Health News

(WASHINGTON) -- Flu activity is starting to decline nationwide, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC estimated on Friday that there have been at least 19 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths from flu so far this season.Currently, seven states are seeing "very high" levels of flu-like illnesses while 23 states are seeing "high" levels, CDC data shows.At least 12 flu-associated deaths were reported among children this […]

(NEW YORK) -- Measles cases have topped 1,000 in the United States for the third time in 26 years.At least 154 new measles cases have been confirmed in the last week for a total of 1,136, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).So far this year, cases have been confirmed in 27 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, […]

(NEW YORK) -- High blood pressure and body mass index, or BMI, may be directly linked to the increased risk of developing vascular dementia, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.This is the strongest evidence to date showing a direct relationship between BMI and the increased risk of developing vascular dementia, a risk heavily influenced by elevated blood pressure, according to the study.Researchers […]

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's surgeon general nominee, Dr. Casey Means, indicated she supports vaccines but stopped short of recommending certain shots during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee on Wednesday.Means, who has a medical degree but does not hold an active medical license, appeared hesitant to say that some vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, prevent serious disease.When asked by HELP committee […]

(NEW YORK) -- The number of women with risk factors for cardiovascular disease could significantly increase over the next 25 years, the American Heart Association (AHA) warned on Wednesday.Without improving prevention and early detection tools, about six in 10 women could be diagnosed with hypertension or obesity by 2050, and risk factors could appear in children and teenagers as well, according to the AHA's scientific statement."Cardiovascular disease is the leading […]

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's surgeon general nominee is appearing before the Senate on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing.Dr. Casey Means was originally scheduled to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee in October, but it was postponed for four months after she went into labor.If confirmed, Means would become the nation's top doctor, leading more than 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service, including physicians, nurses, scientists and […]

(NEW YORK) -- U.S. childhood and teen obesity rates have reached record-highs while adult obesity rates may be slowing, according to two new reports published early Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Researchers used measured heights and weights from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) -- run by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics -- to track trends over more than six decades.In the first […]

(NEW YORK ) -- Fewer people are dying from heart disease, but the condition is still the leading cause of death in the U.S., a new report from the American Heart Association (AHA) finds.Although death rates from heart disease have dropped for the first time in the past five years, it still kills more Americans than any other condition, according to the report, published early Wednesday in the journal Circulation.Annual […]

(NEW YORK) -- The American Red Cross declared a severe emergency blood shortage on Monday and called on people to donate.The humanitarian organization, which says it's the largest supplier of blood products for hospitals and for patient need in the U.S., said the demand from hospitals has outpaced the available supply of blood.Dr. Courtney Lawrence, divisional chief medical officer at American Red Cross, told ABC News that almost one-third of […]