Women who live in a rural area may have higher chances of developing preeclampsia and pregnancy-related hypertension, a new study finds.

In this six-year study, the researchers also found that women with some college education were 19 percent more likely to have preeclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension than women with a high school education. Women who gave birth in Colorado during six-year were included in the study.

The study has been presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in Philadelphia.

There are some known risk factors for preeclampsia and PIH and that include older age, excessive weight and giving birth to multiple babies. The researchers validated these factors in this new study. One researcher suggests that the link between rural living and preeclampsia, PIH risk may be due to maternal poverty and social deprivation.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s grandmother and former first lady Nancy Reagan have received pelvic and hip injuries due to falls recently. Similarly, there were reports that author Studs Terkel died following a fall two weeks ago.

According to experts, such news indicate the need to help the elderly protect themselves against increasing risk of falls and bone injuries.

American Academy of Orthpaedic Surgeons says that one out of three American older than 65 has to experience a fall that makes it a leading cause of injury to elderly people.

The academy offers some suggestions to help preventing falls and bone fractures in elderly people:

The first and foremost tip to keep heart healthy is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. It’s a well known saying that we dig our graves from our teeth and similarly, it is said that we are what we eat. Healthy eating habits not only help to keep you heart healthy, but also prevent the risk of developing many other diseases. Choosing the right foods to eat and preparing foods in a healthy way are two essential parts of a healthy eating plan.

1. Here are some that can reduce the chances of a heart attack by 90 percent if you strictly follow them.A 30 minutes walk everyday can do a lot of good for your heart and overall health. You can do it alone or can find some supportive person to accompany you in this healthy activity.
2. Do whatever it takes to get your blood pressure down to 115/75. You can maintain it with weight loss, decreasing sugar, salt and saturated fat in your diet and regular walk.
3. Learn your HDL number and try to raise it to 50.It is more important for women to have high HDL. It can be easily increased with exercise, one drink a day and healthy fats like safflower oil and nuts. If you want to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease inflammation, you need to include 30 grams of nuts in your daily diet. Nuts are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and healthy protein. Raw, fresh and unsalted nuts have the most benefits.
   
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NEW YORK - Turning clock back on Sunday may have a good impact on heart health. Swedish researchers analyzed records of past 20 years and came to know that, the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour, probably because people have one hour additional sleep.

But moving clocks forward in the spring showed adverse effect. There was a raise in heart attacks number, during the week after the start of daylight saving time, particularly within first three days of the week.

“Sleep — through a variety of mechanisms — affects our cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, who was not involved in the research. The findings show that “sleep not only impacts how we feel, but it may also affect whether we develop heart disease or not.”

They took advantage of Sweden’s comprehensive record of heart attacks to see if the sleep disorders and the body’s internal clock caused by a time change had any effect on heart attacks from 1987 to 2006. Overall, a week after “spring forward,” there was a 5 percent increase in heart attacks, with a 6 percent knock on Monday and Wednesday and a 10 percent increase on Tuesday.

Swiss researchers claim that taking stairs instead of the lift during work can prolong life.

A study that includes 69 people shows that use of stairs instead of the lift leads to less body fat, trimmed waistlines and better fitness.

The University of Geneva team calculates that it can cut 15% risk of premature death from any cause. The outcomes of the study have been presented in a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

CHICAGO – According to new study about 50% of obese adult have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and astoundingly the percentage of slim people suffer from some of the ills related with obesity is also the same.

The first national estimate supports the argument that you can be bulky but still fit, or at least healthier than has been supposed.

The author Mary Fran Sowers, a University of Michigan obesity researcher said “the results also show that stereotypes about body size can be ambiguous and that even less voluptuous people can have risk factors commonly associated with obesity.”