High-Rise Living Linked to Lower Survival After Cardiac Arrest

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

The higher the floor you live on, the lower your chance of surviving a cardiac arrest, according to a new study.

Canadian researchers studied 7,842 responses to cardiac arrest calls in private residences in and near Toronto from 2007 through 2012. Cases of trauma and those witnessed by 911 responders were excluded.

When the cardiac arrest occurred below the third floor, 4.2 percent of the patients survived discharge from the hospital, compared with 2.6 percent of those on higher floors. Above the 16th floor, 0.9 percent survived, and above the 25th, where 30 people had cardiac arrests, none lived to leave the hospital. The study is in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The time it took emergency responders to get from the building entrance to the patient was the most important factor in predicting survival. Older age and being male were also associated with lower survival.

The Health Benefits of Knitting

  By JANE E. BRODY

About 15 years ago, I was invited to join a knitting group. My reluctant response — “When would I do that?” — was rejoined with “Monday afternoons at 4,” at a friend’s home not three minutes’ walk from my own. I agreed to give it a try.

My mother had taught me to knit at 15, and I knitted in class throughout college and for a few years thereafter. Then decades passed without my touching a knitting needle. But within two Mondays in the group, I was hooked, not only on knitting but also on crocheting, and I was on my way to becoming a highly productive crafter.

I’ve made countless afghans, baby blankets, sweaters, vests, shawls, scarves, hats, mittens, caps for newborns and two bedspreads. I take a yarn project with me everywhere, especially when I have to sit still and listen. As I’d discovered in college, when my hands are busy, my mind stays focused on the here and now.

Doctors Who Get Sued Are Likely to Get Sued Again

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
One percent of all doctors account for 32 percent of all paid malpractice claims, and the more often a doctor is sued, the more likely he or she will be sued again.

Researchers analyzed 10 years of paid malpractice claims using the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal government database that includes 66,426 claims against 54,099 doctors. The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Compared with a doctor who had one paid claim, having another claim was twice as likely for a doctor who had two, four times as likely for one who had four, and 12 times as likely for one who had six or more.

Neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons were about twice as likely to have a paid claim as internists, while pediatricians were 30 percent less likely to have one.

Irregular Heartbeats? Coffee May Not Be So Bad for You

People with irregular heartbeats are often advised to give up caffeine, but a new study suggests they may not have to forgo their coffee.

Researchers had 1,388 people record their intake of coffee, tea and chocolate over a one-year period, and used Holter monitors to get 24-hour electrocardiograms.

More than 60 percent of the participants reported consuming one or more caffeine-containing foods daily. But the electrocardiograms revealed no differences in premature beats or episodes of accelerated heart rate between caffeine users and abstainers. The study is in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“There’s no clear evidence that drinking more caffeine increases the risk for early beats,” said the senior author, Dr. Gregory M. Marcus, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. In fact, evidence from other studies suggests

To Prevent Back Pain, Orthotics Are Out, Exercise Is In

Lower back pain is an almost universal if unwelcome experience. About 80 percent of those of us in the Western world can expect to suffer from disruptive lower back pain at some point in our lives. But if we begin and stick with the right type of exercise program, we might avoid a recurrence, according to a comprehensive new scientific review of back pain prevention.

Lower back pain develops for many reasons, including lifestyle, genetics, ergonomics, sports injuries, snow shoveling or just bad luck. Most often, in fact, the underlying cause is unknown.

For most people, a first episode of back pain will go away within a week or so.

Why your brain makes you slip up when anxious

As musicians, figure skaters and anyone who takes a driving test will know, the anxiety of being watched can have a disastrous effect on your performance.

Now neuroscientists at the University of Sussex's Sackler Centre and Brighton and Sussex Medical School have identified the brain network system that causes us to stumble and stall just when we least want to.

Dr Michiko Yoshie and her colleagues Professor Hugo Critchley, Dr Neil Harrison, and Dr Yoko Nagai were able to pinpoint the brain area that causes the performance mishaps during an experiment using functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI).

Previous research has shown that people tend to exert more force when they know they are being watched. For example, pianists unconsciously press keys harder when they play in front of an audience compared to when playing alone.

Physical attraction linked to genes that control height

Some may believe that chance brings you together with your loved one, but scientists have found a far less romantic reason. Mate choice is influenced by our genes, in part by those responsible for our height, according to research published in Genome Biology.

An analysis of the genotype of more than 13,000 human heterosexual couples found that genes that determine your height also influence your choice of mate by height. This provides more understanding into why we choose partners of a similar height.

Over the last century, numerous studies have found that height was a key trait when choosing a mate, but until now there has been no explanation for this preference. This study investigates both, individual physical traits in relation to mate choice and the role played by underlying genetic variation.

7 Things That May Raise Your Risk of Stroke

Stroke is the number three killer in the United States, affecting almost 800,000 people each year, according to the National Stroke Association. These "brain attacks" occur when blood flow to the brain is interrupted (an ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts (a hemorrhagic stroke). For 144,000 people each year, the result is death. Hundreds of thousands of others are left with long-term disabilities.

Genetics, age and race play a role in stroke, as do many other factors, both controllable and uncontrollable. Recent research has teased out more and more of these risk

Mysterious Cancers of 'Unknown' Origin in Men Traced Back to HPV

Some cancers are mysterious, in that doctors cannot determine where they originate and how they will spread. These cancers often are given the unwieldy name "unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma" (UPSCC).

About 4 percent of head and neck cancers are of the UPSCC variety. They may appear in this area of the body, having metastasized or spread from elsewhere, but the specific origin of the cancer cells is not clear. And this lack of knowledge of the cancer type tends to make the cancer harder to treat.

Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore have found that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is strongly associated with UPSCCs in the head and neck area and, more specifically, cancer of the oropharynx, the middle part of the throat that includes the tonsils and the base of the tongue.

Poor Sleep Tied to Hardened Brain Arteries in Older Adults

Older people who sleep poorly may have a slightly increased risk of having hardened blood vessels in the brain, and oxygen-starved brain tissue, according to a new study.

Both of these issues may contribute to a greater risk of stroke and cognitive impairment, the researchers said.

"The forms of brain injury that we observed are important because they may not only contribute to the risk of stroke but also to chronic progressive cognitive and motor impairment," study author Dr. Andrew Lim, a neurologist and scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, said in a statement. [7 Things That May Raise Your Risk of Stroke]

The researchers had shown that fragmented sleep — which is sleep interrupted by frequent awakenings or arousals — was linked with an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline, Lim told Live Science. "However, there were gaps in what we knew about

What's the Difference Between the Right Brain and Left Brain?

You may have heard people describe themselves as strictly "right-brained" or "left-brained," with the left-brainers bragging about their math skills and the right-brainers touting their creativity. That's because the brain is divided down the middle into two hemispheres, with each half performing a fairly distinct set of operations.

Much of what is known about brain function is owed to Roger Sperry, whose experiments examined the way the human brain's hemispheres operate both independently and in concert with each other. The two hemispheres communicate information, such as sensory observations, to each other through the thick corpus callosum that connects them.

The brain's right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the human

Fitful Sleep Is Worse Than Staying Awake

It's the first question anyone asks when someone has a new baby: Are you getting enough sleep?

Now, new research suggests why waking up every few hours because of a newborn is such agony. Several nights of interrupted sleep may be tougher to deal with than getting less sleep, new research suggests.

"When your sleep is disrupted throughout the night, you don't have the opportunity to progress through the sleep stages to get the amount of slow-wave sleep that is key to the feeling of restoration," study lead author Patrick Finan, a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a statement.

The findings are published today (Oct. 30) in the journal Sleep.

Parents of a newborns — as well as people who work certain jobs, such as hospital doctor — know what it's like to be woken up multiple times

High-Stress Jobs May Raise Stroke Risk

People who have high-stress jobs may have an increased risk of stroke, according to a new analysis of previous research.

In their analysis, researchers looked at six studies that involved a total of nearly 140,000 people ages 18 to 75, and examined the relationship between work stress and people's risk of stroke. The studies were between three and 17 years long.

The researchers found that people who had high-stress jobs were 22 percent more likely to experience a stroke than those who had low-stress jobs.

Moreover, those with high-stress jobs were 58 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke, which is the most common type of stroke, caused by a blockage of blood flow in the brain, compared to

Whooping Cough Outbreak: How Effective Is the Vaccine?

An outbreak of whooping cough, or pertussis, at a Florida preschool in which nearly all the students had been fully vaccinated against the disease, raises new concerns about the vaccine's effectiveness, a new report suggests.

During a 5-month period between September 2013 and January 2014, 26 preschoolers, two staff members and 11 family members of the students or staff at the facility in Leon County came down with whooping cough, according to a report of the outbreak published today (Jan. 13) in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Only five of 117 students attending the preschool had not received all of the shots required by their age. This is the first time a "sustained transmission of pertussis in a vaccinated group of 1- to 5-year-old children has been reported in the United States," the report said.

 It was surprising that this outbreak occurred among a highly vaccinated preschool population, said five epidemiologists who are staff members at the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee —writing to Live Science in a joint email. "This age group is generally thought to be protected against whooping cough through vaccination," they said.

Brief Psychotic Breaks Remain a Mystery

 Not all psychotic episodes signal the beginning of a long-term mental health disorder like schizophrenia. In fact, when patients experience one of these short-term breaks with reality, it's not precisely clear how the individuals should be diagnosed.

Now, a new study finds there are no significant differences in the prognosis for patients who have four different types of brief psychotic episodes. (Such episodes may involve hallucinations or delusions, or less severe symptoms such as disorientation, disorganized thinking or speech that doesn't make sense.)

The new findings, based on a review of research covering 11,133 patients, highlight how little is understood about how psychosis may progress, the researchers said.

Not all psychotic episodes signal the beginning of a long-term mental health disorder like schizophrenia. In fact, when patients experience one of these short-term breaks with reality, it's not precisely clear how the individuals should be diagnosed.

Now, a new study finds there are no significant differences in the prognosis for patients who

Too Little Sleep Increases Heart Disease Risk in Obese Adolescents

By Agata Blaszczak-Boxe, Staff Writer
Obese adolescents who do not get enough sleep may be at an increased risk of heart disease and other health issues, compared with other obese teens who get more sleep, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the teens' risk factors for developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke, and found that the less sleep the adolescents got, the higher their "cardiometabolic risk score," which is a measure that combines the risk of developing these conditions into a single number.

"More sleep means less risk," said study author Heidi IglayReger, supervisor of the Physical Activity Laboratory at the Michigan Metabolomics and Obesity Center.

In the study, the researchers examined 37 obese teenagers, ages 11 to 17. The research team measured the participants' body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and blood sugar. They also gave each participant an accelerometer — a device used to

8-Hour Sleepers More Likely to Be Heart Healthy

by Sara G. Miller, Staff Writer


ORLANDO, Fla. — People who get at least 8 hours of sleep each night are more likely to have good heart health than those who get less sleep, a new study finds.

In the study, researchers compared groups of people who slept for different average lengths of time, looking at how well each group met the seven criteria from the American Heart Association for "ideal" heart health.
The researchers found that people who slept 8 or more hours a night were 2.7 times more likely to meet six or seven of the ideal heart-health criteria, compared with people who got less than 6 hours of sleep a night. [Heart Disease: Types, Prevention & Treatments]

Although previous studies

Blood Pressure: Highs, Lows & What's Normal

by Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer 

Blood pressure is one of the vital signs that doctors measure to assess general health. Having a high blood pressure, also called hypertension, that is not under control can result in heart problems, stroke, and other medical conditions.

About one in three U.S. adults have high blood pressure and only about half of these people have their high blood pressure under control, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). High blood pressure is sometimes referred to as the "silent killer" because it often has no symptoms.

Certain lifestyle factors, such as diet and smoking habits, can greatly impact a person's risk of developing high blood pressure.

"Having a healthy lifestyle really makes a difference in your life because you can avoid high blood pressure," said Dr. Mary Ann Bauman, an internist at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. "If you do have high blood pressure, make sure take your medication.

Lack of Sleep May Boost Diabetes Risk

An inconsistent sleep schedule or a general lack of sleep may increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston monitored 21 otherwise healthy people, all of whom lived in a lab during the experiment. For three weeks, participants were put on a schedule where they slept for less than six hours per day, and went to sleep later each day— essentially putting them on a 28-hour "day."

The results showed that the participants' abilities to regulate their blood sugar levels became so impaired that they may have developed diabetes had the experiment continued longer, according to the researchers.

Poor Sleep May Increase Heart Disease Risk

Getting too much or too little sleep may increase a person's risk of heart disease, according to a new study from South Korea.

Men and women in the study who snoozed for 9 or more hours per night had more calcium in their arterial walls and stiffer arteries — two factors that put them at risk for heart disease — than those who slept 7 hours a night. However, people who slept for 5 or fewer hours per night also showed these two risk factors, according to the study.

Sleep quality mattered, too. The researchers found that the people who said they slept poorly were more likely to have these two early signs of heart disease than those who said they slept better, according to the study, published today (Sept. 10) in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. [5 Experts Answer: Is Lack of Sleep Bad for Health?]

Previous studies had found that inadequate sleep is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, Dr. Chan-Won Kim, an associate professor at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital

Heart Disease: Types, Prevention & Treatments

As can be expected from an organ responsible for getting blood throughout the body, the root of heart disease is when that blood flow is blocked.

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, encompasses a range of conditions, including blood vessel diseases such as coronary artery disease, problems with heart rhythm (arrhythmias) and congenital heart defects, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms and types

Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease in the United States, according to the CDC. It occurs when cholesterol builds up in arteries — called plaque — narrowing the space blood can flow through, a condition called atherosclerosis.

Just One Energy Drink May Raise Heart Health Risk

Having just one energy drink can cause short-term changes in healthy adults that, over time, could increase their risk of heart disease, a new study finds.

In the study, participants who drank one 16-ounce (480 milliliters) can of Rockstar energy drink had higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone norepinephrine, after they drank the energy drink than before they consumed it. Norepinephrine is released by the adrenal glands and raises blood pressure; it is a cousin of the hormone adrenaline.

One Rockstar energy drink contains 240 milligrams (0.008 ounces) of caffeine, along with other stimulants, including 2,000 mg (0.8 ounces) of taurine and extracts of guarana seed, ginseng root and milk thistle, according to

Leading Causes of Death in the US: What's Changed Since 1969?

Five of the six top causes of death in America — including stroke, cancer and diabetes — now have lower death rates than they have in past years, according to a new report.

To investigate the deadliest conditions in the United States, researchers pulled national mortality data from death certificates, looking at the period from 1969 to 2013. They found that the yearly death rate for all causes for people younger than 75 fell by 43 percent.

In 1969, there were 1,278 deaths per 100,000 people under age 75 in the U.S. In 2013, that number had dropped to 730 deaths per 100,000 people younger than 75.

Deaths from stroke had the most substantial decrease, falling 77 percent (from 156 deaths per 100,000 people to 36 deaths per 100,000 people) during the study period, and heart disease was close behind, down by about two-thirds (from 520 deaths per 100,000 people

HOW HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS CAN HELP BUSY WOMEN

Taking high quality supplements and making good lifestyle choices can help throughout our lives to keep us on the right track when it comes to our health and wellbeing. Women have specific nutritional requirements and health concerns at different stages of life and it is ideal to choose women's health supplements that target those specific needs.
Strong bones

Peak bone mass (when our bones are their strongest) is achieved between ages 18yrs and 30yrs. After this there is a gradual loss of bone density, which then becomes more

WHY SLEEP IS SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR NEWBORNS HEALTH

Everyone needs sleep but some need it more than others. At the top of the sleep‐need list are newborns who generally spend more time asleep than awake. It’s a pity that this can’t be said about their sleep‐deprived parents. Getting enough sleep is important for newborn babies as it supports their healthy growth and development, and allows them a break from all the new sounds and experiences.

How much sleep does my newborn need?

Newborn babies will generally sleep between 10.5‐18 hours a day, but as all new parents will discover, it will be sporadic. Our circadian rhythm or "sleep‐wake cycle" takes time to develop, which is why newborns have such irregular sleep schedules. Sleep in newborns will occur around the clock for several hours at a time and will interact with their need to be

HOW TO REDUCE SOCIAL ANXIETY

If you have mild social anxiety you may feel uncomfortable or fearful of certain social situations, especially those you aren’t familiar with, where you won’t know many people or if you feel you’ll be judged by others. Even just the thought of mingling with others may trigger sweating, rapid breathing or an upset stomach in some people. Social anxiety can come in the way of what should be fun opportunities to meet and connect with others but there are ways to regain control and confidence including:

• Relaxing – Try relaxation methods such as yoga, meditation, tai chi or deep breathing. You might learn some techniques that you can use in awkward social situations.
• Finding social situations where you feel comfortable – Sometimes mixing with a small number of like‐minded

10 WAYS TO LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND YOUR BABY DURING YOUR PREGNANCY

While expecting a baby is a wondrous event in the making, it can often feel anything but, with the morning sickness, cravings, constant fatigue and digestive discomfort. However there are ways to cope with the many challenges of pregnancy to help keep you feeling good and to ensure your baby gets the support they need to grow and develop.

• Morning sickness – Despite its name, "morning sickness" can strike at any time of day during pregnancy and leave you feeling exhausted and miserable. To help manage the symptoms of morning sickness and nausea it’s important to keep your blood sugar levels in balance. This can be helped by eating smaller meals more often, having a protein snack such as a boiled egg or cheese on wholegrain toast before you go to bed, and keeping simple

10 EASY TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY THIS WINTER

Boost your immunity throughout winter by consuming a range of fresh foods including green leafy vegetables. You can also boost immunity by taking a quality vitamin such as Echinacea, garlic, vitamin C and or Zinc.

• While many people will be happily saying good-bye to a long, hot summer and welcoming the new season, just as many of us will be dreading the cooler weather arriving. Winter is often given a bad rap as it brings with it the cold & flu season and those cold, dark mornings. However,
  with a little effort there is no reason for our health to suffer during the colder months! There are a number of things we can do to help keep ourselves and our family just as healthy, happy and active during winter as we are during summer.

• Boost immunity

It’s important to take care of our health throughout the year but during the winter months it becomes even more essential. Eating well, getting enough sleep and staying active are

The Health Benefits of Laughter

Health Benefits of Laughter
 By Madeline Vann, MPH | Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD

Laughter is a key component of a happy life, and it has powerful physical and mental benefits. No matter what you're facing, you can learn to laugh and benefit from its healing ways.



Funny movies, sitcoms, cute toddlers, and a good friend’s jokes can all offer one of the most powerful, natural stress relievers out there: laughter.

“I think one of the best things is that laughter increases your sense of humor,” says Lynda Tourloukis, a certified laughter teacher based in Park Ridge, Ill. A motivational speaker and life coach, Tourloukis says she became interested in the healing benefits of laughter after she and
her husband spent a weekend chuckling and guffawing at a seminar offered by the Humor Project, an organization that focuses on "the positive power of humor." Now she trains other laughter teachers and has become a personal laughter advocate.
Health Boosts From a Good Laugh
The benefits of a good laugh are wide-ranging and can include protection from emotional issues like depression and improving the health of your heart. Here's what experts know about the

Digital glasses help children with lazy eye

Programmable electronic glasses help improve vision in children with a lazy eye just as well as the more traditional treatment using eye patches, according to research presented at AAO 2015, the 119th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Lazy Eye,also called amblyopia, remains the most common cause of visual impairment in children.

Amblyopia is poor vision in an eye that did not develop normally during early childhood. It can occur when one eye is much more nearsighted than the other, or when one eye wanders or strays inward.

The child needs to receive treatment by the age of 8 or so while their eyes and brain are still developing to prevent blindness in the weaker eye.
                  
                                                                                                    Getting children to accept treatment for a lazy eye can be hard.



Unfortunately, it is difficult for both parents and ophthalmologists to persuade children to comply with lazy eye treatments like eye patches or medicated drops, due to discomfort and social stigma.

A recent study found that 1 in 4 children feel anxious before using eye drops, and nearly 15% refuse to take them at all.