Health & Beauty

Almost half of adults in the South West are shying away from potentially life saving conversations with their loved ones about health conditions that run in the family, according to new statistics released ahead of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Wear It Beat It campaign to get the nation wearing red to fight heart disease on Friday 5th February.

Having a family history of cardiovascular disease can put you at increased risk of life-threatening conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart failure and stroke. Almost eight in ten adults (79%) in the South West...

A clinical trial using cholesterol-lowering treatment Simvastatin in people living with Parkinson’s is getting underway in centres across the country – with the hope that it could become one of a number of effective treatments available to treat Parkinson’s.

Spearheaded by Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, the double-blinded placebo controlled study will involve 198 people with Parkinson’s. The trial is seeking people who have been living with Parkinson’s and who are not already taking a statin. It will take place in 21 centres in the UK including...

We all find it hard to wind down sometimes, making it difficult for us to fall asleep. Thankfully, YouTube and other online sources, such as The Dozy Owl , have become a vast library for the non-sleepers, full of audios that might help us to relax. And, if we can relax better, the physiological response from our bodies is more conducive to sleep such as a slowing heart rate and a lower temperature.

What helps you to relax? Is it the sound of rain on your window, the sounds of a fire roaring, or is it someone taking you through a relaxing sensory scene such as a forest or a beach?...

New research by Alzheimer’s Society shows that 39% of people in the South West mistakenly think that once a person with dementia stops recognising loved ones, they don’t benefit that much from spending time with them.

In a separate survey of 300 people affected by dementia, the charity also found that 64% of those living with the condition felt isolated from friends and family following a diagnosis. Today, Alzheimer’s Society is calling on people to make a positive New Year’s resolution to spend time with people with dementia and help them take part in activities they enjoy to keep...