Health Tip: Your Doctor Has Prescribed Cardiac Rehabilitation

(HealthDay News) -- Cardiac rehabilitation may be just what the doctor ordered if you have heart problems and need to improve your health and well-being.

Health Tip: Hardening of the Arteries

(HealthDay News) -- Hardening of the arteries -- medically called atherosclerosis -- occurs when a combination of fat, cholesterol and calcium sticks to the inside of the vessels that carry blood to your heart. This causes the arteries to clog and harden.

Painful Knees Often Tied to Pain in Other Joints

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The pain of knee osteoarthritis is more severe in people who also have foot, elbow and lower back pain, a new study has found.

For Teens, Privacy May Trump Health Care

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- If teens' desires for health care privacy aren't respected, their care could be compromised, a new study suggests.

Girls Who Suffer Child Abuse May Abuse Alcohol as Adults

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Women who were sexually or physically abused as children are at increased risk for drinking problems, researchers say.

Gruesome Cigarette Pack Images Make Smokers Want to Quit, Study Finds

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed graphic new warning labels on cigarette packaging, to help curb smoking. But do these often gruesome images work to help smokers quit?

Disease Prevention Could Save U.S. Billions of Dollars Annually

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Increased efforts to prevent several lifestyle-related diseases could save the United States billions of dollars a year in medical costs, researchers say.

Scientists Spot Genes Tied to Puberty, Body Fat in Girls

SUNDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have pinpointed 30 genes that control the timing of puberty in females. They also believe many of these genes also play a role in body weight regulation or fat metabolism.

Tiniest Newborns With Down Syndrome Face Other Health Risks

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Infants with Down syndrome who weigh less than 3.5 pounds at birth are at high risk for heart and lung disorders that increase their chances of dying, a new study has found.

Kids' ER Visits Down After Cold Medicine Withdrawal

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Three years after nonprescription infant cold medicines were taken off the market, emergency rooms treat less than half as many children under 2 for overdoses and other adverse reactions to the drugs, a new U.S. government study shows.

Doubling Frequency of Dialysis May Help Kidney Failure Patients

SATURDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Kidney failure patients who double the number of weekly dialysis treatments typically prescribed had significantly better heart function, overall health and general quality of life, new research indicates.

Deaths From Congenital Heart Defects on the Decline

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Deaths from congenital heart defects in the United States fell 24 percent from 1999 to 2006, continuing a decades-long decline, a new study finds.

Children of Divorce Face Twice the Lifetime Risk of Stroke: Study

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Children of divorce appear to have more than double the lifetime risk for experiencing a stroke compared with those whose parents' marriage stays intact during their childhood, new research suggests.

Health Highlights: Nov. 22, 2010

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Better Helmet Design Might Lower Soldiers' Risk for Brain Injury

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Adding face shields to soldiers' helmets could diminish brain damage resulting from explosions, which account for more than half of all combat-related injuries sustained by U.S. troops, a new study suggests.

Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 22, 2010

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Bleeding Risk With Plavix-Aspirin Regimen May Be Serious

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Risk of bleeding for patients on antiplatelet therapy with either warfarin or a combination of Plavix (clopidogrel) and aspirin is substantial, a new study finds.

Eat Your Fruits & Veggies for Longer Life

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming high amounts of beta-carotene's less well-known antioxidant cousin, alpha-carotene, in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, new research suggests.

Diabetes, Depression Can Be Two-Way Street

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Diabetes and depression are conditions that can fuel each other, a new study shows.

1 in 4 Overweight Women Think They're Normal Size: Study

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Almost one-quarter of young women who are overweight actually perceive themselves as being normal weight, while a sizable minority (16 percent) of women at normal body weight actually fret that they're too fat, according to a new study.

New STD Report Finds Some Progress, High Costs for U.S.

MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The approximately 19 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) infections that occur each year in the United States cost the health care system about $16.4 billion annually, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its annual STD report released Monday.