The holiday season is filled with to-do lists, but one should rise to the top: Take care of your heart. Whether from stress, cold weather or falling out of good habits in terms of eating, sleeping and drinking, heart attack rates spike as much as 40% between Christmas and New Year’s, according to cardiologist Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones. He is chairman of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. “When we look across the year in terms of heart attack rates, what we see is fairly constant rates week by week with two exceptions: One is that there’s a broad, shallow dip in summer months and, two, there is a very short spike of about 30% to 40% in the last couple weeks of the year between Christmas and New Year’s,” Lloyd-Jones said in a university news release. It’s important not to underestimate symptoms, he stressed. “We have two kidneys and two lungs, but only one heart and one brain, so it’s much safer to err on the side of caution,” Lloyd-Jones said. “If there’s any doubt, get checked out in person. At best, hopefully you are aborting a heart attack or stroke. Time is heart muscle, time is brain cells, and so time is of the essence. The sooner you seek help in that situation, the sooner we can save your…  read on >  read on >

Final exams are stressful for students, but it is possible to ratchet down the pressure with some planning and self-compassion. A psychologist from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston offers a few suggestions for helping teens manage the pressure. Start with the basics, including making sure the teen is getting sufficient sleep, eating nutritiously without skipping meals and maintaining a reasonable level of physical activity. “A lot of people end up thinking they need to spend more time studying or don’t have time for exercise or meals, but it ends up turning into a vicious cycle of not taking care of yourself, which contributes to worse future performance,” said Dr. Eric Storch. He is vice chair of psychology in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor. Every study schedule should include taking breaks to relax and unwind, he said. Also, Storch advised, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Success and failure aren’t black and white. Talking to a friend or parent can be very helpful for those who are under stress. “Reflect on if the world will end if you don’t get a perfect score. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you wanted on that test, but you didn’t fail,” Storch said in a Baylor news release. He suggests that students make a study plan instead of procrastinating, then take…  read on >  read on >

This season of celebrating also comes with lots of stress for many people. But despite the long to-do list and mandatory get-togethers, it is possible to maintain a healthy mind, according to experts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “Stress is an inevitable part of life and so the first thing people can do is focus on their wellness, which is really about accepting that stress can be something we can get through with the right supports,” said Kelly Moore, director of the Center for Psychological Services at Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. “Finding routine and predictability in your life is a great way to alleviate stress,” Moore added in a university news release. “Watching reruns of shows you enjoyed, having a cup of tea every day or creating a playlist of songs that bring you peace are just some ways to alleviate stress.” For many people, financial stressors dampen their holiday cheer. Others may fear possible exposure to COVID-19 if they join in holiday festivities. “As social obligations and activities increase, so do stress levels. Some people find interacting with family members or colleagues stressful, while others may be grieving the loss of a loved one,” said Keith Stowell, chief medical officer at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. “Watch out for difficulty sleeping and changes in appetite, as well as…  read on >  read on >

Air pollution is plaguing the world’s oldest subway system, a new study warns, with high levels of tiny metal particles found in dust samples throughout the London Underground. Whether these particles actually pose a risk to human health remains an open question, British researchers acknowledge. But experts say it’s happening in subway systems elsewhere, including the United States. The London Underground, especially, is poorly ventilated, the authors of the new report noted. And the bits of a form of iron oxide in question are often incredibly small, far smaller than a single red blood cell. So the threat, the study team cautioned, is that easily inhaled metallic particles can readily enter into the bloodstream of the network’s 5 million daily passengers. Prior research has linked that kind of exposure to a higher risk for serious issues such as Alzheimer’s disease and bacterial infections. “Our study looks at nanoparticles of iron oxide — particles between 5 nm [nanometers] and 500 nm in size — which are generated by the braking system,” explained study lead author Hassan Sheikh, a risk researcher with the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. The particulates are byproducts of the routine workings of train brake blocks, collector shoes and motor brushes. They may also be released by the friction caused by the interaction between the…  read on >  read on >

Nearly one-quarter of all American adults who care for an elderly parent also care for a child at the same time, a new study reveals. And when compared with those who only have a parent under their watch, members of the so-called “sandwich generation” — namely caregivers of both the old and the young — are much more likely to struggle with money problems, emotional trouble and exhaustion, the researchers found. “There is actually little research evidence characterizing this group,” said lead study author Lianlian Lei, a health services researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. “So, our team aimed to fill that gap and provide a national estimate describing this group of caregivers, and how they are similar or different from other types of caregivers.” In the end, Lei’s team pegged the number of dual caregivers in the United States at about 2.5 million, “which is nearly one-quarter of all those who are caregivers for their aging parents.” “We weren’t that surprised by the size,” she stressed. “It seems more like we described something that many colleagues actually are living through.” Nor were investigators surprised by the struggles they identified as particular to this group, “given the intense type of burden they are experiencing.” To get a handle on the scope and burdens of dual caregiving, the…  read on >  read on >

Scientists have pinpointed four genes that seem to play a part in how vulnerable you are to suicidal thoughts or behaviors. “It’s important to note that these genes do not predestine anyone to problems, but it’s also important to understand that there could be heightened risks, particularly when combined with life events,” said study co-author Nathan Kimbrel. He’s an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University in Durham, N.C. To find the culprit genes, Kimbrel and his colleagues conducted a large, genome-wide analysis using data from more than 630,000 U.S. military veterans. Participants were diverse, with 71.4% of European ancestry, 19.1% of African ancestry, 8.1% Hispanic and 1.3% Asian. Although most of the participants were men, 9% were women. Medical records revealed more than 121,000 cases of suicidal thoughts or actions within that group. Those who had no documented lifetime history of self-harm behaviors were considered a control group. The study included analysis of blood samples, finding links between suicidal behavior and ESR1, an estrogen receptor. It has previously been identified as a driver gene of both PTSD and depression, which are risk factors for suicidal behaviors among veterans. A link was also found with DRD2, a dopamine receptor. It has been associated with suicide attempts, schizophrenia, mood disorders, ADHD, risky behaviors and alcohol use disorder. The third gene…  read on >  read on >

As the United States moves towards a world in which electric vehicles (EVs) have fully replaced fossil fuel-driven engines, can Americans look forward to reliably cleaner air and better health? Absolutely, a new study predicts. By 2050, researchers say, the resulting improvements in air quality will be substantial enough to slash both the risk of premature death and billions off the nation’s related health care costs. But there’s a catch. When it comes to better air to breathe, increased longevity, and reduced health care expenses, some parts of the country — such as Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago — are likely to gain considerably more from the greening of transportation than others. Study author H. Oliver Gao, director of systems engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said he and his colleagues were not surprised by the broad finding that EVs will be a boon to American health. “We were expecting — and I believe most people are expecting — a substantial air quality and health benefit associated with electric transportation,” he noted. That’s because what folks drive matters: Vehicles powered by petroleum fuels — mostly gasoline and diesel — account for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Fully electric cars, by contrast, have zero tailpipe emissions. While Gao noted that “the technology has actually been there for quite…  read on >  read on >