They don’t know from BP

Lots of people have high blood pressure, and that’s ungood.

A lot of them don’t even know what their blood pressure is, and that’s plus-ungood.

And, it turns out, a lot of them know their BP but think it’s fine … when it’s not. Double-plus-ungood.

A new study published in the journal Medical Decision Making found that while almost 64% of people said they were confident in their understanding of BP numbers, in reality only 39% actually did.

With only 1 in 4 Americans having their BP under control, those “good” numbers might be worth a little reminder now and again.

The (illegal) drug summit

With Covid (mostly) behind us, it’s time to get back to the opioid crisis, which started to leave but, like Tom Brady, was just kidding after all.

How convenient for you that the country’s biggest and most important healthcare conference addressing the opioid and addiction crisis is in your own backyard.

It’s the RX and Illicit Drug Summit, and it’s coming to Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center April 10-13. Get info and register at Rx-Summit.com.

How much protection does a Covid infection give?

If you’re infected with Covid, it’s going to give you some protection against reinfection. But how much? An analysis in The Lancet looked at 65 studies across 19 countries to find out.

The answers:

• Previous infection from the original or delta variants gives at least 40 weeks of protection against getting that same variant again.
• Protection from previous infection from Omicron, though, wanes a lot faster. After 40 weeks, pre-infection only offers 36.1% protection from catching Omicron again.
• The good news: Getting any variant protects you from severe disease from that variant again. That is, if you catch Omicron once, the second time will likely be a lot milder.

About those Covid boosters

Don’t rush ’em. A study out of Northwestern found that getting boosted too soon will weaken the effect of the booster. The problem is that “the original Covid-19 vaccine worked so well that it actually hurt boosters given too soon by ‘mopping up’ the new shots before they can become effective.”

Their conclusion: “It’s better to wait six months than two weeks before you boost.”

Set your bedtime or pay the price

Not getting enough sleep or, in fact, not getting regular sleep turns out to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis. It’s all about consistency, says the American Heart Association, based on “a racially and ethnically diverse study of more than 2,000 adults in six large U.S. communities.”

[O]lder people who varied sleep time by an average of two hours within a single week and those who changed their bedtimes by an hour and a half were significantly more likely to exhibit subclinical symptoms of atherosclerosis.

So think about that: A ‘big variation’ is varying the time you fall asleep by more than 90 minutes within a week — 10:00 on Monday, midnight on Wednesday, 9:45 on Thursday … you’re in trouble. Well, maybe. You’re “more likely to have high coronary artery calcium scores” at least.

Short Takes

Captain Obvious sips her virgin daiquiri

“Growing evidence exists that the alcohol industry uses a variety of strategies to influence public policy in a way that is advantageous to its own corporate interests, rather than the interest of public health.”

Long Covid ain’t good for business

People suffering from long Covid — notably with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalitis — are more likely to be unemployed. In fact, among people who had Covid, 12.3% of those with long Covid were unemployed (compared to 8.7% of those without long Covid).

Non-pharma, but notable — and a “game-changer”

It’s a device that warns you when you’ve been talking too much. Developed at Northwestern, it “could be a game-changer for professional singers, teachers, politicians, call-center workers, coaches and anyone who relies on their voices to communicate effectively.” Someday maybe they’ll add AI smarts so it’ll also tell you to shut up because you’re sounding like an imbecile.