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About 2.7 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). It’s the most common arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat that can have many different causes. Diagnosing and treating atrial fibrillation is important because the condition can cause blood to pool in the heart and form a dangerous clot, increasing stroke risk fivefold, according to the National Stroke Association. But to get the best treatment, you need to know the origins of this condition....

But I take solace in the fact that most emotional issues have a name; in other words, the problem is not “all in my head.” For example, when I say I have anxiety, the experts say I have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). When I tell my primary care doctor or neurologist that I find funny things sad and sad things funny and experience uncontrollable crying or laughing, they tell me I may have pseudobulbar affect (PBA)....

I’m currently in my second trimester, and live in Missouri where all pregnant women are now eligible to receive the COVID vaccine. I’ve had conversations with my gastroenterologist, my ob-gyn, and my maternal fetal medicine doctors. I expressed my concerns to them that I’m a bit nervous to receive the vaccine while pregnant. I also let my care team know that as a stay-at-home mom who has been keeping a low profile since March 2020, I don’t feel I’m at high risk for exposure....

A new paper published on February 20, 2020, in the The New England Journal of Medicine found that people who had experienced a heart attack within a week or two after they turned 80 were less likely to get treated with coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) than someone who was still 79 — even if that person was going to turn 80 within the next two weeks. Although there aren’t clinical guidelines that instruct surgeons to reduce the use of CABG after any set age, the authors suspected that because of the complexity, risk of short-term complications, and long recovery period, that doctors might be more hesitant to perform this procedure on patients they perceived as being older....

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which are the passageways that carry air to and from your lungs. (1) Bronchitis can either be chronic or acute. Chronic bronchitis is characterized by repeated flare-ups of symptoms that don’t ever go away; this is one of the conditions included in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. It is not contagious. (2) Acute bronchitis is often caused by a virus (such as a cold or the flu) and typically gets better after a week or two, though a cough may persist for weeks after the infection is over....

“Signs of dehydration in adults and children can include headache, dizziness, tiredness, thirst, dry mouth, crankiness, dark urine, dry skin, and constipation,” says Jennifer Williams, MPH, a research scientist at Abbott specializing in dehydration and pediatric nutrition. These symptoms are broad, and most are not specific to dehydration. “These can be signs of other medical conditions as well, so they shouldn’t be ignored,” says Rachel Lustgarten, RD, at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian in New York City....

We sat down with Holland to discuss her current work and to learn more about her perspective on wellness. What are you working on now? I am designing workshops for high school and college students to help them take charge of their finances. I am also developing a proposal for a book that will help people lose their fear of personal finance and use their money to create the lives they want....

Alopecia areata (AA), a type of alopecia or hair loss, is categorized by patchy or complete hair loss. It’s a type of autoimmune disorder that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own hair follicles, which can cause hair loss in any spot where it naturally grows. Meaning, it can affect more than just your scalp. People with more severe forms or progressions of alopecia areata, including alopecia totalis (AT) or alopecia universalis (AU), often experience near or total body hair loss....

Such stark health disparities are unfortunately nothing new: Black Americans have regularly had higher rates of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, which put them at higher risk of complications and death from COVID. The reasons for these underlying conditions are multifold: Socioeconomic factors have limited their access to care, and systemic factors such as racial bias in healthcare, as well as a historically well-founded mistrust of the healthcare system, have been barriers to getting adequate care, including preventive care....

Diet for Cancer Cancer and treatment side effects such as pain and nausea can make eating difficult. Still, it’s important to keep in mind that a nutritious diet with adequate calories and protein can help maintain strength and energy levels, protect against infection, ease fatigue and nausea, and speed recovery. The American Cancer Society (ACS) offers a number of tips on how to get enough nourishment during cancer treatment. Its recommendations include the following advice:...

At the time, “there really weren’t any lung cancer foundations at all,” says Linda Wenger, chief marketing officer of the organization. In 2010, LUNGevity jumped in size and scope when it teamed up with Protect Your Lungs, an organization founded in 2008 by the family of Patricia A. Stern, who died of the disease. Today, Andrea Ferris, Stern’s daughter, serves as LUNGevity’s president and CEO, and their mission is as strong as ever....

Magnesium is involved in muscle contraction, blood vessels, nerve function, and neurotransmitter formation. It also helps ensure a healthy heart rhythm, says Foroutan. Safe to say, “it’s a pretty important mineral,” she adds. Catch is, you might not be getting enough, and being deficient or simply running a lower-than-optimal level can have far-reaching consequences for your day-to-day well-being. RELATED: What Are the Health Benefits of Magnesium? It’s possible that chronic insufficiency of magnesium — meaning your level is low but not deficient — can also create problems, says Foroutan....

“There are lots of dietary triggers out there,” says Mark W. Green, MD, the president of the World Headache Society and a professor of neurology, anesthesiology, and rehabilitation medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. To make matters more complicated, says Dr. Green, “one day they may trigger a headache, and another day they may not.” Dietary modifications for migraine generally fall into two categories — cutting out foods that play a role in triggering your headaches, and making broad changes to the way you eat in an effort to reduce the frequency or intensity of your headaches....

It’s no wonder insulin price capping is picking up speed, given that the Health Care Cost Institute placed the average yearly cost of insulin for people with type 1 diabetes at $5,705 in 2016 — double the cost from four years before. RELATED: Why Is Insulin So Expensive? (and What to Do if You Can’t Afford It) The Latest Bill Signed Into Law Lowers Costs for the Uninsured On April 15, Minnesota’s governor signed the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act into law, enabling uninsured and underinsured people with low incomes to obtain a 90-day supply of insulin through a manufacturers’ patient assistance program for a copay of no more than $50....

“Among children who develop MS, most are adolescents,” says Lauren B. Krupp, MD, the director of the NYU Langone Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center in New York City. “The frequency is highest among older teens while, in contrast, among those who are under 12 years of age, there are probably only 10 to 15 percent who have the diagnosis,” Dr. Krupp says. Research suggests that the vast majority (up to 98 percent) of children with MS have the relapsing-remitting form of the condition (RRMS)....

I have been off disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for a good number of years (for a good number of reasons) and while I am considering returning to a DMT in the future, now isn’t the time for me. It is important that you understand that I have consulted my MS medical team on the subject, and they agree with my reasoning for not taking meds at this point. Why Take Low-Dose Naltrexone?...

Conventional treatments for EoE can help relieve and prevent reflux, but when they aren’t 100 percent effective, a handful of home remedies sometimes suggested to help ease GERD may be worth trying. As with most complementary and alternative treatments, these have little scientific support behind them, but are safe for most people — with a doctor’s guidance, of course. How EoE Causes Reflux EoE is inflammation of the esophageal lining....

Skin cancer guidelines released by the AAD in January 2018 and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology point to the dramatic rise in basal cell and squamous cell (nonmelanoma) skin cancers — as well as the importance of early detection and treatment, and the best ways to prevent these cancers. Nonmelanoma skin cancer currently affects about 3.3 million Americans each year, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS)....

HER2-positive breast cancer is a common form of the disease, affecting about 1 in 5 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. Women with the disease have tumors that produce higher levels of the HER2 protein, which sits on the outside of breast cells. Detected early, HER2-positive cancers are amenable to a number of drug treatments, but these cancers tend to progress faster than other breast cancers, and metastatic disease poses treatment challenges because patients often develop resistance to medication....

It is the first drug to treat major depressive disorder that works within a week of taking it and is the first new pill to treat depression using a new mechanism of action in more than 60 years, according to the manufacturer, Axsome Therapeutics. What’s Different About This Depression Drug There has long been a need for better and more effective drugs to treat depression, as nearly two-thirds of all people diagnosed with depression do not find relief from them, according to Axsome Therapeutics....