Belly Fat Linked To Heart Failure Risk

Want to figure out your heart health risk?

Look at your belly fat, not your body mass index, a new study says.

Excess fat stored around the waist is more strongly associated with heart failure risk than BMI, an estimate of body fat based on height and weight, researchers will report at a meeting of the American Heart Association.

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked To Heart Attack, Stroke, Cardiac Arrest

Munching down loads of ultra-processed foods can increase your risk of suffering or dying from a heart attack, stroke or heart disease, a new study says.

Each additional daily serving of ultra-processed foods increases a person’s risk of a major cardiac event by 5%, researchers reported March 17 in the journal JACC Advances....

The Sunshine Vitamin and COVID: New Study Finds Mixed Results for Recovery

Since the pandemic’s early days, many people have looked to vitamin D as a possible shield against the worst effects of COVID-19. 

Studies have yielded mixed results, with no clear benefit to vitamin D supplementation when it comes to COVID.

But a new major clinical trial suggests that while the supplement may not be a mir...

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Diagnosed With Early Breast Cancer

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles says she will keep working as she undergoes treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

The diagnosis was shared publicly Monday, with President Donald Trump saying Wiles has an "excellent" prognosis and will remain "virtually full time at the White House."

Wiles said she feels encouraged about her...

Too Much Smartphone Use Linked to Disordered Eating in Teens

For many teenagers, a smartphone is essentially an extra limb. 

But new research suggests that spending too much time peering into that digital world might be altering how young people view their bodies and their relationship with food.

A comprehensive review from King’s College London has identified a troubling link betwe...

Norovirus Sickens Close to 200 People on Caribbean Cruise

A Caribbean vacation took an unpleasant turn for dozens of cruise passengers after a stomach virus spread across their ship.

Nearly 200 people aboard a Princess cruise vessel became sick with norovirus during a recent trip, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency said 193 people fell ill dur...

Federal Judge Pauses Kennedy’s Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule

A federal judge has stopped a major effort to change the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule.

The ruling, issued Monday in Massachusetts, blocks U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to revise vaccine recommendations for children. 

The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by several medical groups again...

Listening to Music for 24 Minutes May Ease Anxiety, Study Finds

A short music session may help ease anxiety and researchers say there’s a "sweet spot" for how long to listen.

A clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music for 24 minutes can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms. The music was paired with auditory beat stimulation (ABS), a type of sound pattern meant to influenc...

Cream Cheese Recall Upgraded Over Listeria Risk, FDA Says

Health officials are warning consumers about a cream cheese recall that has been raised to the most critical level due to possible bacterial contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said certain cream cheese products made by Made Fresh Salads Inc. may contain Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause seve...

New Moms Need Weeks Of Monitoring To Catch Post-Pregnancy Complications, Study Argues

New mothers need to be monitored weeks after delivery for pregnancy complications, a new study suggests.

About 40% of pregnancy complications would have been missed had doctors not kept tabs on new moms for six weeks following delivery, researchers reported March 16 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Typically, hea...

VR Effective In Educating Patients About Upcoming Procedures

Imagine a doctor offering you a virtual reality headset to help explain an upcoming procedure.

It turns out such an explanation might go farther to easing your worries than the usual handout leaflet, researchers reported Friday at a meeting in London of the European Association of Urology (EAU).

Patients said they felt less anxious a...

Prebiotic Eases Arthritis Pain, Trial Finds

Making your gut happy might help angry arthritis-affected joints, a new study says.

A prebiotic fiber supplement helped ease pain in people with knee arthritis, researchers recently reported in the journal Nutrients.

The results suggest that improving gut health could be a new way to treat arthritis, researchers said.

...

Drug Protects Against Chemo-Caused Bleeding, Trial Shows

An already approved drug can help protect cancer patients against excessive bleeding caused by chemotherapy, a new study says.

Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia occurs when chemo destroys platelet-producing bone marrow cells, increasing a person’s risk of dangerous bleeding.

But the injectable drug romiplostim (Nplate) can ...

Cholesterol Needs Lifelong Management, New Heart Guidelines Say

Heart experts are calling for a full-court press against cholesterol, including lifelong screening and treatment, a set of new guidelines says.

Blood testing for cholesterol should start in childhood, and take place at least every five years to track each person’s heart health risk, the American College of Cardiology and the American...

Insurance Red Tape Delays Crucial Heart Failure Drug Prescriptions, Study Finds

Insurance requirements could keep people from getting life-saving heart medications in a timely fashion, a new study says.

Prescriptions for heart failure medications take two to six times longer to fill if insurance companies require prior authorization — a process that requires doctors to obtain insurers’ approval before a tr...

Officials Examine Deaths After Plasma Donations in Winnipeg

Canadian health officials are investigating the deaths of two people who donated plasma at private clinics in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The deaths happened about three months apart, one in October 2025 and the other in January 2026, according to Health Canada, the federal agency that regulates plasma donation clinics.

One of the donors who...

New Flu Strain Weakened This Year’s Vaccine Protection, CDC Says

Flu activity in the United States is finally slowing down, but health experts say this year’s flu vaccine didn't offer as much protection as officials hoped.

New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the vaccine was only about 25% to 30% effective in preventing illness serious enough to send a...