Maywood: Up to 8% of people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries carry a mutated gene that causes heart failure and potentially fatal heart attacks.

Washington: Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a way to measure upper extremity movement in patients with muscular dystrophy using interactive video game technology. Their hope is to expand inclusion criteria for clinical trials to incorporate patients using wheelchairs.

Washington: Tread lightly and don’t get too confident; winter is officially here and sidewalks are slippery. About 1 million people take a tumble every year and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 20,000 people die annually due to fall-related injuries.

Maywood: Is your New Year’s resolution to lose weight? Here are five bad strategies to avoid, according to Dr. Aaron Michelfelder of Loyola University Health System:

Washington: Prashant Kaul, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues conducted a study to define the incidence and treatment and outcomes of patients who experience a certain type of heart attack during hospitalization for conditions other than acute coronary syndromes. 

Chicago: Patients with active asthma — such as any use of asthma medications, and unscheduled office or emergency visits for asthma — are at a twofold risk of having a heart attack, according to Mayo Clinic research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014.

Washington: A common over-the-counter drug that tackles pain and fever may also hold keys to a longer, healthier life, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist.

Chicago: As the holidays approach, it’s easy to slip into bad eating habits. However, poor diet increases the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and poor circulation – three major factors that affect overall heart health. 

Washington: A Georgia State University expert said that to prevent the deaths of 5.6 million children, strong actions are needed to discourage smoking, raise the cost of cigarettes, provide access to tobacco cessation programs, and to implement the Food and Drug Administration’s power to regulate tobacco products, among other steps.

Minneapolis: People who have sleep apnea or spend less time in deep sleep may be more likely to have changes in the brain that are associated with dementia, according to a new study published in the recent online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.