Getting Active
After a Heart
Attack Halves
Mortality RiskMost people agree that
regular exercise will
help prevent a heart
attack, but what’s the
impact of getting active
after one occurs? To
find out, Swedish
health scientists ana-
lyzed data from more
than 22,000 heart attack
patients. Compared
with those who were
inactive, the people
who started or contin-
ued exercise routines
after their attacks cut
their risk of dying over
the next four years by
more than 50 percent.
Heart attack survivors
should exercise twice
a week or more, the
lead author said,
starting with moderate
activity. If you notice
chest discomfort or
long-lasting palpita-
tions, stop and notify
your doctor.A PROMISING
ALLERGY
VACCINEHuman trials of what
would be the first vac-
cine to protect against
grass-pollen allergies
showed that it reduced
symptoms such as
sneezing, itchy throat,
and shortness of breath
by at least 25 percent
over two years—and by
up to 60 percent for
some people. The vac-
cine is made from
strings of amino acids
from grass pollen that
are modified so they no
longer trigger an im-
mune reaction. Addi-
tional studies are
required before the vac-
cine can be approved for
use, but researchers are
hopeful that will happen
within the next three
years. The researchers
believe the vaccine
can be tweaked to
also treat aller-
gies to dust
mites, birch
pollen, and
ragweed.A Threat to
Good Bacteria?Triclosan is an anti-
bacterial agent found
in some toothpastes,
hand sanitizers, and
deodorants, but there
is preliminary evidence
it may do some harm
along with the good.
Mice exposed to roughly
the same amount of tri-
closan found in people
who used toothpaste
containing it for two
weeks experienced in-
flamed colons leading
to diarrhea, abdominal
pain, and rectal bleed-
ing. Why? Triclosan
killed off bifidobacteria
and other “good” bacte-
ria in the gut micro-
biome. In humans, the
reduction of these bacte-
ria has been associated
with higher rates of coli-
tis and colon cancer.sa
bz
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ss
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ne
ll
a/
sh
ut
te
rs
to
ck
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el
lo
w^
fl
ow
er
s).
n
at
al
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tu
di
o/
sh
ut
te
rs
to
ck
(w
hi
te
fl
ow
er
)
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