CHICAGO (Reuters) - Heavy drinking causes high blood pressure, stiff arteries and rigid heart muscles in men and enlarged hearts in women, boosting their risk of having heart attacks and strokes, researchers said on Wednesday.
They defined heavy drinking as more than 21 drinks a week for men and more than 14 per week for women.
“We [...]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Aprotinin, a drug often used to prevent blood loss during heart surgery, boosts the risk of death by 50 percent, a major clinical study done in Canada and published in the United States Wednesday found confirming preliminary data.
Germany’s Bayer makes the drug, known by the brand name Trasylol, and temporarily took it [...]

LONDON (AFP) - Patients at NHS hospitals experience wide variations in cleanliness levels despite a concerted bid to eradicate deadly infections such as MRSA and C.Difficile, according to a survey by the Healthcare Commission.
The watchdog questioned almost 76,000 patients in 165 trusts and found that while most are satisfied with the care they received , [...]

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Officials at the Calgary Zoo remained baffled on Tuesday as they tried to puzzle out just why 34 of their stingrays suddenly died.
The juvenile cownose stingrays, about the size of a dinner plate, were kept in a "petting" tank where visitors were able to touch them, a common feature in a [...]

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s capital has recorded its first death from an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease as authorities try to contain the spread of a potent virus just three months before the city hosts the Olympic Games.
Beijing Health Bureau spokeswoman Deng Xiaohong said a 13-month-old boy from the city’s northern Changping District [...]

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Wednesday confirmed the first two deaths in Beijing from hand, foot and mouth disease, bringing the national death toll to 42 children, state media reported, citing health officials.
One child from Beijing, host of this year’s Olympics, died on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said citing city health department spokeswoman Deng Xiaohong.
Another [...]

People can now see how patients rated their local NHS trust on topics including hospital food, cleanliness and levels of privacy after survey results were released.
The Healthcare Commission found wide variations in the experiences of the 76,000 adult patients questioned, with “striking” differences between health service trusts on some areas of patient care.
The biggest variations [...]

Patients believe cleanliness levels in NHS hospitals are not improving, the health watchdog has said.
The Healthcare Commission also found wide variations in patients’ experience of cleanliness between health trusts in England.
Its patient survey reported "striking" differences between health service trusts on some areas of patient care. The biggest variations came in waiting for admission to [...]

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea is to disinfect all poultry farms nationwide to combat its worst outbreak of bird flu, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.
In the capital Seoul, all 15,000 chickens, ducks and other fowl — including pet birds in school aviaries — have been culled after a second case of the potentially deadly H5N1 [...]

LONDON (AFP) - Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown avoided a major rebellion as legislation to regulate the use of human embryos for research passed its first parliamentary hurdle late Monday.
Just nine lawmakers from the governing Labour party voted against the bill, which was passed for a second reading by 340 votes to 78, a [...]