Tag: Healthlines

• 62-year-old Tommy Bell survived three heart attacks in the span of four days.
• Bell received care at the same hospital where he has worked for 10 years.
• He is sharing his story to help raise awareness about heart attack symptoms and prevention.

On November 26, 2025, 62-year-old Tommy Bell had just finished a shift at AdventHealth DeLand Hospital, where he had worked for over 10 years as the Patient Transport Supervisor.

On his drive home while talking with his wife, Joi, he felt pressure in the center of his chest that persisted on and off. The feeling pushed him to drive back to AdventHealth’s ER department.

After doctors performed tests and imaging, Bell was scheduled for a cardiac procedure two days later, on Friday, November 28. During recovery in the hospital, Bell had a heart attack and received a stent to normalize blood flow.

Once stabilized, he was moved to intensive care to recover and was discharged home two days later.

“Prior to that day, I had never experienced anything like that before. The only symptoms of a heart attack that I knew of were what I had seen on TV—chest pain, pain down the arm, etcetera,” Bell told Healthline.

While recovering at home, he still didn’t feel right, and his wife took him back to the ER, where he went on to have a second and third heart attack on December 2, 2025.

Despite the trauma, Bell said it was reassuring to get care in a familiar place.

“Knowing that I was being cared for by the people that I see and make laugh on a daily basis made me feel at home. Just knowing the level of care and support of my co-workers was comforting in my time of need,” he said.

He knew every person who cared for him by name.

“Although it was strange being on the other side of things, I knew I was in good hands by the very best at what they do,” he said.

After two weeks off for recovery and to regain his strength, Bell returned to work.

“My recovery included being surrounded by my work family and my home family,” he said. “There was not a day that went by that someone from the hospital did not reach out to check in on me. The support was phenomenal!”

Bell hopes that sharing his story will help spread awareness about the different heart attack symptoms and who may be at higher risk of recurrent cardiac events.

“I felt it on my heart to share my story because if I can help save a life by reminding people to listen to their bodies, I have done what God has called me to do,” Bell said.

Janak Bhavsar, MD, an interventional cardiologist at AdventHealth, who was part of Bell’s care team, said that recurrent cardiac events like those Bell experienced can occur more often than some people may think, especially if there are multiple risk factors, such as:

“Controlling the risk factors is important for preventing future events. Lifestyle modifications, including exercise programs, diet control, sleep quality, and weight loss, are important elements,” he told Healthline.

Bhavsar added that the fact that Bell did not ignore his symptoms and went to the ER right away when he developed them allowed doctors to recognize his condition and treat him immediately.

“Heart attack can present with some symptoms that are not classic. There can be pain in the neck, jaw, arms, back, or stomach, which can be a symptom/warning sign,” he said. “Sometimes the symptoms can be nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and sweating (diaphoresis).”

According to the American Heart Association, approximately 20% to 50% of heart attacks are “silent” or ignored, often misattributed to indigestion, muscle strain, or fatigue.

After people receive a stent, Bhavsar said it’s important that they continue taking medications, especially blood thinners, which can prevent clotting in the stent.

“Monitor for symptoms, including chest pain, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and seek help if symptoms occur,” he said. “Follow up with cardiology and primary care is important. Patients may also benefit from programs such as cardiac rehabilitation.”

To improve heart health, Bhavsar said controlling risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, as well as quitting smoking, can help. Staying physically active, especially with aerobic exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, following a Mediterranean diet, and getting adequate sleep are also effective lifestyle strategies.

Caring for patients like Bell and seeing them make full recovery and healthy lifestyle adjustments is rewarding for Bhavsar.

“I was able to interact with [Tommy] in several settings, including the ER, procedure room, ICU, medical unit, outpatient office for follow-up, and coming back full circle seeing him in the hallways at the hospital when he returned to work, and providing whole person care for him in these different settings,” he said.

• A federal judge has struck down childhood vaccination recommendations implemented earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
• The judge also blocked HHS Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
• Medical professionals praised the judge’s ruling, saying vaccinations are vital in preventing diseases in children.

A federal judge has overturned new childhood vaccination policies implemented earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that federal health officials under the leadership of HHS Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had acted unlawfully when they issued new childhood vaccination recommendations in January.

Those guidelines reduce the number of childhood vaccinations, indicating vaccination against 11 diseases instead of the 16 diseases recommended under prior guidelines. The HHS policies also downgraded childhood immunization recommendations for other diseases, including rotavirus, influenza, and hepatitis A.

In his ruling, Murphy said that previous childhood vaccination recommendations had been made through “a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements.”

The judge said that HHS officials had “disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”

Murphy also ruled that Health Secretary Kennedy’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were not lawfully constituted, and blocked Kennedy’s 13 appointees to the panel.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that the committee had become dominated by people aligned with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views and was constituted in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s mandates that it be fairly balanced and free of inappropriate influence.

After the ruling was issued on March 16, ACIP meetings scheduled for this week were postponed. The panel was scheduled to discuss potential changes to recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition, the judge had put a hold on votes taken by ACIP members since June. That includes a December decision by the panel to roll back recommendations that newborns receive a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal Murphy’s ruling.

The lawsuit challenging the HHS childhood vaccination recommendations was brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other major medical groups.

“Today’s ruling is a historic and welcome outcome for children, communities, and pediatricians everywhere,” said Andrew Racine, MD, AAP president, in a statement.

This decision effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunization recommendations is not to be trifled with and represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision-making to federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years,” Racine continued.

Medical professionals said the judge’s ruling was an important action and the correct decision.

“The judge’s ruling brings light and focus to the reality that the changes to the vaccine schedule were made by individuals who are not experts in vaccinations, science, or public health and the changes were not based upon any new data, evidence, or scientific basis,” said Graham Tse, MD, a pediatrician and chief medical officer of MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, CA.

“The judge’s ruling is everything that pediatricians and family practice physicians and the AAP have been waiting to hear,” said Danelle Fisher, MD, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.

“There was absolutely no reason to downgrade recommendations on vaccines. The ones who will suffer are the children. Someone needed to stand up to this administration and help our kids,” she told Healthline.

Tse said the judge’s ruling, if upheld on appeal, will send a clear message to parents and other community members.

“I would hope this brings back a single recommended vaccination schedule, supported by all states and the federal government, for the United States,” he told Healthline. “When there are vaccine schedule disagreements and variability across agencies, groups, and states, it leads to confusion, fear, anxiety, and ultimately decreased vaccine acceptance.”

The AAP recommends that children receive vaccinations for 18 different diseases from birth through age 18.

These inoculations include protection against:

Medical professionals point to recent measles outbreaks as an example of what can happen if children aren’t vaccinated. There are now more than 1,300 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2026. There were only 285 in all of 2024.

“Vaccines prevent many diseases that used to be the scourge of childhood, causing vast amounts of illness, deaths, and suffering,” said William Schaffner, MD, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

“Vaccines have made infancy, childhood, and adolescence much safer than when I grew up, so maintaining a comprehensive infancy and childhood vaccination program across the country is critical, lest we turn back the clock to the bad old days,” he told Healthline.

Schaffner said that widespread vaccination is needed to protect immunocompromised children who can’t be inoculated.

“By all participating in vaccination, we create healthier communities as well as protected individuals,” he said.

“Vaccines are one of the easiest ways to ensure the health of children and the community,” noted Tse. “Vaccines are one of the simplest, safest, and easiest ways to protect your children and others from infections and diseases that have significant and severe consequences.”

“These diseases can cause illness and death. If we can prevent needless suffering, why wouldn’t we?,” said Fisher.

• Researchers say extra abdominal fat is strongly associated with an increased risk of heart failure.
• Excess belly fat contributes to systemic inflammation, which endangers cardiovascular health.
• The researchers recommend that medical professionals measure waist circumference and inflammation to identify people at risk for heart-related conditions.

A new study reports that excess belly fat is more strongly associated with an increased risk of heart failure than a person’s overall body weight or their body mass index (BMI) measurement.

The researchers say that systemic inflammation is a key factor in the link between abdominal fat and heart disease risk. They estimate that one-quarter to one-third of the association is explained by inflammation.

These findings suggest that reducing inflammation is a potential treatment strategy to reduce the risk of heart failure in people with excess abdominal fat.

The researchers said they hope their analysis will encourage new approaches to heart health monitoring.

“This research helps us understand why some people develop heart failure despite having a body weight that seems healthy,” said Szu-Han Chen, the lead author of the study and a medical student at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, in a statement.

“By monitoring waist size and inflammation, clinicians may be able to identify people with higher risk earlier and focus on prevention strategies that could reduce the chance of heart failure before symptoms begin,” Chen continued.

This new research follows a scientific statement published by the American Heart Association (AHA) in May 2025.

In that statement, medical professionals explained that inflammation in the body can disrupt a person’s immune system, damage blood vessels, and lead to the buildup of scar tissue in the heart.

Experts not involved in the study told Healthline that this new research is important.

“This study reinforces an important concept in cardiology: where fat is stored in the body may matter more than total body weight alone,” said Kevin Shah, MD, a cardiologist and program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at the Long Beach Medical Center in California.

“One practical takeaway from this study is that clinicians and patients may want to pay more attention to waist circumference and central obesity, since those measures may reveal cardiovascular risk even in individuals whose BMI appears normal,” Shah said.

Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, agreed.

For their study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 2,000 African American adults enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study who lived in three counties, both urban and rural, near Jackson, MS.

The participants did not have a diagnosis of heart failure at the time they entered the study between 2000 and 2004.

Participants’ ages ranged from 35 to 84, with an average age of 58. About 36% were female. The subjects were studied for a median of nearly 7 years through December 2016.

Researchers assessed the participants’ body fat by using measures such as overall weight, BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio. Blood samples were used to measure high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a commonly used marker of inflammation.

The researchers reported that 112 participants developed heart failure during the follow-up period. They noted that elevated waist circumference was associated with increased heart failure risk, whereas high BMI was not.

They also found that higher waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio were associated with an increased risk of heart failure. They further reported that participants with higher inflammation levels were more likely to experience heart failure.

The researchers noted that they did not have access to participants’ heart failure subtypes, so their study reported on overall heart failure risk.

Experts said that, even though this study was limited to African American participants in one part of the country, the findings are pertinent to the nation’s population as a whole.

“I believe these results can be extrapolated to other populations as previous research has demonstrated similar findings across different groups,” Ali said.

“We should be cautious about over-generalizing the findings,” said Shah. “However, the biological mechanisms linking visceral fat, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease are well established across many populations, so the results are likely relevant more broadly, even if additional studies in diverse groups are needed.”

Experts say that excess belly fat contributes to heart health risks in several ways.

“Visceral fat is metabolically active and releases inflammatory molecules that can contribute to insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and vascular dysfunction,” Shah said. “Over time, chronic inflammation can damage blood vessels and place stress on the heart muscle, eventually increasing the likelihood of developing heart failure.”

“Belly fat envelops and impairs the function of internal organs,” said Ali. “Furthermore, obesity increases the body’s inflammatory response, which is theorized to stiffen the heart muscle and impair its pumping mechanism.”

Shah and Ali agreed that tracking abdominal fat is important. However, they said BMI measurements shouldn’t be totally disregarded either.

“BMI remains a reasonable tool for assessing obesity levels and associated health risks,” said Ali. “While it is not perfect — as it does not account for body composition or fat distribution — it is simple to calculate and remains the standard used by practitioners and insurance companies to classify obesity.”

“BMI is still a useful screening tool because it is easy to measure and helps identify people at risk for obesity-related disease,” said Shah. “However, BMI does not capture fat distribution, which is why measures like waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio can sometimes provide additional insight into cardiovascular risk.”

It’s estimated that more than 900,000 people die from cardiovascular disease every year in the United States. That accounts for almost one-third of all deaths annually in the country.

Heart disease is listed as the number one cause of death for males, females, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.

A number of factors are considered to be contributors to increased disease risk. Among them:

It’s estimated that 40% of U.S. adults have obesity. The percentages are similar for males and females. Among age groups, the obesity prevalence is highest for people ages 40 to 59.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Healthline’s 7-day heart health reset offers tips for adopting simple lifestyle behaviors that can support long-term heart health.

Experts say there are daily habits that can help people lose weight and reduce abdominal fat.

“General weight loss is the most effective way to reduce abdominal fat and the resulting inflammation,” said Ali. “It is important to note that you cannot ‘spot-reduce’ fat. While abdominal exercises strengthen muscles, the body burns fat from across the entire body. Significant changes to diet and lifestyle are necessary for meaningful weight loss,” he continued.

Shah recommended implementing several daily routines. These include:

• regular exercise
• a diet rich in whole foods, fiber, nuts, fruits, and vegetables
• avoiding sugar and ultra-processed foods
• quality sleep

“The most effective strategies focus on improving overall metabolic health,” he said.

• Healthgrades recently announced the recipients of the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards.
• The awards recognize hospitals that provide the highest quality care and excel at preventing serious safety events.
• The 2026 recipients include 438 hospitals from 40 states and represent the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for patient safety.

Healthgrades has announced the recipients of the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, which “recognize hospitals that excel at providing top-quality care while preventing serious safety events during hospital stays.”

This year’s recipients represent the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for patient safety and include 438 hospitals from 40 states.

Healthgrades’ annual analysis found that more than 100,000 patient safety events could have been avoided between 2022 and 2024 if all hospitals had performed at the same level as those that received a 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award.

Patients treated at award-winning hospitals were also significantly less likely to experience the four most common patient safety indicators (PSIs)—serious but preventable complications that account for about 78% of all safety events. Those include:

• In-hospital falls that result in fractures (52.4% less likely)
• Collapsed lungs related to procedures or surgery around the chest (57.5% less likely)
• Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (67.8% less likely)
• Pressure sores or bed sores developed during a hospital stay (71.9% less likely)

“The data behind this year’s Patient Safety Excellence Award highlights how measurable improvements in safety can prevent thousands of complications,” Alana Biggers, MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades, said in a press release.

“Hospitals that prioritize evidence-based safety practices not only achieve better clinical outcomes, but also cultivate a culture where patients come first. These insights give individuals and families the information they need to make confident and better informed healthcare decisions.”

Hospitals recognized with the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award were identified through an analysis by Healthgrades examining how well facilities prevent serious safety complications during hospital stays.

To determine the recipients, Healthgrades analyzed hospital performance using inpatient MedPAR data and evaluated facilities across 13 patient safety indicators (PSIs).

These indicators track serious complications that can occur during hospital care, such as respiratory failure after surgery, surgical infections, and excessive bleeding following procedures.

The analysis compares hospital performance nationwide using risk-adjusted data to account for differences in patient populations.

Results across the 13 indicators are combined into an overall patient safety score for each hospital, enabling facilities to be ranked by how effectively they prevent these complications.

Hospitals that rank among the top 10% nationally for patient safety earn the Patient Safety Excellence Award.

To qualify, facilities must also meet several eligibility requirements, including meeting clinical quality thresholds, reporting data on at least 7 of 8 core patient safety indicators, and having no documented cases of foreign objects left in patients during a procedure.

Hospital rankings and safety awards can provide useful guidance for patients comparing facilities, particularly when they highlight measurable differences in outcomes, such as complication rates and preventable safety events.

“Rankings like those offered by Healthgrades should be able to assist healthcare consumers in making better decisions for themselves and their loved ones,” Robert Bonar, Dr.H.A., the Gordon A. Friesen Professor of Healthcare Administration at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, previously told Healthline.

Still, experts say these ratings are best used as one tool among many when choosing where to receive care. Factors such as a patient’s specific medical needs, individual physicians’ experience, and recommendations from trusted healthcare providers can also play an important role in making the best decision.

Bonar also previously noted that when patients are evaluating health information, they should prioritize sources that “work hard to base their recommendations on statistically sound outcomes, measurable data, complication rates — including surgical infection rates — and morbidity and mortality data.”

Looking at multiple sources of information — including hospital safety ratings, patient reviews, and conversations with healthcare professionals — can help patients get a more complete picture when evaluating their options.

The full Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient list and methodology are available on the Healthgrades website.

*Healthgrades and Healthline are part of the RVO Health portfolio of brands.

• A recent study has shown that adults remain interested in sexual activity and intimacy in relationships into their 80s.
• The study participants emphasized that physical connections are among the most important aspects of a relationship, with some even saying that a lack of intimacy would be a “deal breaker.”
• The findings could help dispel stereotypes and misconceptions about sex and aging, as well as encourage an open discussion about sexual health with older adults.

It’s a common misperception that the desire for sex and romantic relationships wanes as people age.

However, a recent study published in the Journal of Sex Research found that adults ages 60 to 80 expressed not only a desire, but a need for sexual intimacy in a relationship.

In fact, many view a relationship that lacks sexual intimacy as less than a complete relationship, with some even seeing it as falling short of their definition of romance.

“Older adults who report sexual activity report greater overall well-being and life satisfaction, Arien Muzacz, PhD, clinical associate professor of counseling at The College of Education, Oregon State University, told Healthline. Muzacz was not involved in the study.

While older adults may have the same desire for sexual intimacy, they may experience certain challenges.

“Adults don’t become more asexual as they age; however, they may become less sexual, even though the desire for intimacy remains strong,” said Karyne Wilner, PsyD, licensed psychologist and author of “Releasing Toxic Anger for Women,” who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Many in their 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond feel desire and romance, but at the same time, they have more difficulties with sex,” she told Healthline.

The researchers interviewed 100 individuals. The participants were split evenly, with 50 single males and 50 single females, ages 60 to 83, with average ages of 65.6 for males and 66.8 for females.

The study focused on how single older adults framed their desire for new sexual and romantic relationships.

Almost three-quarters of the participants openly stated that they didn’t want to be in a relationship if it didn’t involve sexual activity.

Many participants stated that not having sex was a “deal breaker” in a relationship.

One participant, Dean, 68, said, “That would be a deal breaker. I’m still able to be intimate. So that would be a deal breaker. I mean, it might end up as a friendship instead of a relationship. Period.”

Evelyn, 65, agreed. “No, sex has to be part of your relationship. So, if you don’t want to have sex, then what’s the use of having a relationship? . . . You can be friends without having sex. If you just want to be friends, that’s fine. But if you try to do a relationship, then sex has to be a part of it.”

Around 30 of the participants stated they may be somewhat open to a romantic relationship that didn’t involve sexual activity. However, these statements were generally either contradictory or came with caveats.

“Older adults [may] need to look at sexuality in a new way,” said Wilner.

“It can be the touch of a hand on the small of [the] back, sitting or lying close together, a tender massage, or rubbing against each other. It may not end in the strong orgasm or release of yesteryear, but there may be moments of great intimacy with loving bodies intertwined,” she said.

Those who did entertain the idea of a relationship without sexual intercourse typically included stipulations, such as:

• having non-penetrative forms of sexual contact
• changing their partner’s mind
• already loving someone when the sex stopped later in the relationship

“I think sexuality needs to be encouraged among older adults, married and partnered, as well as single,” said Wilner.

“I hope that this study and others like it will encourage people to follow their desires and be realistic about their needs, but also to be flexible in how they define sexuality. If it’s pleasurable, it’s sexual, even when it doesn’t look like the sex you used to have.”

When people talk about sexuality in older adults, they often focus on ability, finding that older adults may have less or no sex, or that the quality of sex is lower, due to bodily changes that come with age.

“Your body may change as you age due to physiological processes such as menopause, the type of exercise you get, or the medicines you take. However, sexuality is still important; it is part of the joie de vivre, it empowers your life force and energizes you,” said Wilner.

The participants in this study also mentioned that biological issues, such as difficulty with erections and lubrication, were among their concerns about having sex at an older age. However, they viewed these as inevitabilities to overcome, not enough to prevent their pursuit of sex.

“Open yourself to a new form of intimacy based on sensual touch or scents,” suggested Wilner.

While the study participants were clear that sex is an important part of romantic relationships, they also showed flexibility in the details of sex. They were aware that the type of sexual experiences one can have may change with age.

Both males and females noted that, as long as the relationship included sex, the frequency of sex was less important.

One of the participants, Howard, 62, said that it was the physical connection, not the frequency, that was essential to the health of the relationship.

“I would think you have to have some kind of intimacy, sexual relations somewhere. It might not be a once a month or twice a month, but [it is necessary] to keep the flow in the relationship going,” he said.

Some of the participants also alluded to the way sex as an older adult may not have the same vigor and pleasure of sex as a younger adult. However, this did not negate the value or importance of sex in a relationship.

Wilner said the study is important because it’s “more in touch with reality than the myth that when people reach a certain age, they lose interest in sex.”

She noted that the results may be reassuring to those who desire sexual connections but feel it may not be appropriate behavior at their age.

The study may not only help dispel the myth and stereotype that older adults lose interest in sex, but it may also help open the conversation about sexual health with these individuals.

“STI prevention is essential for any older adults due to increased risks like thinning of the vaginal walls and reduced lubrication in the vaginal canal (the latter can be addressed by using water-based lubes that do not erode latex prophylactics),” said Muzacz.

“There is also a reality that older adults in communal settings like retirement communities may have multiple partners, so STI prevention and testing are recommended for any older adults engaging in partnered sexual activity,” she added.

The recent study researchers suggested that older adults and their healthcare professionals may often avoid the topic of sexual health. However, the study shows that sexual activity remains a vital piece of relationships to many older adults.

This makes it even more important to incorporate sexual wellness into routine healthcare for older adults.

“People — no matter what their age — need to have a sense of the person they are being intimate with and some knowledge of that person’s dating or marital history. I also think that conversations with physicians, gynecologists, or urologists about safe sex would be helpful in learning how best to protect yourself,” said Wilner.

• In a TikTok video, pop music artist Doja Cat shared that she may have lipedema, a condition that causes abnormal fat buildup in the lower body.
• The singer said the condition influenced her decision to undergo liposuction in 2023.
• Lipedema most commonly affects the hips, thighs, and legs and typically does not respond to diet or exercise.
• Experts say increased awareness from public figures can help more people recognize symptoms and seek medical care earlier.

Grammy-winning pop artist Doja Cat recently shared a video explaining that she believes she may have lipedema, a condition that causes body fat to abnormally accumulate in the lower part of the body.

The singer opened up about the condition in a TikTok video, explaining how it contributed to her decision to have liposuction in 2023.

In the video, Doja Cat reflected on the way fat accumulated in her lower body throughout her life, particularly around her thighs, knees, calves, and hips.

“If you look at my knees… Like I had big ass knees, like big fat f*ing knees.” Doja said.

“Basically, I wasn’t horrendously, deeply overweight or anything. I was just building up all this ass, and ankle, and calves, and knee, and thigh. I had a whole ton of it,” she continued.

Lipedema is a chronic condition that may lead to an abnormal buildup of fat tissue, mostly in the hips, thighs, and legs, explained Raj Dasgupta, MD, chief medical advisor at Garage Gym Reviews.

“The fat tends to accumulate symmetrically and typically does not respond well to typical weight loss strategies such as diet or exercise,” Dasgupta told Healthline.

People with lipedema may also experience tenderness, easy bruising, and swelling in the affected areas.

“Over time, the condition can lead to discomfort, mobility issues, and in some cases, problems with the lymphatic system,” Dasgupta said.

“Although lipedema is not primarily caused by lymphatic issues, the accumulation of abnormal fat can place pressure on the lymphatic vessels, compromising the body’s ability to properly circulate and drain lymph fluid, which can result in swelling, tightness, heaviness, and pain, particularly in the legs,” he explained.

Research suggests that lipedema affects 10–11% of adult women. The condition is often underdiagnosed.

It can be helpful when public figures like Doja Cat speak openly about their health, especially when they have conditions like lipedema that can be difficult to detect.

“Visibility usually helps people recognize symptoms in themselves and seek medical care earlier.

With lipedema, awareness is especially important because the condition is often dismissed as just weight gain,” Dasgupta said.

“Discussing it publicly can help shift the conversation from blame toward recognition that this is a condition that deserves proper attention,” he noted.

• A recent study found that, over time, stressful relationships may accelerate biological aging.
• The researchers refer to those who create problems or make life more difficult as “hasslers.”
• The study also found that a greater number of “hasslers” in your life can lead to a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and poorer overall health.

Spending time with someone who consistently creates problems or makes life more difficult can accelerate biological aging and affect your overall health.

A recent study found that spending more time with people the researchers call “hasslers” and having more of them in your life can negatively affect various aspects of your life and health.

The researchers also noted that “social relationships are fundamental to human health.”

However, past research has mostly focused on the supportive nature of these relationships. This recent study focused on the “hasslers” in the close social networks of individuals and the role these stressful people play.

“Those around us can either increase or decrease our stress levels because we are wired for social connection and our social relationships can significantly influence and shape our mood, perspectives, motivation, and energy, on a daily basis, and for future goals/visions,” said Menije Boduryan-Turner, PsyD, licensed psychologist, and founder of Embracing You Therapy. Boduryan-Turner was not involved in the study.

The study analyzed data from 2,345 participants in a health survey in Indiana. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 103, with an average age of about 46.

The individuals answered questions about their relationships, focusing on the previous 6 months.

The researchers defined “hasslers” as people whom the participants reported as “often hassling them, causing them problems, or making life difficult.”

The average network size among participants was just over 5, with a maximum size of 25. On average, the individuals reported around 8.1% of the network members as “hasslers.”

Of the participants, 28.8% reported having at least one “hassler” in their social network, and 10% reported having two or more. This suggests that persistently negative ties are not rare among personal relationships.

“We resonate with people, and when someone creates problems, ideally, we would leave such a situation,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

“Dealing with a hassler definitely takes a toll on mental health, and I see that in my work every day,” Dimitriu told Healthline.

The researchers then examined the association between having “hasslers” in your life and biological aging.

They compared biological aging using saliva samples from participants, enabling the researchers to measure specific epigenetic markers.

This analysis showed a clear pattern. For each “hassler” a person interacted with, their biological aging pace increased by about 1.5%. This means that someone with an extra difficult person in their life may age about 1.015 biological years for each chronological year.

It’s important to note that this study does not definitively show that having difficult people in your life directly causes aging.

The researchers observed an association between “hasslers” and the rate of aging. They also noted that certain groups of people may be more likely to have or report “hasslers” in their lives.

Females were less likely than males to report having zero “hasslers” in their social networks. They also reported higher levels of “hasslers” in their lives in general than males.

There were also various psychosocial factors that emerged as important predictors of the presence of “hasslers.”

For example, individuals with adverse childhood experiences were more likely to have “hasslers” in their social network.

People with a larger social network were less likely to report zero “hasslers” and were more likely to have a higher number.

Daily smokers and people with less favorable health were also less likely to report zero “hasslers.” This suggests that “hassler” exposure is not random. Rather, it clusters around certain individuals with greater psychosocial and health vulnerabilities.

“Hasslers” were also more likely to be family members, with parents and children more likely to be reported as difficult than spouses.

Outside of the family, participants were more likely to report co-workers, neighbors, and roommates as “hasslers” than friends.

The researchers also examined whether the association with “hasslers” was specific to biological aging or extended across health outcomes.

They found that the number of hasslers in a person’s social group was consistently associated with worse health across multiple domains. The strongest associations were among mental health outcomes.

Each additional “hassler” was associated with an increase in the severity of both depression and anxiety. This was followed closely by less favorable self-rated mental health outcomes.

“When stress becomes too hard to manage, it creates insomnia, poor concentration, depression, anxiety, and/or irritability,[an] increase and/or a decrease in appetite, isolation, and paralysis,” said Boduryan-Turner.

The associations found with physical health and adiposity-related (excess fat) outcomes were more modest, but still significant.

Additional “hasslers” were associated with:

“Stress can increase our blood pressure and affect our gastrointestinal and immune systems, among many other organ systems in the body,” Nissa Keyashian, MD, board certified psychiatrist and author of “Practicing Stillness,” who was not involved in the study, told Healthline.

Many may say that the obvious solution is to reduce contact with “hasslers” in your life. However, this may not always be possible. Certain people, such as family members or co-workers, may be part of your daily life.

Dimitriu recommended that you control what you can, which is most often yourself. A strong emphasis on self-care, time to journal, and grounding yourself through meditation, exercise, or both is essential.

Boduryan-Turner said that it is fundamental to set clear, value-based boundaries.

“The keyword here is value-based, because often we make fear-based decisions. When setting boundaries, we want to keep our values in mind and communicate our needs from that place,” she added.

Keyashian agreed. “Practicing setting healthy boundaries is one of the most important skills in our lives,” she said.

Boduryan-Turner noted that people should set limits with love.

“We can set our boundaries lovingly and compassionately,” she said. “It doesn’t have to feel like a fight or a conflict to set them. Often taking breaks and engaging in activities that soothe are necessary ways to cope with these kinds of people in our lives.”

• Federal regulators have approved leucovorin for the treatment of cerebral folate deficiency, a rare neurological disorder.
• The FDA approval, however, did not include the use of leucovorin as a treatment for autism.
• The Trump administration has touted leucovorin as an autism treatment, but experts agree that more research is needed before leucovorin should be approved for this purpose.

A medication used primarily to help relieve the side effects of chemotherapy has been given the green light to be used as a treatment for a rare neurological disorder.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on March 10 the approval of the drug leucovorin to help treat adults and children with cerebral folate deficiency. This rare condition is characterized by low levels of vitamin B9 in the brain.

However, the FDA announcement did not mention the use of leucovorin as a potential treatment for autism.

In September 2025, President Donald Trump and other administration officials suggested that the FDA had started a process to approve leucovorin as a treatment to manage symptoms in autistic people. However, there’s no word yet on a timetable or process for such an approval.

Leucovorin is the first approved treatment for cerebral folate deficiency. The FDA decision is being praised as long overdue relief for individuals with that condition.

“Today’s approval represents a significant milestone for patients living with cerebral folate transport deficiency due to the FOLR1 variant, a rare genetic condition that has had no FDA-approved treatment options until today,” said FDA commissioner Marty Makary, MD, in the agency’s announcement.

Leucovorin is a prescription medication used mainly to reduce the toxic side effects of chemotherapy agents such as methotrexate.

The medication works by helping to restore folic acid to healthy cells that have had that substance depleted by the effects of chemotherapy.

Leucovorin is considered to be effective as a “rescue agent” for people undergoing certain types of chemotherapy.

• developmental delays
• seizures
• movement abnormalities

It’s estimated that 1 in 1 million people worldwide have cerebral folate deficiency, although the true prevalence is unknown. It’s also been estimated that 38–70% of autistic children may have cerebral folate deficiency.

However, experts say those percentages may be inflated because much of the data has been drawn from FRAT tests, a blood exam that can be inaccurate.

While individuals with cerebral folate deficiency may have a higher risk of autism, but autistic people don’t necessarily have a higher risk of cerebral folate deficiency.

Alycia Halladay, MD, the chief science officer for the Autism Science Foundation, said she’s glad that people with cerebral folate deficiency finally have a treatment.

“This will probably help them. The mechanism is there,” she told Healthline. “I feel any relief would be helpful.”

Antonio Hardan, MD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, said that early intervention with leucovorin for cerebral folate deficiency is key.

“Case reports [support] complete clinical and radiological recovery when treatment is provided before the age of 2 years,” Hardan told Healthline.

While early intervention in autism is also crucial, it’s too soon to recommend leucovorin as a treatment.

Halladay expressed relief that leucovorin wasn’t approved as an autism treatment because there isn’t yet a scientific justification for this particular use.

“I’m glad the FDA used a scientific approach and used rigor to make this decision,” she said.

Hardan echoed this sentiment. “There is some evidence from small randomized controlled trials supporting the use of leucovorin for the treatment of autism. However, these studies have several design limitations, including small sample sizes and non-rigorous inclusion/exclusion criteria,” he said.

In September, President Trump said the approval of leucovorin as an autism treatment would give “hope to the many parents with autistic children that it may be possible to improve their lives.”

Makary echoed that sentiment, estimating that “hundreds of thousands of kids, in my opinion, will benefit” from the approval of leucovorin.

After that press briefing, officials at the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department clarified those comments, saying that leucovorin “is not a cure” for autism and “may only lead to improvements in speech-related deficits for a subset of children.”

The research on leucovorin and autism has mostly consisted of small studies with fewer than 100 participants, many done repeatedly by the same researchers.

The results of one of the studies, published in the European Journal of Pediatrics, were retracted in January after the authors identified several errors in their data.

There has been some anecdotal evidence that leucovorin can provide some benefits to communication and behavior for some autistic children, specifically those with cerebral folate deficiency or evidence of folate metabolic differences.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), however, more research in this area is still needed.

“The evidence for leucovorin and use for autism is currently limited,” the AAP said in an FAQ sheet about leucovorin use in autism and cerebral folate deficiency.

“Small studies show benefits to communication and behavior for some autistic children, specifically those with CFD or evidence of folate metabolic differences. Larger independent trials are warranted to better understand which patients may benefit. More evidence on efficacy and safety is needed before pediatricians can broadly recommend leucovorin,” the AAP said.

The Autism Science Foundation agreed, saying more studies are needed before leucovorin can be considered as a treatment for autism.

Halladay said that large-scale studies that examine safety and efficacy need to be completed before leucovorin can be considered as an autism treatment.

An HHS official appeared to agree, telling NBC News this week that there is not enough data to support leucovorin’s use as an autism treatment.

“We don’t have sufficient data to say that we could establish efficacy for autism more broadly,” the official said. “It’ll be up to patients to talk with their physicians to see if that might be right for them.”

Doctors can prescribe leucovorin as an off-label treatment for autistic children. Some have apparently been doing so.

A recent report published in The Lancet stated that leucovorin prescriptions for children rose 71% during the 2 months following President Trump’s announcement in September.

Halladay expressed concern about that increase, as well as the fact that people can go online and purchase folate acid products with vitamin B9 that are similar to leucovorin.

“All this can lead to false hope from companies that prey on families who will do anything to help their child,” she said.

Halladay encouraged families of autistic children to listen to medical professionals over what they read in the media.

“Talk to your doctor. Listen to your doctor and don’t listen to the internet,” she said.

• Psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” may help smokers quit tobacco for the long term.
• Smokers who received psilocybin alongside counseling were six times more likely to quit than those using nicotine patches in a small trial.
• The findings suggest psilocybin could eventually become another tool to help millions of smokers quit.

Could “magic mushrooms” help tobacco smokers quit for good?

Over the past decade, research into the use of psychedelic drugs to treat psychiatric conditions has expanded dramatically. Psilocybin in particular has shown promise as a therapy for addiction-related conditions, including alcohol use disorder and smoking.

The new research suggests that psilocybin combined with CBT may be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy at helping smokers achieve both short- and long-term abstinence.

“There was no question the psilocybin group did much better,” said Matthew Johnson, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and first author of the research.

“We found that for prolonged absence, they had six times higher odds of quitting if they were assigned to the psilocybin group compared to the nicotine patch group,” Johnson told Healthline.

Johnson is the leading researcher in the field of psilocybin and tobacco cessation. This latest trial builds on much of his earlier work, namely a 2014 study that first demonstrated that psilocybin could be safely used as an adjunct in smoking cessation treatment.

The findings published this week continue to establish psilocybin as a potential treatment for individuals with nicotine addiction.

Johnson and his team at Johns Hopkins University conducted a randomized clinical trial to investigate whether psilocybin could help smokers quit more effectively than a standard nicotine replacement therapy.

Both arms of the trial included 13 weeks of CBT, an approach used in counseling. CBT can help smokers identify triggers, manage cravings, and develop practical strategies to quit smoking.

The study enrolled 82 adult daily smokers ages 21 to 80 who had previously tried and failed to quit but still wanted to stop smoking. Participants were 59.8% male and 89% white, smoked roughly a pack per day, and had attempted quitting six times on average before the trial.

One group received a single supervised dose of psilocybin (30 milligrams per 70 kilograms of body weight), while the comparison group followed a standard 8- to 10-week regimen of FDA-approved nicotine patches.

Researchers tracked smoking behavior for six months using self-reported smoking diaries and biological tests to verify that participants had actually stopped smoking.

The researchers found that after starting treatment, 40% of those treated with psilocybin (17 participants) achieved prolonged abstinence, meaning they stopped smoking and remained smoke-free for six months after a brief grace period.

In contrast, only 10.0% of participants in the nicotine patch group (4 participants) achieved the same outcome. This translates to more than six times greater odds of quitting in the psilocybin group.

“It’s definitely refreshing to see someone look at new possibilities for nicotine addiction,” said George Singletary, MD, assistant professor of addiction medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the research.

“With all the deaths we have in this country due to nicotine that are preventable, it’s great to expand the options for treatment,” he told Healthline.

The researchers also investigated a seven-day point-prevalence abstinence, meaning participants had not smoked at all in the previous week at the time of the six-month visit.

By this measure, 52% of the psilocybin group (22 participants) were abstinent compared with 25% of the nicotine patch group (10 participants), representing about three times higher odds of short-term abstinence.

“This is an exciting study,” said Brian Barnett, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and director of the psychiatric treatment resistance program at the Cleveland Clinic, who wasn’t involved in the research.

“We see that there is more and more evidence showing there’s potential benefit here for patients,” he told Healthline.

However, there are some notable limitations to the study as well.

Barnett pointed out that most of the participants (64.6%) had some previous exposure to “classic” psychedelic drugs, which could limit the generalizability of the findings to a broader population.

But, he added, “It’s an important caveat, but I don’t think it’s so problematic that it negates the obvious superiority of psilocybin to nicotine patch in the study.”

Singletary said he would have liked to have seen the study borne out over a longer time period than just six months. “Many smokers fail within six months, so we really need to see what happens after that point,” he said.

Despite decades of progress, smoking remains one of the most harmful and preventable public health threats in the United States.

More than 16 million Americans are living with smoking-related diseases, including:

While nearly two-thirds of smokers say they want to quit, the majority of them won’t. In any given year, fewer than 10% of adults who smoke successfully quit.

“Nicotine hijacks the brain’s reward learning circuitry. It shifts your brain toward being very preoccupied with getting the next exposure to nicotine,” Barnett said.

Fortunately, there are more options and resources available to stop smoking today than ever before.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which includes patches and gums, is a longtime staple that can help, but is most effective when paired with other interventions like CBT, or other forms of counseling, and medication.

• Bupropion (Zyban) — An antidepressant that is also prescribed to help stop smoking. It works by affecting specific neurotransmitters involved in feelings of reward and pleasure.
• Varenicline (Chantix) — Reduces cravings and withdrawal by partially activating nicotine receptors in the brain. Simultaneously, it blocks nicotine, which reduces the pleasurable effects of smoking.

“The biggest takeaway is: don’t quit trying to quit. The more times you try to quit, the more likely you are to have success,” said Singletary.

Johnson told Healthline that he doesn’t expect psilocybin to replace any of these mainstay therapies, but instead to give smokers more options.

“I just want more tools in the toolbox to help empower as many people [as possible] that want to quit,” he said.

Psilocybin represents a potentially safe and effective therapy to help quit smoking, but experts caution that these studies are undertaken in controlled environments utilizing specific dosages.

“There are risks with psilocybin and other psychedelics, including legal risks. Certainly, I don’t advise anyone to do this themselves. Not only is it less safe doing it on your own, but the chances of it working would probably be much less than in therapeutic hands,” Johnson said.

• A recent study has found that taking a daily multivitamin may slow biological aging.
• The researchers note that multivitamins don’t necessarily add time to your life span, but may improve your overall health in the long-term.
• Multivitamins are not a magic fix, but can be beneficial when combined with other healthy lifestyle habits.

People take multivitamins for various reasons. These supplements can have various health benefits, including increasing nutrient intake, improving health and preventing chronic conditions, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

A recent study published in Nature Medicine has found that taking a daily multivitamin may slightly slow the aging process in older adults.

This study was funded in part by Haleon (formerly Pfizer Consumer Healthcare) and Mars Inc. These companies provided the multivitamins and cocoa extract, and two of the study’s authors received funding from both companies, neither of which contributed to research design.

The study findings show that those who took a daily multivitamin reduced biological aging by up to 4 months.

“Although everyone ages over time, there may be simple ways to delay the aging process and help us live not only longer but also better,” said study author Sidong Li, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, told Healthline.

“In this study, we found that daily multivitamin-multimineral supplementation could be an accessible and low cost strategy that promotes healthier aging, particularly for people who are already biologically older,” Li told healthline.

The study analyzed 958 older adults ages 60 and older over 2 years. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups and took the following pills:

• cocoa extract and a multivitamin
• a multivitamin and a placebo
• cocoa extract and a placebo
• two placebos

The researchers found that those who took a daily multivitamin experienced a slowing of biological aging of about 4 months. This means that over the course of 24 months, these individuals aged about 20 months at the cellular level.

Researchers used five “epigenetic clocks” to estimate the biological aging of the participants.

When compared to the placebo group, the people who took multivitamins aged slightly slower, as shown by two of the five clocks.

The researchers also found that those who showed signs of accelerated biological aging at the beginning of the study appeared to see a greater benefit from the multivitamins.

“It’s important to keep the magnitude of the effect in perspective,” said Michelle Routhenstein, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished, who was not involved in the study.

“These are changes in biomarkers, not direct evidence of fewer heart attacks, cancers, or longer life span. So I would view the findings as encouraging but still preliminary,” Routhenstein told Healthline.

The researchers also found that the cocoa extract has no effect on any of the measures of biological aging.

The researchers note that this doesn’t mean that multivitamins can add to your life span. It does, however, mean that multivitamins may be beneficial for your future health trajectory. It also doesn’t mean you should definitely start taking multivitamins if you aren’t already.

“It was exciting to see that a multivitamin has benefits on the biological aging process in older adults. However, we should keep in mind that maintaining a healthy lifestyle remains fundamental to healthier, higher-quality aging,” said Li.

The decision to take supplements, like multivitamins, should be made by an individual and their healthcare professional.

There are many things to consider when selecting multivitamins.

One major thing is that multivitamins and supplements are not strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that some multivitamins may contain higher or lower levels of nutrients than what is stated on the label.

Multivitamins may contain about 12 vitamins and 10 essential minerals.

Some multivitamins and supplements may contain ingredients that could interact with medications. This is why it is important to speak with your healthcare professional before taking any supplement.

“Supplements should complement, not replace, a nutrient-dense diet. Multivitamins are often most helpful for people with dietary gaps, restricted eating patterns, or increased nutrient needs,” said Routhenstein.

She also stated that people should “Choose a formulation that matches your age and health status and focuses on appropriate dosing.”

However, the guidelines also note that some older adults may need fewer calories, but still require equal or greater amounts of key nutrients.

This means you may need to focus on increasing your protein intake. Many older adults are also deficient in Vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D.

These individuals may need to discuss taking a multivitamin or other supplements with their healthcare professional, as they may not be able to get the required amounts from their diet.

“The biggest contributors to healthy aging are well established,” said Routhenstein.

She added that they include:

“These lifestyle factors have a far greater effect on long-term health than any single supplement,” Routhenstein said.