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Can probiotics help calm inflammatory bowel disease?
Could imaging scans replace biopsies during prostate cancer screening?
Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
Does drinking water before meals really help you lose weight?
Which migraine medications are most helpful?
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Do tattoos cause lymphoma?
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Concussion in children: What to know and do
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Medical Tests & Procedures Archive
Articles
Many preventive mastectomies may be unnecessary
Women with early cancer in one breast may opt to remove the other, healthy breast because they overestimate their risk of a second cancer.
The case for measuring fitness
Cardiorespiratory fitness may soon be considered as a vital sign on par with blood pressure and heart rate.
 Image: © iStock
Three decades' worth of solid evidence linking a sedentary lifestyle to higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and early death has silenced even the most ardent exercise deniers. Nonetheless, a metric quantifying a person's level of aerobic fitness has yet to make it into the set of tools commonly used to predict heart disease.
But that may soon change. The American Heart Association recently released a statement calling for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) to be considered a clinical vital sign, similar to how blood pressure, heart rate, and tobacco use are treated now. Assessing fitness level at your annual visit would help your doctor get a better picture of your underlying heart health and risk of disease down the road.
Artery-opening angioplasty via the arm is safe for elderly
In older people, angioplasty done through an artery starting in the wrist may have fewer complications than conventional angioplasty done through a vessel starting in the leg.
Cholesterol testing at home: It may be faster, but is it better?
If you don't mind pricking a finger, you can check your cholesterol without sitting around in a doctor's waiting room or laboratory. Devices available in pharmacies or through the Internet make this easy to do at home. But is it worth doing?
The makers of home cholesterol tests rightly tout their products as faster than visiting a doctor. You prick your finger, gently squeeze a few drops of blood onto a test strip or into a small "well," and you get the results in a few minutes, instead of waiting a few days.
Looking for a few good men
There are many opportunities to join a clinical trial, and you may be surprised at what you can learn about your health.
 Image: ggustavofrazao/Thinkstock
You no doubt have seen advertisements asking people to join a clinical trial and thought they don't apply to you. But perhaps you should reconsider.
"People have a vested interest in the outcome of research trials, since these studies address many issues they want to avoid or better manage, such as cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, and dementia," says Dr. Howard Sesso, an epidemiologist with the division of preventive medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Bypass surgery after a stent?
After an artery-opening angioplasty plus a stent, a person may need bypass surgery in the future. Likewise, some people who have bypass surgery may later need a stent. Neither procedure stops atherosclerosis, the disease that clogs heart arteries.
FDA approves first absorbable stent
The FDA approved the first artery-opening stent made from a substance that biodegrades in about three years. The new stents appear to work as well as older metal stents, but blood clots may be more likely to form inside the absorbable stents.
Would having stronger core muscles speed my recovery from abdominal surgery?
Strong core muscles and overall fitness are linked to shorter surgical recovery times.
Recent Articles
Can probiotics help calm inflammatory bowel disease?
Could imaging scans replace biopsies during prostate cancer screening?
Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
Does drinking water before meals really help you lose weight?
Which migraine medications are most helpful?
Want a calmer brain? Try this
Do tattoos cause lymphoma?
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Concussion in children: What to know and do
Ever hear of tonsil stones?
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