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Migraines linked to increased heart disease risk in women
Conclusion This study shows a strong link between migraine and cardiovascular disease, extending the link already found between migraine and stroke. However, many questions remain. We don't know if the results are relevant to men who have migraines, as all the people in the study were women. We also don't know if the results apply to non-white populations, as most of the women in the study were white. Previous studies on stroke have shown that the group at highest risk is who get an "aura" before a migraine – sensation(s) that tells them the migraine is on its way. But this study did not ask people about aura...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

Can HRT in early menopause cut heart disease risk?
ConclusionThis double-blind RCT found that women taking HRT less than six years after the menopause had slower artery wall thickening than those taking a placebo. This represented the main measure of atherosclerosis progression tested; other measures showed no difference, so the results were not as conclusive as they could have been. Women taking HRT 10 or more years after menopause also showed no difference in atherosclerosis progression compared with a placebo, further complicating the picture.An important limitation of this study is the lack of a patient relevant endpoint, such as cardiovascular events or mortality. Pre...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

Being happy 'won't help you live longer' survey finds
ConclusionThis large prospective study aimed to assess whether happiness or related measures of wellbeing are associated with risk of death, after allowing for the influence of the poor health and lifestyles of people who are unhappy.The study found poor health was linked with unhappiness in middle-aged women. However, after allowing for this association and adjusting for the influence of other factors that may be associated, such as smoking and poor socioeconomic status, happiness and related measures of wellbeing do not appear to have any direct effect on death. This suggests that, as has sometimes previously been specu...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 11, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news

HRT review finds increased risk of blood clots and stroke
Conclusion This updated Cochrane review has found that oral HRT increases risk of stroke and blood clots, and does not appear to reduce overall risk of cardiovascular disease or death during follow-up. More exploratory analyses suggested that HRT might reduce risk of death from heart disease or non-fatal heart attack if it was started within 10 years of menopause, but this finding needs further confirmation. The review was carried out using robust methods and the trials were of good quality. Its findings are in line with the previous version of the review, and also with other reviews. There are some points to note: Thi...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

HRT increases ovarian cancer risk by small amount
Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that ovarian cancer risk was significantly increased in current HRT users, even in those with less than five years of HRT use (the average was three years). In ex-users, risks decreased the longer ago HRT use had stopped, but risks during the first few years after stopping remained significant. Furthermore, about a decade after stopping, long-duration hormone therapy use (average nine years of HRT use), there still seemed to be a small excess risk. The review has a few limitations, however. The main one is that the review was heavily influenced by just two of t...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 13, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medication Older people Source Type: news

Drugs to be offered to women at high risk of breast cancer
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today released updated guidelines on the care of women who are at increased risk of breast cancer due to their family history. One of the main changes to the original guidance from 2004 is that NICE now recommends drug treatment with tamoxifen or raloxifene to reduce risk of breast cancer in a specific group of women who are at high risk of breast cancer and have not had the disease. They say that these treatments could help prevent breast cancer in about 488,000 women aged 35 years and older. The updated guideline has also made changes to the recommende...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 25, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news