The Health News USA September 15 2017

Overview

• A major heart study is going to test whether Apple Watch’s heart-rate sensor can detect cardiac arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms. The Apple Watch has previously been categorized as a wellness tool, which means it can operate without oversight from FDA.
• The New York State Health Department is urging all patients of Doctor Timothy Morely, who owns Tomorrow Medicine and practices out of Mount Kisco and White Plains, to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.
• A study suggests that exposure to PFASs after the 9/11 attacks could be tied to abnormal cholesterol levels in teens and young adults who were children when the towers fell. Such high cholesterol can be a risk factor of heart disease.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 15th of  September 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto. Health News

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/apple-health-not-just-wellness-is-its-future.html

In the months after Apple announced its health-and-fitness-tracking Apple Watch, users started making some surprising declarations. During an event on Tuesday, where it unveiled a new version of the Apple Watch, the company showcased some of these heartwarming user stories: People with diabetes who integrated their blood sugar monitor with Apple Watch and saw something abnormal, or got healthy by leveraging the device’s fitness features. It also confirmed a CNBC report that it is teaming up with Stanford for a major heart study to test whether Apple Watch’s heart-rate sensor can detect cardiac arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms.For this study, it is working with federal regulators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It will need to show that Apple Watch’s heart-rate monitor is sufficiently accurate and sensitive to be used as a screening tool. Otherwise, hospitals will find their emergency rooms flooded with so-called false positives — people who think they might be having a serious cardiac event but are actually perfectly healthy. That’s a big deal, as Apple until now has been careful to avoid making the kind of medical claims that would attract attention from the federal government. Its Apple Watch has previously been categorized as a wellness tool, which means it can operate without oversight from FDA.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of all American adults — one hundred seventeen million people — had one or more chronic health conditions. And eighty six percent of the country’s two point seven trillion dollar annual health-care costs are for people with chronic and mental health conditions. It’s also big business, as Apple considers ways to boost sales of its Apple Watch. Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in a recent interview with Fortune that “medical health activity is the largest or second-largest component of the economy, depending on which country in the world you’re dealing with.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/09/12/doctor-suspended-after-4-patients-test-positive-for-hepatitis-c.html

An osteopathic doctor in Westchester County has been ordered to stop practicing immediately after four of his patients tested positive for the same strain of hepatitis C. The New York State Health Department is urging all patients of Doctor Timothy Morely, who owns Tomorrow Medicine and practices out of Mount Kisco and White Plains, to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.

“As the health commissioner for Westchester County, I strongly encourage any of Dr. Timothy Morely’s patients who have received an intravenous infusion, injection or a blood draw to contact their health care provider to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV,” Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler said in a statement on Monday.

During a joint investigation by the New York State Department of Health and Westchester County Department of Health, investigators found “a series of inappropriate infection control practices and concerns regarding the preservation, preparation, handling and administration of medication,” according to a news release. Morley is also accused of failing to produce relevant records of information requested by the state regarding the investigation. Three of the patients who tested positive for hepatitis C are from Westchester County, with the fourth residing in Dutchess County, officials said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/11/health/911-dust-children-cholesterol-study/index.html

When two hijacked passenger planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers on September eleven,two thousand one, a massive cloud of dust swept across the New York skyline. Many dust particles brought such chemicals into New Yorkers’ homes and intimate spaces. Now, a study suggests that exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances after the nine eleven attacks could be tied to abnormal cholesterol levels in teens and young adults who were children when the towers fell. Such high cholesterol can be a risk factor of heart disease. The study was published in the journal Environment International on Thursday.
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On nine eleven, about twenty five thousand children younger than eighteen were living or attending school in lower Manhattan, near the World Trade Center. Separate studies have linked dust from the nine eleven attacks with high rates of asthma in children living near the site, as well as psychological impacts such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s World Trade Center Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders and survivors who were in New York during the attacks. The CDC said in an emailed statement that as of June, the program has one thousand ninety one members who are thirty five or younger, which means they would have been about nineteen or younger on September eleven,two thousand one. Additionally, the World Trade Center Health Registry, based in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was developed to track and evaluate the short- and long-term physical and mental health effects of nine eleven. Nearly three thousand two hundred of its enrollees were younger than eighteen on nine eleven.