Media Coverage

Older people should probably pay special heed. They are more likely to have reflux, Dr. Semla said, in part because the muscle that prevents stomach acid from rising into the esophagus weakens with age. Older adults are therefore more likely to take these drugs, and also more vulnerable to the diseases and disorders associated with them, especially with long-term use.

That doesn’t mean that moderate exercise has no benefits. “It’s good if you want to lower your blood pressure, alter your HDL scores, or decrease your heart rate,” said Jeff Bernard, an exercise physiologist at Northwestern Medicine. “All of those are improved with moderate intensity workouts.”

Researchers want to know if that type of fat leads to more inflammation and insulin resistance, which could be causing cardiovascular disease, says Namratha Kandula, the principal investigator at the Northwestern University Masala site and an associate professor of medicine at Feinberg School of Medicine. “The assumption has always been that the reason South Asians have more heart disease is because they have more diabetes and insulin resistance,” Dr. Kandula says.

“The biology of aging is becoming more evident every day that goes by,” said Vaughan, who is also physician-in-chief at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “We’re understanding that there are specific changes about cells and tissues as they age, and that there are markers that aging cells make and it’s possible to identify those molecules and theoretically slow down the aging process.”

Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained that shoveling in the morning can be even more problematic. He explained in a 2014 interview that hormone levels in the morning make blood “stickier” for people at greater risk of a heart attack. “We should all realize that over the winter season, we’re just more vulnerable,” Yancy said in an earlier interview. “Take it easy.”

Recently, I asked Northwestern University Assistant Professor and Founder of PRIMR, Dr. Nicholas Soulakis, to tell me how he plans to use data science to innovate health care. Dr. Soulakis is a public health scientist whose research focus lies at the intersection of epidemiology and informatics; he is particularly interested in understanding the expanding, data-rich environment created by health information technology, and leveraging computationally techniques to monitor and improve healthcare quality.

The foundation — commonly known throughout the neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side as Live Like John — donated $500,000 on Dec. 1 to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Sheehan D. Fisher is an instructor and clinical psychologist in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University specializing in fathers and mental health and a fellow with The OpEd Project.

The French results suggest that coil treatment may provide real benefits for a select group but won’t work for many COPD patients, said Dr. Ravi Kalhan, a Northwestern University lung specialist who was involved in the U.S. study.

This shift in age among first-time mothers impacts public health, says Dr. Priya Rajan, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University. She says teen moms are at higher risk of serious medical complications like anemia and hypertension, and are more likely to give birth prematurely and to have small babies.