Mayo Clinic Health Matters

With fall approaching and winter just around the corner, many are wondering how COVID-19 will affect this flu season. Some experts warn of a “twindemic,” with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of influenza overlapping here in the Northern Hemisphere. To keep people healthy and not overload the health care system, experts say getting a flu vaccine this year is more important than ever. On...

With wildfires burning in the western U.S., smoke is affecting air quality for hundreds of miles. Wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes and respiratory system, and also can be dangerous for the elderly and people with heart and lung conditions. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Clayton Cowl, chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine at Mayo Clinic, discusses the hea...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create challenges, including returning to school with hybrid learning modules for children. There are also anxieties and uncertainties to navigate, while trying to follow COVID-19 guidelines. In this "Mayo Clinic Q&A" podcast, Dr. Angela Mattke, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician and host of #AskTheMayoMom, talks about the concerns her patients have, and what important t...

Once a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is approved, there will be logistics to consider. For example, who will receive the vaccine first, and how can the supply chain safely deliver the vaccine to 330 million Americans and potentially more than 7 billion people worldwide? In addition, multiple vaccines may be brought to market within weeks to months of each other, confusing consumers. On the Mayo Clin...

Using a new technology platform, Mayo Clinic recently began a new care model called Advanced Care at Home. Some patients with conditions that were previously managed in the hospital will now have the option to be treated and monitored from the comfort of their own home. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Michael Maniaci, chair of the Division Hospital Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida,...

Dr. Deepi Goyal, a Mayo Clinic emergency physician and regional chair of practice for Southeastern Minnesota, was infected with COVID-19 after his daughter was exposed at work and brought the virus home. Despite his best efforts to isolate and avoid contact, Dr. Goyal started experiencing COVID-19 symptoms on day nine of the recommended 10-day isolation period. On today's Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast,...

Cancer diagnoses have decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to a recent study in JAMA. "We can speculate that putting off routine screening tests means early cancers are not being detected," says Dr. Nabil Wasif, a Mayo Clinic surgical oncologist. He says this suggests that patients will eventually show up but with more advanced cancer. Routine screenings are recommended for breas...

Children can become ill with COVID-19, and sometimes they develop a rare but serious reaction called multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). When this reaction happens, different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, intestinal tract and brain. More than 600 cases of MIS-C have been reported in the U.S. as of Aug. 20, most in minority populations. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcas...

Vaccines are at the forefront of daily news about COVID-19. Vaccines help prevent diseases that can be dangerous or even deadly by working with the body’s immune system. But how exactly do vaccines work? On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, gives an overview of vaccines, including the different types of...

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was that known the disease affected the lungs. But some of the most severe damage to the body can be to the heart muscle. COVID-related myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, can cause severe damage and sometimes death. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Leslie Cooper, chair of Cardiology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, discusses how COVID-19...

Health care workers across the country have been on the front lines fighting the coronavirus for more than six months. COVID-19 has presented extraordinary challenges in treating patients and helping families cope, and those challenges are taking a toll on the health care workers themselves. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Ayan Sen, chair of Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, sh...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, new information about the disease is discovered on a weekly basis and it can be hard to keep up. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, answers listeners' questions on COVID-19. Does hand sanitizer expire? Is a face shield effective in protecting me from the virus? How long do...

In an effort to see patients safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic developed a Strategic Management and Resource Team, also known as a SMaRT team, to help institute safety measures like universal masking, expanded cleaning protocols and use of virtual visits. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. A. Noelle Larson, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic who serves as her department's SMaRT r...

A study recently conducted at Mayo Clinic found that women who had high blood pressure during pregnancy were more likely to experience bothersome menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and hot flashes are both linked to heart disease risk. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Stephanie Faubion, the study's lead author, will discuss the key takeawa...

Until a vaccine is developed, public health measures are the best defense against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These measures include masking, hand hygiene and physical distancing. "Strict adherence to those things is a very powerful antidote to this virus," says  Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group On the Mayo Clinic Q&...

When people seek emergency care for shortness of breath, it can be challenging to determine the cause. A new Mayo Clinic study found that using an EKG enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) is better than standard blood tests at determining if the shortness of breath is caused by heart failure. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Demilade Adedinsewo, lead author of the study and chief fellow in...

The start of a new school year is always a time that’s filled with excitement and anxiety. This year, COVID-19 is making back to school even more challenging for kids, teachers and parents. Whether in person, online or a hybrid approach, this school year will be different for students and staff. How can you and your child have a healthy mindset for this school year? On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast,...

When a person is infected with a virus, the virus multiplies in the body and can be released into the environment through sneezing, coughing or even speaking. This release is called "shedding" and viral shedding is how COVID-19 is spread from person to person. How long a person who has COVID-19 will shed virus is still unknown. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious dise...

Whether in person, online or a hybrid model of education, families and school districts are planning for how to safely teach students during the COVID-19 pandemic. No matter which plan is chosen by communities, this school year will be challenging. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Mayo Clinic, discusses how students, teachers and s...

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration paved the way for commercial developers to create at-home COVID-19 tests. While no test is yet approved for home use, a fast and cheap test could encourage people to test themselves routinely before going to work or school. Real-time results would enable infected people to self-quarantine right away, keeping asymptomatic people from infecting others. "It...

A bone marrow transplant is a procedure that infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into your body to replace your damaged or diseased bone marrow. Bone marrow transplants may use cells from your own body (autologous transplant) or from a donor (allogeneic transplant). Bone marrow transplants can benefit people with a variety of both cancerous (malignant) and noncancerous (benign) diseases. On t...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking has become a way of life for many. As the physical boundaries between work and home blur, work-life balance can be a challenge. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Adam Perlman, director of Integrative Health and Wellness at Mayo Clinic in Florida, offers helpful strategies for managing daily stresses during COVID-19. One plan of action? Delegate, delete,...

The concept of herd immunity has sparked debate about whether it would control the spread of COVID-19. Herd immunity happens when a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease, meaning spread from person to person is unlikely. So what is known about immunity and COVID-19? On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. S. Vincent Rajkumar, a Mayo Clinic hematologist and researcher...

Cancer. It's a word that nobody wants to hear. It's a difficult diagnosis that can leave you and your family members scared and confused. Finding guidance along the journey can help. On this episode of Mayo Clinic Q&A, Jeri Lensing and Angela Young discuss the important role of patient navigators at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out...

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, covers the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Poland gives an update on progress towards a vaccine for COVID-19, discusses therapies for treating the virus and shares research on how effective face masks and physical distancing are in fighting the spread of the...