High blood pressure is often seen as a condition of old age, but a new study finds that it’s common among young Americans — especially young Black adults. The study, of 18- to 44-year-olds in the United States, found that high blood pressure was prevalent across all racial groups: Among both white and Mexican American participants, 22% had the condition. But young Black adults were hardest-hit, with nearly one-third showing elevated blood pressure. Compounding the problem, only a minority of young people were getting treatment. And few — no more than 15% — had the condition under “optimal control.” “People often associate high blood pressure with older people — with their grandparents,” said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a volunteer expert with the American Heart Association. “But younger people are not immune.” In fact, there are many reasons they can be vulnerable to high blood pressure, according to Goldberg. “These findings are not unexpected, given the rising rates of obesity in the U.S.,” she said. “Younger people also tend to eat a lot of fast food, which is high in sodium. And many aren’t getting enough exercise.” As for the racial disparities, they mirror what past studies have found among middle-aged and older Americans. “This shows us that racial differences are manifesting early in life,” said study leader Dr. Vibhu Parcha, a clinical research fellow at the…  read on >

The White House coronavirus task force coordinator warned Americans on Sunday that the pandemic has entered a new stage where infections are far more widespread and face masks are crucial to curbing new COVID-19 cases. “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread,” Birx told CNN. “So everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune.” She went so far as to advise people living in the growing number of places where cases are increasing to wear a face mask at home if they are living with someone who is vulnerable to severe COVID-19. “If you have an outbreak in your rural area or in your city, you need to really consider wearing a mask at home, assuming that you’re positive if you have individuals in your household with co-morbidities,” Birx told CNN. So far, July has been the worst month, with more than 1.9 million new coronavirus cases recorded. That is nearly 42 percent of the more than 4.6 million reported nationwide since the pandemic began and more than double the number recorded in any other month, data compiled by The New York Times shows. The previous monthly high came in April, when more than 880,000 new cases were recorded. Coronavirus deaths remain high — over 1,000 for six days in a row, the Times…  read on >

As Hurricane Isaias moved toward the east coast of Florida on Friday, one expert warns that the coronavirus pandemic could make preparing for an active hurricane season even more challenging. The average hurricane season has about 12 named storms, but up to 20 storms are being predicted this season, according to Marshall Shepherd, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. “There’s a double whammy here in terms of the most vulnerable regions to both COVID and hurricanes,” Shepherd said in a university news release. “I think it’s probably more important than ever that people are thinking about the duality of the threat here.” He said that “the most useful aspect of these seasonal predictions is to really start to get people to think about what they would actually have to do if they needed to evacuate and perhaps go to a shelter and have to deal with COVID. I think that there is an extra layer of concern and an extra layer of forethought needed in how people prepare.” For one, it’s a good idea to add masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant products to your emergency supply kit. Those items will be important if you have to evacuate to a shelter. Find out if your usual evacuation area is in a COVID-19 hotspot and, if it is, check for alternative locations,…  read on >

As the number of U.S. coronavirus cases passed 4.5 million on Thursday, some of America’s top public health officials will return to Congress for another round of questioning on the federal government’s handling of the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, will testify Friday in front of the House’s special select committee investigating the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic, The New York Times reported. Joining him will be Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration’s point person on coronavirus testing. The hearing will focus on testing, vaccines and school reopenings. On Thursday, President Donald Trump again stressed his desire for students to return to the classroom, the Times reported. Fauci is expected to offer reassurances that the federal government is moving quickly but safely, while Redfield will almost certainly be questioned about the CDC’s recent shift toward favoring reopening schools. The questions for Giroir will likely center on long delays in test results across the South, the Times reported. On the vaccine front, the final phases of testing for two potential COVID-19 vaccines were launched this week. In one trial, the first of 30,000 volunteers will be given either a vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the U.S. National Institutes of Health or a placebo shot, the…  read on >

The U.S. coronavirus death count climbed past 150,000 on Wednesday, a milestone that none had predicted would come so soon. In April, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he hoped that no more than 60,000 people in the country would die from the coronavirus, The New York Times reported. In May, a renowned research center predicted that number would be just over 70,000 by early August. When the death tally spiked in May, President Donald Trump predicted that between 75,000 and 100,000 people could die from the new coronavirus, the newspaper said. But the daily COVID-19 death tallies have kept piling up: On Wednesday, more than 1,300 new deaths nationwide were reported, with Washington state’s death count not yet recorded, the Washington Post reported. That’s the highest one-day count since the latter half of May. Thirteen states reached their highest seven-day averages for novel coronavirus deaths, the newspaper reported. California, Florida, Idaho and North Carolina broke their records for virus-related deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday. With 217 new deaths on Wednesday, Florida joined Texas as one of eight states that have counted 200 single-day deaths at some point during the pandemic, the Post reported. “The mortality is going to march in lockstep with our transmission,” Dr. Sarah Fortune, chair of immunology and infectious diseases at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard,…  read on >

With everyday life turned upside down, efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are taking a toll on the well-being and health of American families, a new poll reveals. More than 1,000 parents nationwide were surveyed in early June. “Without question, COVID-19 had a sudden and profound effect on families nationwide,” said survey leader Dr. Stephen Patrick. He’s director of the Center for Child Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. Physical distance requirements, he noted, resulted in total upheaval, with “abrupt closures of schools, child care, community programs and workplaces. Parents lost jobs, child care, social networks. For kids, schools closed, they stopped going to pediatricians.” In many households, access to basic needs like food and supplies has been hard to come by, too. As a result, just over a quarter of parents said their mental health had deteriorated during the pandemic, and about 14% said their kids’ behavioral health suffered. Four percent said their kids’ physical health had suffered and nearly 1 in 5 said their own had also worsened. The online survey found women, unmarried parents and young children appeared to be most vulnerable. But the health impacts were similar for all races and ethnic groups, income levels, educational backgrounds and locations. The poll revealed that insurance coverage and medical routines have been compromised. About 3% of respondents said…  read on >