Most Emailed Health News

DES MOINES, Iowa - A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Retirees have something else to look forward to besides playing golf -- much better sleep -- particularly if they have decent retirement benefits and retire relatively early.

Iowa public health officials reported on Wednesday the first confirmed case of H1N1 flu in a house pet.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Want to be a happy married couple? Consider having kids.

LONDON - Britain is using genetic tests on some African asylum seekers in an effort to catch those who are lying about their nationality, drawing criticism from scientists and provoking outrage from rights groups.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A cat in Iowa has tested positive for H1N1 swine flu, the first time a cat has been diagnosed with the new pandemic strain, the American Veterinary Medical Association said on Wednesday.

BOSTON - Dr. James Wang says he tries to tell his patients when extra medical procedures aren't necessary. If they insist, though, he will do it — not so much to protect their health as his own practice.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for swine flu, making it the first time the virus has been found in such hogs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly a third of Americans who die are in the hospital at the time and their last treatments cost the U.S. economy $20 billion, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Many consumers are feeling deceived now that SIGG has been outed for failing to tell the public that its bottles were not BPA-free, at least not the ones that were manufactured before August 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those who limit such foods, a large study of U.S. men suggests.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Philips Electronics is betting it can help doctors monitor patients remotely to keep an aging population healthier and battle rising medical costs.

NEW YORK - It seemed like a great idea — doing bypass surgery while the heart is still beating, sparing patients the complications that can come from going on a heart-lung machine. Now the first big test of this method has produced a surprise: Bypass has fewer problems and is more successful done the old way.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans are more likely than people in 10 other countries to have trouble getting medical treatment because of insurance restrictions or cost, an international survey of primary care doctors released on Wednesday found.

TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A potentially deadly stomach infection is on the rise outside of hospital settings, especially among the elderly, researchers warn.

CHICAGO - Advice about soft drinks and health from one of the nation's largest doctors groups will soon be brought to you by Coke.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A person's genetic makeup may play an important role in the odds of suffering neck or back pain, new research suggests.

TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Low folate levels during pregnancy are associated with higher odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring aged 7 to 9, new research has found.

TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Reports about possible kidney problems, including renal failure, in people taking the diabetes drug exenatide (Byetta) have prompted changes to the drug's prescribing information, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Vets in the US state of Iowa said Wednesday that a household cat had tested positive for swine flu -- the first known case in the world of the new pandemic strain spreading to the feline population.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who smoke while pregnant risk having hyperactive preschoolers who can't pay attention, a large study from the UK hints.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Golfers with the nighttime breathing disorder obstructive sleep apnea can improve their scores by treating their problem, according to study findings presented this week at the CHEST 2009 meeting in San Diego, California.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States ranks 30th in terms of infant mortality, an important measure of the quality of healthcare, according to a report released on Tuesday.

BOSTON (Reuters) - An experimental vaccine cured nearly half of women with pre-cancerous growths on their genitals, producing major improvement in nearly four out of five, researchers in the Netherlands reported on Wednesday.

LONDON - The World Health Organization's flu chief said the swine flu virus has now become the predominant flu strain worldwide.

NEW YORK - Some of New York's biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged.

MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Though someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 20 seconds, many Americans lack basic knowledge about the potentially life-threatening disease, according to a new survey from the American Diabetes Association.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A vaccine that targets human papillomavirus (HPV) is able to stop precancerous lesions in the vulva from progressing into full-blown malignancies, Dutch researchers report.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The H1N1 swine flu virus has picked up steam in the northern hemisphere and is expected to cause more serious infections and deaths as cold weather sets in, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Three-year survival was 100 percent for people with early-stage lung cancer and good lung function who were treated with radical stereotactic radiosurgery using CyberKnife, according to a new study funded by the product's maker.