Tim Russert was like a best friend. I'd watch him every Sunday morning, faithfully. It was like having a cup of coffee with a dear friend.

I considered him to be the most reliable anchor on Television today. He was true to himself. He told it like it was and he had a smile that was infectious.

You will be missed by everyone, Tim.

Heavy hearted,

Michelle

By Ed Edelson
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 3, (HealthDay News) -- For reasons not easily understood, many patients with the worst type of heart disease think they will live longer than their doctors tell them they will, new research shows.

Very carefully, cardiologists at Duke University began telling people being treated for heart failure -- the progressive loss of ability to pump blood -- that the condition would shorten their lives. They weren't believed.

By Ed Edelson
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Black football players are twice as likely as whites to have abnormal electrocardiograms (ECGs), a new study finds.

But that doesn't mean they are at greater risk of heart disease, experts add.

The study of almost 2,000 athletes, done at the National Football League Invitational Camp from 2000 to 2005, found abnormal ECG patterns in 30 percent of black players and 13 percent of whites, noted a report in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

TUESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half the patients with a history of heart disease are unfamiliar with the symptoms of a heart attack and don't see themselves being at increased risk for one, a new study finds.

Exciting news!

Dr. John T. McDevitt, a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin, along with colleagues, has developed a saliva test that can determine whether a person has had a heart attack. This test can be administered anywhere, even in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, lessening the need to begin tests at a later time, and allowing cardiac care to begin much earlier.

It is the protein in the saliva that can determine a heart attack and once the saliva is placed in a lab card, it takes 15 minutes for analysis.

When it comes to your health, you can't believe everything you hear. And if you get the wrong information, it can have dangerous consequences.

Medical myths have been passed down through the ages, told to us by parents, grandparents and other family members. Also, with more medical information available at the click of a button on the Web, we have become a nation of “cyberchondriacs” diagnosing ourselves with false information and half-truths.

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TUESDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Many women, and even some physicians, quickly abandoned the use of hormone replacement therapy in 2002, after the large Women's Health Study suggested that the treatment might harm women who were long past menopause.

But now a team of international experts has concluded that for women in early menopause, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can safely provide real symptom relief, as well as additional benefits such as increased bone strength.

By Alan Mozes
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Though shrouded in secrecy during his lifetime, historians have gone to great lengths to posthumously chronicle the mysterious circumstances surrounding the health of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States.

That he suffered from both polio and heart disease is now well-documented. But a new study suggests that he may also have had -- and possibly even died from -- melanoma.

Granted Senator Obama "quit" smoking about a year ago (he admits falling off the wagon now and again), but this is still a very current health issue for him since he did smoke cigarettes for the majority of his life. I mean, the amount of fatty deposits in a carotid artery doesn't just go away when you quit smoking. It's there and poses a health risk for the rest of your life. And the risk of a stroke remains way higher than normal for up to 20 years after you quit smoking. (On top of this, African-Americans have a higher risk of stroke than Caucasians.)

TUESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Despite appearances to the contrary, more than half of normal-weight Americans have a high percentage of body fat. And, like their overweight contemporaries, this makes them susceptible to heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, a new study says.

Men whose body fat is greater than 20 percent and women whose body fat is greater than 30 percent are suffering from "normal weight obesity," the study authors said, even though their weight may be normal for their size.