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New Pacemaker Can Be Used Safely During MRI Exams

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first heart pacemaker designed to be used safely during certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams.

Pacemakers are surgically implanted medical devices that generate electrical impulses to treat irregular or stalled heart beats. MRIs use a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and an internal computer to produce detailed images of organs, soft tissues, bone, and other internal body structures not available with other imaging methods. [Read more…]

Genetic Cause of Rare Vascular Disease Identified

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Researchers have identified the genetic cause of a rare and debilitating vascular disorder not previously explained in the medical literature. The adult-onset condition is associated with progressive and painful arterial calcification affecting the lower extremities, yet spares patients’ coronary arteries. The new disease finding was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The rare arterial condition caused by calcium buildup in arteries below the waist and in the joints of patient’s hands and feet has been observed in nine individuals from three unrelated families, who are the only people known to have the disorder. The researchers refer to the condition as ACDC, or arterial calcification due to CD73 deficiency. Although symptoms of the disorder include leg and joint discomfort, medical evaluations of the patients ruled out rheumatoid arthritis or other joint-related problems. Genetic analyses performed by the NIH researchers suggested a novel disorder and pinpointed the cause of the condition as mutations, or variants, in the NT5E gene. [Read more…]

High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Not Being Treated Effectively in More than 50% of U.S. Adults, Says Report

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Two out of three U.S. adults with high cholesterol and half of U.S. adults with high blood pressure are not being treated effectively, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The findings were reported in the CDC’s Vital Signs, a report that appears on the first Tuesday of the month as part of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Vital Signs is designed to provide the latest data and information on key health indicators – cancer prevention, obesity, tobacco use, alcohol use, access to health care, HIV/AIDS, motor vehicle passenger safety, health care-associated infections, cardiovascular health, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, asthma and food safety. [Read more…]

Surviving a Heart Attack in a Public Place

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Cardiac arrests that can be treated by electric stimulation, also known as shockable arrests, were found at a higher frequency in public settings than in the home, according to a recent study.

The study compared home and public cardiac arrests under various scenarios. For example, the study considered whether bystanders or emergency medical services (EMS) personnel witnessed the cardiac arrest, and whether the person experiencing the arrest received treatment with an automatic external defibrillator (AED). [Read more…]

U.S. Teen Pregnancy at Record Low

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The birth rate for U.S. teens aged 15-19 years fell to a record low, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2009 birth rate of 39.1 births per 1,000 teens is down 6 percent from the 2008 rate of 41.5 births per 1,000. This is the lowest ever recorded in seven decades of tracking teenage childbearing. Birth rates for younger and older teens and for all race/ethnic groups reached historic lows in 2009.

The data are based on nearly 100 percent of birth records collected in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The report from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics also notes declines in the overall fertility rate—the average number of births that a group of women would have over their lifetimes—and the total number of U.S. births. [Read more…]

35% of U.S. Adults Over 20 Have Pre-Diabetes

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Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, an estimated 79 million U.S. adults have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes raises a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Diabetes affects 8.3 percent of Americans of all ages, and 11.3 percent of adults aged 20 and older, according to the National Diabetes Fact Sheet for 2011. About 27 percent of those with diabetes—7 million Americans—do not know they have the disease. Prediabetes affects 35 percent of adults aged 20 and older. [Read more…]

26 Million American Have Diabetes; 79 Million Have Pre-Diabetes

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Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, according to new estimates. In addition, an estimated 79 million U.S. adults have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes raises a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Diabetes affects 8.3 percent of Americans of all ages, and 11.3 percent of adults aged 20 and older, according to the National Diabetes Fact Sheet for 2011. About 27 percent of those with diabetes—7 million Americans—do not know they have the disease. Prediabetes affects 35 percent of adults aged 20 and older. [Read more…]

Cancer Cost Projected to Top $150 Billion by 2020

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Based on growth and aging of the U.S. population, medical expenditures for cancer in the year 2020 are projected to reach at least $158 billion (in 2010 dollars) — an increase of 27 percent over 2010, according to a National Institutes of Health analysis. If newly developed tools for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up continue to be more expensive, medical expenditures for cancer could reach as high as $207 billion, said the researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the NIH. The analysis appears online, Jan. 12, 2011, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The projections were based on the most recent data available on cancer incidence, survival, and costs of care. In 2010, medical costs associated with cancer were projected to reach $124.6 billion, with the highest costs associated with breast cancer ($16.5 billion), followed by colorectal cancer ($14 billion), lymphoma ($12 billion), lung cancer ($12 billion) and prostate cancer ($12 billion). [Read more…]

48 Million Americans Sickened by Food-Borne Illness Each Year

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About sixteen percent of Americans, or 48 million people get sick each year from food-borne illness. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from the disease, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control CDC).

“We’ve made progress in better understanding the burden of foodborne illness and unfortunately, far too many people continue to get sick from the food they eat,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D, M.P.H. “These estimates provide valuable information to help CDC and its partners set priorities and further reduce illnesses from food.” [Read more…]

Record 83 Million Adults Newly Tested for HIV in 2009

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The number of adults tested for HIV reached a record high in 2009, according to an analysis of national survey data released today in a CDC Vital Signs report.

Last year 82.9 million adults between 18 and 64 reported having been tested for HIV. This number represents an increase of 11.4 million people since 2006, when CDC recommended that HIV testing become a routine part of medical care for adults and adolescents, and that people at high risk of infection be tested at least once a year.

Despite this progress, 55 percent of adults—and 28.3 percent of adults with a risk factor for HIV—have not been tested. [Read more…]