Women under age 65 with coronary artery disease are more likely to die if they live in rural areas of the United States, and premature deaths among them have surged, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed nationwide data on premature deaths from coronary artery disease between 1999 and 2017. While premature deaths decreased overall, they remained consistently higher in rural areas --...

There's a lot of confusion about medications and COVID-19, so experts offer some answers.

There are no proven drug treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, so doctors sometimes use drugs approved for other conditions to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. This is called off-label use.

One drug being investigated as a possible COVID-19 treatment is hydroxy...

In the brave new world of COVID-19, home is your sanctuary, the one place you want to be sure is virus-free.

But if you have to head outdoors, what are the best practices for decontaminating your things when you return home? Does everything -- smartphones, wallets, money and keys -- need to be washed down with hot water and soap?

"We are all swimming through an invisible swa...

The lifesaving benefits of strict social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic far outweigh their projected harm to the U.S. economy, a new report claims.

"Our benefit-cost analysis shows that the extensive social distancing measures being adopted in the U.S. likely do not constitute an overreaction," said lead author Linda Thunstrom, an assistant professor of economics at ...

The virus struck swiftly, stoking panic, fear and mistrust as it sickened millions and killed thousands -- and now, more than a century later, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic offers lasting lessons for a world in the grip of COVID-19.

"The questions they asked then are the questions being asked now," said Christopher Nichols, an associate professor of history at Oregon State University...

Dr. Tom Moore argued forcefully in favor of the stay-at-home order that has helped limit the spread of COVID-19 cases in Wichita, Kan.

Moore appeared before the Sedgwick County Commission on March 24 to testify the order was necessary, and the order went out the very next day.

"Literally the very next day, we started to see more cases pop up," said Moore, director of infecti...

Despite increased demand for inhalers in some parts of the United States, Americans with asthma shouldn't ration their medications during the coronavirus pandemic, the American Lung Association says.

Rescue inhalers are in short supply in some areas because hospitals are giving albuterol to COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms to help them breathe, the group explained. Albuterol is ...

Guidelines for the prioritization and treatment of breast cancer patients during the coronavirus pandemic have been released by a group of U.S. medical organizations.

"As hospital resources and staff become limited, it is vital to define which breast cancer patients require urgent care and which can have delayed or alternative treatment without changing survival or risking exposure to...

Weeks after e-cigarette giant Juul voluntarily stopped selling many flavored vaping products popular with U.S. teens, sales rebounded as customers switched to varieties still on the shelves.

In fact, sales eventually surpassed previous records, according to new American Cancer Society (ACS) research.

"When companies are able to make these decisions for themselves, they are...

Researchers say they've developed a low-cost swab test that can diagnose COVID-19 infections in about 45 minutes.

The CRISPR-based test -- which uses gene-targeting technology and requires no specialized equipment -- could help relieve testing backlogs in the United States as COVID-19 continues to spread, the scientists said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not app...

THURSDAY, April 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- With protective gear in short supply, Duke University researchers say they've designed a much-needed respirator for health care workers battling COVID-19.

The respirator was created by a medical and engineering team at the university and is being used by Duke Health doctors treating patients with suspected cases of COVID-19.

The ...

Americans who are young, liberal and heavy consumers of news are most likely to follow COVID-19 safety recommendations, a new online survey reveals.

Three-quarters of the 1,000 U.S. respondents said they followed a majority of recommended social distancing behaviors such as keeping 6 feet apart and limiting trips to stores, the University of Delaware researchers said.

Slight...

Stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures have kept people from going out in four key U.S. cities, likely blunting the spread of COVID-19, federal health officials report.

The number of people leaving their homes fell gradually but persistently as officials closed schools, restaurants and bars in New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle, according to a stud...

Can zinc help shorten a COVID-19 infection? Will vitamin C or other supplements prevent it?

These claims and plenty more can be found on social media and internet sites, but be advised: There is no pill or treatment that can prevent or cure COVID right now.

"We want to think that there is a quick way to get rid of this. But there is not a product out there that will keep y...

As you shelter at home during the coronavirus pandemic, eliminate hazards inside that could lead to falls, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) suggests.

Preventing injuries will help avoid putting added strain on a health care system struggling to treat COVID-19 patients, academy spokesman Dr. Todd Swenning said.

One out of five falls causes a serious injury,...

If you're one of the many people making your own cleaning products at home because you can't find them in stores, you need to be sure what you make is safe and effective, an environmental medicine expert says.

Do-it-yourself (DIY) cleaning products made from ingredients such as vinegar, essential oils and baking soda are safe, but they haven't been shown to kill viruses or bacteria, s...

An analysis of Twitter data suggests that Americans are heeding social distancing and other safety recommendations during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers say.

Officials have told people to limit travel, stay home and distance themselves to slow the spread of the virus.

"The question though is how effective are these policies? Once you tell people to stay home, it doesn...

They gathered in Chicago to mourn a loved one's passing. But the new coronavirus was lurking among them, leading to a "super spreader" event that sickened 16 and killed three.

It's tragedies like these that have spurred extended stay-at-home orders across the United States along with bans on group gatherings as public health officials struggle to rein in the COVID-19 pandemic.

A warning letter has been sent to a company marketing bogus and dangerous chlorine dioxide products for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

The fraudulent claims by the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing about its "Miracle Mineral Solution" products are especially concerning in relation to children, who are at increased risk for h...

The U.S. suicide rate has jumped 35% in the past two decades, health officials reported Wednesday.

From 1999 to 2018, the suicide rate rose from 10.5 to 14 per 100,000, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers found the rate of suicide rose by about 1% a year from 1999 to 2006, then increased to 2% a year ...

Extensive controls imposed early in China's coronavirus outbreak may have prevented hundreds of thousands of infections, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed the movements of people out of Wuhan (where the virus was first detected), the types and timing of controls across China, and COVID-19 cases reported each day in every city.

The conclusion: Controls imposed during...

One side effect of the coronavirus pandemic could be long-lasting: U.S. school closures may worsen the child obesity crisis, experts warn.

Previous research has shown that kids tend to gain weight when they're out of school during the summer -- especially Hispanic and black youngsters and children who are already overweight.

"There could be long-term consequences for weight ...

What's the best material for a do-it-yourself face mask?

Yang Wang, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has some suggestions based on initial testing. He investigated how a few common household materials -- such as pillowcases, scarves and furnace filters -- filtered out aerosols.

The new coronavirus may survi...

A cloth mask can help reduce the spread of COVID-19, but there's a right way and a wrong way to wear one.

Used incorrectly, such masks could put you and others at risk, according to doctors at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. And remember: Masks are only a supplement -- not a replacement -- for such precautions as avoiding contact with other people and staying at...

If more women were hired for trucking jobs, the roads would be a lot safer, British researchers suggest.

That's because men, who hold most driving jobs, are more likely to drive dangerously. This puts other road users at risk, said lead researcher Rachel Aldred. She's a reader in transport at the University of Westminster in London.

"Greater gender equity would have a posi...

Researchers are gathering data from thousands of Americans to create an "early warning system" that can identify people in the early stages of COVID-19.

More than 12,000 people -- including thousands of health care workers in California and West Virginia -- are already wearing specially designed Oura rings that track their temperature, breathing, heart and activity.

"Our fi...

It's a tough task, but parents need to keep kids away from playgrounds, shared toys and sports equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, experts emphasize.

The coronavirus can stick around on surfaces for a long time, a recent New England Journal of Medicine study found.

It takes 72 hours for the virus to become undetectable on plastic, according to the study, about ...

Public health officials have been warning that a COVID-19 vaccine will not be available to the public for 12 to 18 months, dampening hopes that there will be a quick end to the global pandemic nightmare.

But Chinese researchers cracked the virus' genetic code within weeks of its emergence late last year, and two vaccine candidates are already in early human trials -- one in China and ...

At least 1 in 7 U.S. health care workers have to miss work to care for their children if the coronavirus pandemic keeps schools closed -- and their absence could result in more patient deaths, researchers say.

Teams from Yale University and Colorado State University used U.S. Census data to project the child care needs of health care workers.

"Closing schools comes with many...

The coronavirus pandemic has turned grocery shopping into a mission filled with anxiety, but a food science expert's advice can make it a safe one.

The first thing to consider is whether you should go to the store at all, said Donald Schaffner. He's a professor in the department of food science in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswi...

Even if your takeout dinner was prepared by a cook who has COVID-19, there's little need to worry about your risk of infection, according to an expert in viruses.

"Restaurant kitchens can be one of the safest places in this coronavirus outbreak because they already practice strict hygiene protocols to avoid foodborne illness," said Paula Cannon, a professor of molecular microbiology ...

Even after people with mild cases of COVID-19 feel better, new research shows that half still have the virus for up to eight days after symptoms are gone.

That's the conclusion of a small international study of 16 COVID-19 patients in China. The researchers took several throat swabs from all of them.

"The most significant finding from our study is that half of the patient...

As COVID-19 pushes American hospitals to the breaking point, intensive care units are finding creative ways to deal with a looming shortage of lifesaving mechanical ventilators.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital last week began splitting single-use ventilators into machines that can serve two patients at a time. Now another New York-based hospital system, Northwell Health, has stepped up...

Besides causing COVID-19, the new coronavirus can also lead to "pink eye," and Chinese researchers say the virus may be spread by tears.

Of 38 patients with COVID-19, a dozen also had pink eye (conjunctivitis), a new study found. In two patients, the coronavirus was present in both nasal and eye fluids.

"Some COVID-19 patients have ocular symptoms, and maybe novel coronavir...

Amid a shortage of face masks for medical personnel fighting COVID-19, two studies show that disposable N95 masks can be sterilized and re-used.

A nationwide mask shortage has put health care workers and patients at risk, but the new findings may offer ways to ease that shortage.

Researchers at University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst report that an N95 mask steril...

Dentists, hygienists and other dental professionals are at high risk for work-related exposure to coronavirus, but they can take steps to protect themselves.

"We have really good ways to prescreen patients: by taking their temperature, asking them questions regarding travel in the last two weeks, asking how they're feeling and if they have flu-like symptoms," said Dr. Fotinos Panagako...

It takes multiple measures of social distancing to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, a study from Singapore concludes.

That finding is based on a computer model of a simulated setting in Singapore. Coronavirus cases are on the rise there, but as of March 23, schools remained open and workplace distancing was only recommended, not national policy.

Researchers concluded ...

For people very sick with COVID-19, access to a mechanical ventilator can mean life or death. Trouble is, they're in short supply in the United Sates and around the world.

Now, research suggests that a widely used clot-busting stroke drug might help COVID-19 patients who can't access a ventilator or who fail to improve even when they do gain access.

The research focuses on ...

In what can only be described as the stupidity of youth, at least one young person in Kentucky has been infected with COVID-19 after taking part in a "coronavirus party."

The revelers got together "thinking they were invincible" and purposely defied state guidance to practice social distancing, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday.

"This is one that makes me mad," Beshear...

In a bit of good news about the novel coronavirus, one expert says it looks like livestock and poultry don't appear to be at risk from COVID-19.

The coronavirus most likely jumped from an animal species into humans and mutated into a virus that mostly affects people, said Jim Roth, director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University.

"If live...

With bogus information about the new coronavirus spreading fast online, how can you separate fact from fiction?

A communications expert at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg said identifying reliable and useful sources of information is key. Here's her advice:

"Be skeptical of social media posts about the COVID-19 virus, even those that have the superficial look of news items, and...

Fostering a shelter animal during the coronavirus pandemic could benefit both of you, an animal welfare group says.

"Shelters are swamped in the best of times, and with more and more staff in every sector of American life self-quarantining and falling ill, animals already abandoned and without homes are going to be increasingly vulnerable," said Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of Ame...

Robots can provide significant help in the fight against coronavirus, experts say.

Their uses include: patient care such as telemedicine and decontamination; logistics such as delivery and handling contaminated waste; monitoring compliance with voluntary quarantines, and helping people maintain social connections, according to a paper published March 25 in the journal Science Robot...