Many fewer Americans are falling prey to the most dangerous form of heart attack, a new study says.
STEMI (ST‐segment-elevation myocardial infarction) he...
At major medical centers across the southeast, 1 in every 20 visits to emergency departments involve people who are homeless or face "housing insecurity," a new U.S. study finds.
Concerns of suicide was the leading medical reason bringing these types of patients to the ...
Black and Hispanic Americans are gaining a better understanding of CPR, with a growing number expressing confidence they could use it to save a life, a new survey finds.
About 44% of Black Americans now feel confident performing conventional CPR, up from 30% just three y...
Last summer was a record-breaker for heat emergencies, so the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday launched a new online h...
People should rely on the well-established Heimlich maneuver to save a choking victim, rather than newfangled “anti-choking” devices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.
“The safety and effectiveness of over-the-counter anti-choking devices have not been es...
As climate change threatens another long hot summer for Americans, new data shows last summer's record-breaking temperatures sent a rising number of people to emergency departments.
A total eclipse of the sun is coming up next week, and many folks don't know that watching it unprotected can cause permanent eye damage, a new survey finds.
Nearly 30% of Americans don't know that looking directly into a solar eclipse without proper eye protection can c...
There's been a big push over the past few years to get automated external defibrillators (AEDs) installed in public spaces, to help save lives threatened by cardiac arrest.
Unfortunately, the devices are very seldom used.
A new study finds that in nearly 1,800 cas...
New research offers an easy prescription to get people to roll up their sleeves for a flu shot.
Just ask them to.
And then reinforce the invitation with a little video and print encouragement.
"Our study adds to the growing body of knowledge showing tha...
Americans living in areas where primary care doctors and nurse practitioners are in short supply face a greater risk for emergency surgeries and complications, new research shows.
They're also more likely to wind up back in the hospital after they've left it.
That'...
A “universal” antivenom can block the lethal toxins in the venoms of a wide variety of poisonous snakes found in Africa, Asia and Australia, researchers report.
The antibody protected mice from the normally deadly venom of snakes like black mambas and king cobras, ac...
Falls, frostbite, fractures: They are all potential hazards of icy winter conditions. But experts say there's a lot you can do to avoid injury when snowflakes fall.
First, stay warm.
According to the New York City Department of Health, people lose ...
The care you receive in a medical emergency may hinge strongly on where you are when you need it.
That's a key takeaway from a comprehensive review of the nation's emergency medical service (EMS) systems by researchers at Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai in New Yo...
CPR can save lives, but its ability to restore heart function goes from slim to none in a shockingly short time, a new study finds.
How short? A person's chance of surviving cardiac arrest while receiving CPR declines from 22% after one minute of chest compressions to le...
Unprovoked shark attacks increased slightly worldwide last year, but twice as many people died from shark bites as the year before, new data show.
There were 69 unprovoked shark attacks in 2023, higher than the five-year average of 63 attacks per year, according to the U...
Patients who are bleeding out have a better chance of surviving if they're given whole blood transfusions, a new study shows.
Traditionally, patients with significant bleeding are given transfusions of specific blood components -- red blood cells, plasma and platelets th...
The health dangers posed by colorful detergent pods continues to plague young children, a new study warns.
U.S. poison control centers still receive one call every 44 minutes about a young child who's been harmed through exposure to a liquid laundry detergent pod, resear...
Electric scooters might seem a fun way to zip about, but they're also a pricey hazard to riders' health, a new study argues.
Orthopedic treatment for 82 patients injured in e-scooter wrecks averaged more than $28,400 per person, as doctors labored to mend broken bones an...
When you're looking for a cheap and easy way to get around town, which is safer -- a scooter or a bike?
A nationwide look at injuries related to both suggests biking may be the safer way to go.
UCLA researchers report that scooter injuries nearly tripled across the...
Three twenty-somethings in Chicago took a street drug they thought was a harmless form of Xanax.
All three were found collapsed and unresponsive eight hours later by one of their mothers, who had them rushed to the hospital.
After multiple seizures, fever and heart...
Because athletes young and old can suffer cardiac arrest, some states have mandated the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in gyms, stadiums and other sports venues.
But a new study finds the use of AEDs by bystanders for cardiac arrest at athletic sit...
When hospitals support trauma survivors' mental health during and after treatment, patients are less likely to return in crisis, researchers report.
There's no uniform guidance on how to offer mental health services to these patients, noted lead study author
It's that time of year when your kids come home with sniffles and sore throats, but when should you worry if they have a fever?
To a certain extent, fevers are the body's natural way of fighting infection, one expert says.
“Fever helps the immune system,” expla...
TUESDAY, Dec. 5, 2023 (Healthday News) -- Hunting season has begun in many parts of the United States, with millions of Americans heading into the woods in hopes of bagging a big buck.
But with the season comes tragic accidents.
“Every year, within the first 72 h...
In some big cities, mobile stroke units can deliver a powerful clot-busting drug to patients as these specialized ambulances speed to the hospital.
Now, a new study shows these units deliver anti-clotting treatment a median of 37 minutes faster than when traditional ambu...
Despite warnings and public education campaigns, kids continue to suffer injuries from swallowing small but strong magnets, according to a new study.
Children are also inserting high-powered, rare-earth balls into their ears and noses, even in households where parents fu...
Being young or Black may make it more likely that you wind up in an emergency room with an assault injury, new research suggests.
Living in metropolitan areas and being covered by state-based health insurance was also tied to a raised risk.
The National Center for ...
When Hannah, a California marketing professional, showed up at her local emergency room in March 2023 for a pregnancy-related complication, she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
“I arrived at 2 p.m. and finally saw the obstetrics team at midnight,” she recalled...
A popular type of off-road vehicle known as a “side-by-side” has been linked to high rates of severe hand injuries, according to a new study.
Side-by-sides are utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) designed to carry more than one passenger and heavy loads. All-terrain vehi...
It seemed to some that patients of color were being restrained in the emergency room more often than others, so researchers decided to investigate.
While physical restraints can be used to keep staff and patients safe, they may also cause injury to the patient, including...
While the start of the school year can give kids and teens the chance to reconnect with friends and enjoy school sports and activities, it can also trigger stressors that send many to the emergency room for mental health woes, a new report shows.
Among children aged 5 to...
Helping undocumented immigrants in the United States connect with primary care doctors could be a money-saver, substantially reducing emergency department use and lowering health costs, a new study finds.
The findings are from a New York City program that helped arrange ...
When an earthquake struck the center of Morocco earlier this month, killing nearly 3,000 and injuring thousands more, no one was expecting it.
That sudden rapid shaking of ground as the rocks underneath the earth shift can happen anywhere, but higher-risk areas in the Un...
Emergency medicine doctors someday might rely on consultation from artificial intelligence (AI) programs like ChatGPT to help them quickly and accurately diagnose patients' ailments.
A new study found that ChatGPT performed about as well as human doctors in diagnosing pa...
CPR could save your life if you suffer cardiac arrest in a public place, but you're less likely to receive it if you're a woman, a new study finds.
The findings were presented Monday at the European Emergency Medicine Congress, in Barcelona.
“In an emergency when...
The American Stroke Association is promoting the acronym R.Á.P.I.D.O. as a way to raise awareness among Hispanic Americans about stroke symptoms and the need for quick action.
Every second counts when someone has had a stroke, the association (ASA) points out. Calling 9...
When some U.S. states made abortion illegal after the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding Roe v Wade in June 2022, women in those areas increased their searches for self-managed abortions.
To come to that conclusion, researchers from the University of California, I...
The American Red Cross said Monday that it urgently needs blood donations because the national blood supply has dropped nearly 25% since early August.
Back-to-back climate-related disasters have hampered blood collection efforts, and a summer shortfall has made the short...
Emergency room visits for injuries related to driving under the influence of cannabis skyrocketed in Canada after the drug was legalized there, a new study reports.
In October 2018, Canada became the second country to nationally legalize recreational or nonmedical cannab...
Narcan, a lifesaving medication that reverses opioid overdose, will be available on U.S. drugstore shelves and online starting next week.
People who want to carry Narcan, the nasal spray version of naloxone, will be able to find it at Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart an...
If you need quick directions on performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in an emergency, don't rely on Alexa, Siri or another voice assistant.
A new study finds the directions provided by these AI (artificial intelligence) helpers are inconsistent and lack re...
Brightly colored "edibles" can be tempting for young kids and are more widely available now that many U.S. states have legalized cannabis for recreational and medical use.
Unfortunately, it doesn't take much of an edible to make a small child very sick, new research...
Smoke from Canadian wildfires sent high numbers of people suffering from asthma attacks to America's emergency rooms this spring and summer, according to two new reports.
From April 30 to August 4, 2023, smoke from out-of-control wildfires in Canada increased emergency ...
Alice Tapper felt deathly ill, suffering from severe abdominal pain, a 102-degree fever and vomiting.
Emergency room doctors found that Alice -- the daughter of CNN anchor Jake Tapper -- ...
Bystander aid using CPR and a defibrillator can be critically important for saving lives when someone has a cardiac arrest -- even when an ambulance arrives quickly, say researchers.
A new study finds that when a bystander uses a defibrillator, on top of CPR, on someone ...
When people suffering a stroke need a transfer to another hospital, time is of the essence. But a new study finds that most Americans in that situation face delays.
In recent years, the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana has become the new normal across much of North America.
The problem: New research finds that as legalization has spread, so have cases of cannabis poisoning.
“We did a systematic re...
Emergency rooms can be a frightening place for people suffering from dementia, yet each year 1.4 million Americans with Alzheimer's or other dementias wind up in crowded, noisy ERs, a new study finds.
Dementia is responsible for nearly 7% of all ER visits for those older...
Less than half of all children treated by emergency medical services receive the right amount of medication during out-of-hospital emergencies, a new study found.
In some cases, these incorrect doses can have serious consequences.
“If you don't give the appropria...
More than 7,500 people were killed last year after being struck by vehicles while walking along or across U.S. roadways — the most pedestrian deaths in more than four decades, according to a new report.
This sobering trend was not surprising to experts who track the nu...