new hypertension guidelines could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year – without increasing health care costs, according to researchers. The investigators, from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), published their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Our findings clearly show that it would be worthwhile to significantly increase spending… Continue reading New Blood Pressure Guidelines Could Save Lives and Money
Study: Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines Are Inadequate
Current guidelines for bone-density testing aren’t good enough, according to a new investigation. The study, led by researchers from UCLA, contradicts guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The USPSTF, whose findings are consistently reported widely, recommends that all women 65 and older be tested for low bone mineral density. Additionally, the group… Continue reading Study: Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines Are Inadequate
Americans Have Colonoscopies Too Often
Colonoscopies are a very valuable procedure to screen for the presence of colorectal cancer. However, healthy Americans who do undergo this sometimes uncomfortable examination often have repeat screenings long before they actually should, according to Gina Kruse, M.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital in the US and colleagues. The team advises that endoscopists stick to the… Continue reading Americans Have Colonoscopies Too Often