WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Getting an implanted defibrillator that can deliver a shock to restart a failing heart not only prolongs life but also doesn't appear to detract from the quality of life, a new study finds.

The study was done "not only to see whether or not lives would be saved but also the quality of those lives," said lead author Dr. Daniel B. Mark, a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center. "We wanted to know whether patients who will have these devices for many years would be satisfied with them."

(HealthDay News) -- Routine heavy bleeding during menstrual periods shouldn't be ignored. It may be a sign of a bleeding disorder that can be treated.

The National Women's Health Information Center says the following symptoms may indicate a bleeding disorder, and should be evaluated by a doctor:

* Having very heavy periods.
* Bleeding frequently in the mouth or gums.
* Having frequent nosebleeds, or nosebleeds that continue for long periods.
* Bruising easily.
* Bleeding excessively after an injury or after surgery.

(HealthDay News) -- Iron is an essential mineral that the body needs to make red blood cells.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says these people are at greater risk for iron deficiency, and should ask their doctor about getting enough iron-rich foods:

* Menstruating women, and those with especially heavy periods.
* Women who are pregnant or who have recently had a baby.
* People who are long-distance runners.
* Vegetarians.
* People with a bleeding ulcer or intestinal bleeding disorder.
* People who donate blood often.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Robert J. Linhardt is a chemist with a dream: making the blood-thinner heparin by the bucketful without using animal tissue.

It's a dream that has taken on urgency this year, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration attributed more than 80 American deaths and hundreds of illnesses to contaminated heparin from the conventional source -- pig intestines processed in China.

MONDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Robert J. Linhardt is a chemist with a dream: making the blood-thinner heparin by the bucketful without using animal tissue.

It's a dream that has taken on urgency this year, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration attributed more than 80 American deaths and hundreds of illnesses to contaminated heparin from the conventional source -- pig intestines processed in China.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution has short-term and long-term toxic effects on the heart and blood vessels, causing increased hospitalization for cardiac illness, and even cause death, a new report says.

THURSDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- A series of genes linked to acute aortic dissection could lead to a rapid diagnostic test for this often fatal problem, German researchers report.

Acute aortic dissection is a tear in the lining of the aorta, the artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. About 2,000 people a year in North America suffer an acute aortic dissection, according to the American Heart Association.

THURSDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- A new and potentially better source of platelets (clot-forming blood cells) for transfusion has been identified by Japanese researchers.

Platelets can drop to dangerously low levels in people with anemia and in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. To boost platelet levels, doctors filter platelets from donated blood. However, this approach may increase the risk of transmitting blood infections and cause other side effects in patients who require frequent transfusions, according to background information in the study.

WASHINGTON - A trio of experimental drugs has doctors hopeful that for the first time in decades, millions of people at risk of lethal blood clots may soon get easier treatment.

The first goal is a pill option for people who now need daily blood-thinning shots for weeks after knee or hip replacement surgery.

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By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Rising levels of a blood protein called fetuin-A may indicate an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.

Reporting in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found that older people with the highest levels of fetuin-A were more likely to develop diabetes than those with lower levels.