A New Approach to Stop High-Risk Drunk Drivers

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- An individualized approach is needed to treat people at high risk of impaired (drunk) driving, a new report says.

Drunk driving accounted for 29% of U.S. motor vehicle deaths in 2018, the lowest percentage since 1982. But there was still an average of one alcohol-impaired driving death ev...

Differences Found in Brains of Kids Born to Depressed Parents

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The brains of kids who have a high risk of depression because they have parents with depression are structurally different from other kids' brains, a new study finds.

Depression often first appears during adolescence. Having a parent with depression is one of the biggest known risk factors. T...

As Cases of Vaping-Linked Illness Rise, CDC Points to Certain Brands as Culprits

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- More than 2,400 Americans have now been hospitalized due to a severe lung injury tied to vaping, with certain brands most implicated, according to the latest update on the outbreak from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across all 50 states, a total of 2,409 such cases have...

Secondhand Smoke Starts Kids on Path to Heart Disease: Study

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Secondhand smoke can harm children's arteries, a new study warns.

Researchers used ultrasound to examine the carotid artery in the neck, brachial artery in the upper arm, and abdominal aorta right above the belly button in 298 kids aged 8 to 18 who were not smokers.

Some had been e...

Special Handling Needed for Seniors in Cardiac ICU

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors in cardiac intensive care units may suffer delirium and other problems if doctors only focus on their heart, a new American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement says.

Older adults in the cardiac ICU require different care from younger patients, according to the statement. They...

One Boy's Battle Back From Mysterious Polio-Like Illness

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Last October, 15-year-old Alec Woodruff developed a strange-sounding cough. Less than a week later, he was fighting for his life in the hospital, partially paralyzed and with a tube in his throat attached to a ventilator because just breathing was a task he could no longer do on his own.

Alec...