Washington Post, Daily exercise, even just a brisk walk, has been shown to lower blood pressure by William B. Farquhar — Often, there are no signs or symptoms of hypertension, which is why it is referred to as the “silent killer.” Even among adults who have been diagnosed with hypertension, nearly half do not have it under con trol despite taking medications. Needless to say, anything you can do to lower your blood pressure will lower your risk of disease. As my colleagues and I point out in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, exercise guidelines for those with hypertension emphasize the importance of daily or near-daily exercise to lower blood pressure. While the guidelines focus on those diagnosed with hypertension, daily exercise can benefit everyone.

Washington Post, First he was hoarse. Then he couldn’t chew. How one man’s hunch led to the truth. by Sandra B. Goodman — “I knew something was really wrong,” said Weller, who lives in Bloomington, Ill., 130 miles south of Chicago. “I feel like my doctors weren’t asking enough questions.”…His search led him to the Mayo Clinic website and a description of symptoms that sounded awfully familiar: muscle weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty chewing and swallowing, and gait disturbances. Symptoms typically improve with rest. Weller discovered that he had nearly every MG symptom listed except the most common: double vision and droopy eyelids known as ptosis.

Today, What is rhabdomyolysis? Rhabdomyolysis symptoms and treatment by A. Pawlowski — Rhabdomyolysis, also known as rhabdo, is rare, with about 26,000 cases reported each year in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. It happens when damaged muscle starts to break down, releasing muscle fiber contents into the blood, which can cause kidney damage. About 15 percent of patients suffer from kidney failure. Athletes who “push their bodies beyond their physical limits” are at particular at risk for developing the condition, wrote Dr. John Graves, an associate professor of nephrology and hypertension at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

CNBC, Transplanting pig kidneys in humans, 3D organ printing and other futuristic innovations to solve the organ shortage by Lori Ioannou — Recognizing how perfusion technology can help in organ assessment and repair before transplant surgery, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, has forged an agreement with United Therapeutics for them to equip and operate a lung restoration facility by year-end. The facility, called Lung Bioengineering, will use ex vivo lung perfusion machines to assess and treat donor lungs prior to transplant. "We have already performed 11 lung transplants using this technology," said Dr. Burcin Taner, chairman of the department of transplantation at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. "In the past, many of these organs would have been deemed unusable organs because of edema, infection and other reasons. This is a great way to boost organ resources and do surgeries earlier, before patients become too sick for a transplant. It will service our center and other transplant centers in the Southeast."

NBC News, Higher education won't prevent mental decline, study finds by Linda Carroll — Exercise for the brain also seems to pay off, said Prashanthi Vemuri, an associate professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “There are lots of studies showing that bilingualism really delays dementia,” Vemuri said. And that’s true even if the second language is learned later in life, she added. Wilson's study did show that having a higher level of education seemed to have a small, but significant, effect on the number of mini-strokes a person experienced, Vemuri said. And even though the effect is small, it may be important, since “people who have greater vascular disease are more likely to develop dementia,” she added. Ultimately, Vemuri said, while more education may not slow cognitive decline once it starts, it does appear to delay the start.

Health, What Is Echinacea—and Can It Really Help a Cold? by Kasandra Brabaw — The few studies that have been done on echinacea suggest that the plant may shorten a common cold at least a little bit. “The best scientific evidence involves the plant’s ability to reduce the length of a cold when started at the onset of symptoms,” says Kristen Kajewski, DO, a family medicine provider at Mayo Clinic Health System in Minnesota. “There have been quite a few studies with positive outcomes in this regard.” The key is “started at the onset of symptoms,” which means you’ll need to start taking echinacea at the first sign of sniffles if you want to see any benefit.

Forbes, 10 Customer Experience Trends Every CMO Must Consider by Blake Morgan — Systemness: The trend of systemness is usually seen in healthcare but can translate to every industry. Systemness is bringing together multiple teams into a centralized, cohesive plan. The Mayo Clinic provides an amazing customer experience because it puts customers ahead of departments. Operations are integrated to break down walls between departments and provide a quality experience to customers in every department.

Men’s Health, I Just Hit My Head Really Hard. Should I Freak Out? by Colleen De Bellefonds — About 2.5 million Americans visit the ER every year for a head injury, according to the CDC, with around 10 percent requiring hospitalization. Men are around four times as likely to injure their noggin as women, with alcohol involved in about half of cases, according to Harvard Medical School. Common causes for injuries include falls and vehicular accidents…“As humans, we hit our heads a lot. Our skull is purportedly developed to resist injuries. Not all the hits are relevant. We typically do not have consequences,” says Mayo Clinic neurologist Rodolfo Savica, M.D. But while permanent damage is not very common, it can happen.

Gizmodo, New Online Tool Can Predict If You'll Have Another Kidney Stone Ed Cara — The calculator devised by the researchers is called the Recurrence Of Kidney Stone (ROKS) model. It was originally developed and released to the public by the Mayo Clinic in 2014, as both an online tool and smartphone app. But the original version could only predict someone’s likelihood of getting a second stone following their first episode. ..“Each of the risk factors we identified are entered into the model, which then calculates an estimate of the risk of having another kidney stone in the next five or 10 years,” study author John Lieske, a kidney specialist at the Mayo Clinic, said in a statement. Additional coverage: KIMT, Health Data Management, Science Daily, Engadget, News-medical.net

Gizmodo, Neuroscientists Translate Brain Waves Into Recognisable Speech by George Dvorsky — William Tatum, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic who was also not involved in the new study, said the research is important in that it’s the first to use artificial intelligence to reconstruct speech from the brain waves involved in generating known acoustic stimuli. The significance is notable, “because it advances application of deep learning in the next generation of better designed speech-producing systems,” he told Gizmodo. That said, he felt the sample size of participants was too small, and that the use of data extracted directly from the human brain during surgery is not ideal.

Post-Bulletin, Farrugia: Mayo on $1 billion path to DMC by Randy Petersen — Dr. Gianrico Farrugia said Mayo Clinic is on a path to invest more than $1 billion in Rochester facilities by 2021. “I want to assure you, Mayo Clinic’s commitment to Rochester, the state of Minnesota and the DMC is incredibly strong,” the new Mayo Clinic CEO told the Destination Medical Center Corp. board on Tuesday. He said that future investment includes Destination Medical Center-related projects, new technology and continuing improvements to existing infrastructure.

Post-Bulletin, Our view: Tobacco 21 deserves support in Legislature — Minnesota’s success at reducing the percentage of people in the state who smoke has stalled recently. About 13.8 percent of Minnesotans smoke, compared with 14.4 percent four years ago. It could be that those who want to quit have managed to do so, and the rest are hard-core smokers. That’s why it’s important to keep young people from starting the tobacco habit. Dr. Tyler Oesterle, a Mayo Clinic child and adolescent psychiatrist, told the Minnesota Senate that addiction tendency spikes during the teenage years. Teenagers who start smoking are likely to become addicted to nicotine, placing their future health in jeopardy. Oesterle said 90 percent of smokers start before the age of 18. “If you don’t smoke, if you wait until you’re older, around age 21 perhaps, you have less change of developing an addiction,” he said.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic Minute: Why you need to get the HPV vaccine now — No matter how careful you think you’ve been, you’ve probably had a sexually transmitted infection at some point. In fact, human papillomavirus, or HPV, is so common, that almost every single one of us will get it at some point in our lives. But Dr. Gregory Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, says that recently changed.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic Minute: Is tinnitus causing that ringing in your ear? — About 1 in 5 people experience the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. It’s called tinnitus. Dr. Gayla Poling says tinnitus can be perceived a myriad of ways. Hearing loss can be age-related, come from a one-time exposure, or exposure to loud sounds over a lifetime. Dr. Poling says the tiny hairs in our inner ear may play a role. Dr. Poling says there’s no scientifically proven cure for tinnitus, but there are treatment and management options.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Men’s Health Moment: Penile implant pump updates — In this Mayo Clinic Men's Health Moment, Mayo Clinic urologist Tobias S. Köhler, M.D., reviews how to use the penile implant pump including tips and tricks.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic Minute: What happens to donated blood? — In the winter months, it's common for blood donations to drop due to bad weather and flu illness. That's why January is National Blood Donor Month, a time when eligible donors are urged to consider giving. The average blood donation takes about one hour per session. If you've wondered what happens to your blood after it's been collected, Dr. Justin Kreuter, the director of Mayo Clinic's Blood Donor Program has some answers.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic Minute: Fingernails are clues to your health — Your fingernails are clues to your overall health. Many people develop lines or ridges from the cutucel to the tip. But Dr. Rachel Miest says there are other nail changes you should not ignore that may indicate…

Post-Bulletin, Heard on the Street: Mayo Clinic's new pharmacy to focus on mail order by Jeff Kiger — Drugs and stamps will go together at a new Mayo Clinic pharmacy in south Rochester. It was recently announced that Mayo Clinic is building an $8 million pharmacy in “existing shell space” at 3551 Commercial Drive SW. That’s the former Fleet Farm retail complex along U.S. Highway 63 South near the Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham hotel. Officials have now shared more information on that project. The plan is to relocate Mayo Clinic pharmacy operations from the Brackenridge Building in downtown Rochester to the southwest location this summer, according to Kelley Luckstein of Mayo Clinic’s Dept. Public Affairs. She clarified that this pharmacy will not be open for public use. “This location will provide central, high volume mail-order prescription filling services and is not a patient pharmacy for prescriptions to be dropped off or picked up,” she wrote in an email. “The new location offers more space for future growth opportunities and will accommodate updated technology needs.” Additional coverage: Becker’s Hospital Review

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Men’s Health Moment: Beware of scam treatments for erectile dysfunction — In this Mayo Clinic Men's Health Moment, Mayo Clinic urologist Tobias S. Köhler, M.D., discusses erectile dysfunction treatments that do not work and reviews successful treatment options.

KAAL, Same Day Clinic Replacing Urgent Care At MCHS Austin — Patients at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin will see the current urgent care department replaced by a same day clinic beginning next week, health system officials said Thursday. The change, which is set for February 6, will standardize the non-emergency unit across the health system's Austin and Albert Lea campuses, a move officials said will bring Austin in line with the method Albert Lea has been using since 2016. "We've recognized it's become a little more chaotic in Austin and we thought this was the ideal time to do it," Dr. Michael Ulrich, the primary care division chair for the health system's Albert Lea and Austin campuses, said. Additional coverage: Austin Daily Herald, KIMT, KAUS-Radio

KAAL, They Shared the Same Name and the Same Donor — A Rochester man who represented Mayo Clinic on the Donate Life Rose Parade float has passed away. Two years ago, Steve Shank had a lung transplant and was set to be evaluated for a kidney transplant this past January. Unfortunately, Steve became sick with Influenza and passed away February 4 surrounded by family. Steve is survived by his wife Caren and two children. ABC 6 News Anchor, Rachel Wick, sat down with a man who was closer to Steve than many because he not only shared the same name but also an organ from the same donor.

KIMT, ER visits up due to slick walkways by Katie Lange — Beware of the ice more people are falling on slick roadways and sidewalks.

KTTC, Rochester hopes to remodel transit system through “mobility hubs” by Beret Leone — The city of Rochester is hoping to revamp its transit system. On Monday, city leaders took a look at the future of downtown transportation through a proposal of what they’re calling “mobility hubs.” The 1.2 billion dollar proposal includes the implementation of two mobility hubs to help ease downtown parking frustrations. City leaders hope the hubs would become a one stop shop with commercial space and maybe even part of a solution to affordable housing development. The final two locations include the Mayo Clinic lot off of 2nd street west of the highway and Graham Park.

KTTC, Warm weather brings out the runners to support cancer research —The trend Saturday was to get outside and enjoy the warm weather  and that was the case early in the afternoon with the Frozen Goose 5 and 10K runs. Dozens gathered together at RCTC for the start of the race. The Optimist Club of Rochester puts this on each year to support youth activities in the area. While runners enjoyed today’s pleasant weather, organizers were worried in the days leading up to the race…The Frozen Goose Race is in its 17th year. During that time, more than $100,000 has been raised to support childhood cancer research at the Mayo Clinic and Brighter Tomorrrow’s family support. Additional coverage: FOX 47

KTTC, DMCC takes another step in Rochester transportation plan — Parking and Transportation took center stage during Tuesday morning’s Destination Medical Center Corporation Board Meeting. Board members voted on a resolution to further study how parking lots off 2nd Street Southwest and Graham Park could transform into multipurpose rapid transit centers or “mobility hubs”…Parking and transportation were not the only topics of discussion at the meeting. The DMCC praised Rochester City Council’s decision to terminate the bloom tower project. They also named Mayor Kim Norton vice chairwoman and listened to remarks from new Mayo CEO Dr. Gianrico Farrugia. Additional coverage: Star Tribune

KROC-Radio, A historic gift for the Rochester Reading Center by Kim David — The Rochester Reading Center has announced a large gift and it should ensure the organization will likely move into its new building debt free. The Reading Center is building a new facility at 2010 Scott Road NW and hopes to move in by late summer. The center says it has received a $1-million gift from the Harper Family Foundation and will name the building after the charitable organization.…Foundation Chairman Dr. Mike Harper was approached by two successful Reading Center alumni about our capital campaign – Mayo Physician, Dr. Brooks Edwards, and local businessman, Joe Powers. Following that introduction, Reading Center Executive Director, Cindy Russell, was invited to present to the Harper Family Foundation Trustees about our mission and capital campaign.

KARE 11, Mayo Clinic researchers find cells that could be the culprits of anxiety by Rene Sarigianopoulos — Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are on to something. They discovered something called senescent cells that multiply in our bodies as we grow older. They are also found at the sites of major diseases in our bodies, regardless of our age. The doctors discovered a way to kill off those cells while leaving the healthy cells behind. The effect? It essentially allows researchers to delay, prevent, or alleviate age related diseases and increase health span. Get older but feel younger? Yes please. But there’s more. Additional coverage: WTOL Toledo

Star Tribune, Rochester lands a James Beard award-winning Twin Cities chef by Rick Nelson — He’s Paul Berglund, the St. Louis native who made his mark on the Twin Cities dining scene during a six-year (and four-star) run at the Bachelor Farmer. He left that North Loop gig in mid-2017 and has spent the past 18 months as culinary director for Vestalia Hospitality, the company behind Young Joni, Pizzeria Lola and Hello Pizza. What is taking him to the home of the Mayo Clinic? Love. “I’m getting married,” he said, to Mayo neurologist Dr. Tia Chakraborty. “And I’m moving to Rochester, if that wasn’t obvious. And I’ve found a great job that I’m really excited about.”

MedCity Beat, Graham Park, Mayo West Lot selected as sites for future 'transit villages' — Efforts to modernize Rochester’s transportation system took a giant leap forward on Tuesday as the Destination Medical Center Corporation Board approved the sites of future mobility hubs outside of the downtown. “We have done a major, major thing here today,” said R.T. Rybak, chair of the DMC Corporation Board. “We are moving forward on transportation.” At the recommendation of the city, the board voted to pursue two sites that could be used for mobility hubs: Graham Park just south of downtown and the Mayo Clinic West Parking Lot near Cascade Lake. With both locations, officials believe there is opportunity to connect the mobility hubs to more comprehensive plans for their respective sites. For starters, Graham Park and Cascade Lake each have redevelopment projects in the works — meaning there is a potential to think about the hubs as catalysts for future economic development in their areas.

MedCity Beat, Hope, delivered daily to RST — It is just before dawn on a chilly winter morning and crews are beginning to take their positions outside the cargo terminal at Rochester International Airport. They are awaiting the arrival of a jet coming from Memphis with more than 40,000 pounds of cargo on board. Once the plane touches down, three dozen ground workers begin unloading large crates filled with packages bound for destinations across the region. With trucks lined up ready to depart, the team works like a well-oiled machine — sifting, sorting and scanning through thousands of packages with care and efficiency.  Each box has a story and a purpose, a point underscored when a package labeled “DONATED HUMAN TISSUE FOR TRANSPLANT” makes its way down the conveyor belt. (For these sorts of deliveries, Mayo Clinic requires strict protocols be followed to ensure the quality and safety of any tissues transported.)

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, $220 million Rochester riverfront project is kaput by Mark Reilly — A plan to build a pair of 20-plus story towers along the Zumbro River in Rochester — one of the highest-profile projects associated with the city's ambitious Destination Medical Center project, is apparently off after the developer missed a city deadline. Minnesota Public Radio has an update on the $220 million project from Bloom Holding, a United Arab Emirates-based developer that had proposed building towers with senior-living residences, a hotel and apartments in the Minnesota city, which is home to the Mayo Clinic. The development was set to receive $18 million in tax subsidies. Prospects for the project — initially pegged at $180 million — had been looking shakier in recent months as Bloom said it might scale back the project, backed out of a purchase agreement for the site and then apparently stopped communicating with the city at all. Additional coverage: Finance & Commerce, Star Tribune

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, CEOs at Mayo Clinic, Land O'Lakes selected to national list of executives to watch in 2019 (gallery) — Beth Ford of Land O'Lakes Inc., Dr. Gianrico Farrugia of Mayo Clinic and Laurie Nordquist of Wells Fargo & Co. have been selected to a national list of executives to watch in 2019. The Business Journals’ Influencers: People We’re Watching in 2019 spotlights 100 executives who stand to be in the headlines for moves they and their companies could make in this new year.

Minnesota Monthly, New Prescription: Gender Matters in Healthcare by Mo Perry — In his recent book Heart Solution for Women, Dr. Mark Menolascino writes, “To this day, women with heart disease are less likely to be tested to determine its severity…and the prognosis for a woman who has a heart attack is much worse than is typical for a man.” Women’s cardiovascular health is one of the primary areas of focus for the Mayo Clinic SCORE on Sex Differences. “The biggest elephant in the room [in the area of sex-specific healthcare] is cardiovascular disease,” Miller says, noting that it’s the number one killer of both men and women around the world, but the conditions that predispose women to cardiovascular disease are different in women than in men…Research underway at Mayo’s SCORE on Sex Differences aims to shed light on how hormonal shifts related to pregnancy and menopause affect women’s cardiovascular and cognitive functioning, hopefully narrowing the knowledge gap that currently puts women at greater risk of dying from heart attacks than men.

Florida Weekly, Drug found to ease hot flashes, helping breast cancer survivors by Joe Dangor — The drug oxybutynin helps to reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes in women who are unable to take hormone replacement therapy, including breast cancer survivors, research has found. The research was led by oncologists Roberto Leon-Ferre, M.D. and Charles Loprinzi, M.D. of Mayo Clinic. “Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause and can be even more severe in breast cancer survivors than they are in the general population,” says Dr. Leon-Ferre. He says several factors contribute to the increased severity of hot flashes in breast cancer survivors including exposure to chemotherapy, which may bring on early menopause; the use of antiestrogen drugs, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors; and the use of medications or procedures to suppress the function of the ovaries.

Mankato Free Press, New Mayo in Mankato doctor brings expanded surgical options by Brian Arola — Mayo Clinic Health System’s new regional chair of clinical practice brings with him a new surgery option for patients in south-central Minnesota. Dr. Gokhan Anil’s leadership role means he’ll help develop strategic priorities for care at hospitals and clinics in the region. He previously worked for Mayo Clinic Health System — Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse since 2007. Anil’s specialization in female pelvic medicine means expanded reconstructive pelvic surgery options for area patients after childbirth. He's the sole sub-specialist board certified for female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery in the region.

Mankato Free Press, Tips on how to avoid frost nip and frostbite — In frigid weather, residents could easily get frost nip, where the cold freezes the skin, by standing out in the cold for two or three minutes. Any longer than that could cause frost bite, where skin turns blue and the cold seeps into tissue, causing permanent damage to muscles and tendons. While Minnesotans are usually pretty savvy when it comes to frostbite — Minnesota reports fewer cases of frostbite than other parts of the country with similar climates, according to Dr. Brian Bartlett the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato — hospital ERs still treat some people who have exposure-related injuries due to alcohol.

Mankato Free Press, Frostbitten: Hospitals report limited cold-related injuries by Brian Arola — Mankato health centers treated a handful of frostbite cases during this week’s dangerously bitter cold stretch, while hospitals elsewhere in the region reported little to no cold-related injuries. Mankato Clinic treated three people for frostbite and Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato treated two. The Mankato health facilities had no hypothermia patients this week. The relatively low numbers are pretty good news considering temperatures dipped into Arctic territory across southern Minnesota this week. Frostbite can set in within minutes in sub-zero temperatures. Mayo in Mankato Dr. Brian Bartlett said levels of frostbite are similar to burns. First-degree frostbite affects the skin, while more severe exposure goes deeper into tissue.

KEYC Mankato, Snow, Frigid Cold Creates Emergency Need for Blood Donors by Mitch Keegan — The American Red Cross is issuing an emergency call for blood donors after multiple snow storms, frigid temperatures and the government shutdown reduced lifesaving donations. In January, more than 4,600 Red Cross blood and platelet donations went uncollected as blood drives were forced to cancel due to severe winter weather. Right now, Red Cross blood donations are being distributed to hospitals faster than they are coming in, and there is less than a three–day supply of most blood types on hand.

KEYC Mankato, Milder Frostbite Can Be Remedied At Home by Sean Morawczynski — Mayo Clinic Mankato reports treating two cases of frostbite in its emergency department over the last three days. Even if you spent just a little bit of time outside Wednesday, you probably felt the effects on your skin. Doctors at Mankato Clinic say in this extreme cold, the frostbite process can start within five minutes.

Mankato Free Press, Icy roads cause school delays, spin outs, accidents, one fatality by Tim Krohn — Into Monday, slippery sidewalks made for treacherous footing for pedestrians. Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato's emergency department had 20 patients report injuries after falls over the last 48 hours. VINE's chore program had volunteers out salting steps, sidewalks and driveways at homes Monday. Paige Schuette, VINE's marketing and communications manager, said crews also applied ample salt and grit in its parking lot to prevent falls.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Seminary Home gets an overhaul by Michael Brun — When the Professional and Community Center closed down in 2018, Mayo Clinic Health System staff working out of the West Fourth Street hospital building needed a new home. They found it a few blocks away in the renovated and redubbed Seminary Professional Building. The former Memorial Seminary Home on College Avenue received numerous upgrades that Mayo Clinic Health System administrators said provide a modern space for employees and the community.

Lake City Graphic, Mayo ED to open after $1.1 million renovation — Security and privacy: these are two of the main issues a recently-completed renovation of the emergency department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Lake City is designed to address. Mayo first announced the project in early 2017. The $1.1 million emergency department renovations got underway last summer. Mayo officials said they expected to be ready to treat patients in the remodeled area on Jan. 29. Gone from the department are the curtains that once separated exam areas, replaced with a walled trauma room and exam rooms.

WKBT La Crosse, Doctors warn against treating this weekend's warm up like summer days by Troy Neumann — We are expecting a sort of weather whiplash as temperatures warm up drastically the next couple of days, but doctors want to warn you, cold weather injuries are still concerns even in 30 degree weather. While this weekend will likely feel great compared to the last few days, doctors still recommend wearing layers, avoid wearing wet clothing and keeping track of how long you're outdoors. "Now that it's getting warmer people are going to be moving around more and they might neglect that this is still very cold weather. You can still get injuries, you can still get frostbite , you can still become hypothermic,” said Mayo Clinic Health System Family Medicine Resident Physician Andrew Zhao.

WKBT La Crosse, Healthcare workers have advice for active winter: have fun by Alex Fischer — In better weather walking trails, going down a hill in a snow tube, or even simply playing in the snow can all help burn calories in the cold. "Playing like being a kid again: think about when you were a kid and what you did to have fun outside," said Sue Karpinski, an employee well-being specialist with Mayo Clinic Health System. Healthcare workers say it's always important to take cold-weather precautions when exercising outside in the winter, like layering up and watching weather conditions.

WKBT La Crosse, Local CPR classes are saving lives by Scott Behrens — February is National Heart Month and Mayo Clinic is encouraging people to learn CPR. Learning CPR is fast, relatively simple and can save someone's life. La Crosse Mayo Clinic Training Center Coordinator Marlis O'Brien said every minute counts when someone’s having a medical emergency.

WKBT La Crosse, Dragon boat paddler heading to international competition by Mal Meyer — A dragon boat paddler from Trempealeau is preparing to race in an another international competition. Sue Karpinski previously competed with the US National Team in China, but that was in open water.  This is her first time competing in the International World Club Crew Ice Dragon Boat Championships.

WEAU Eau Claire, Stories from the Heart — Mayo Clinic Health System is holding "Stories from the Heart" on February 21 in Eau Claire. The free presentation features a panel of area residents and experts about heart disease and advances.

WXOW La Crosse, Alliance to HEAL reporting progress in addiction fight by Dave Solie — Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse County, Gundersen Health System and The La Crosse Community Foundation are dedicating $400,000 over the next three years to support the Alliance. The Alliance has four overall goals.  Decrease the fatal overdose rate, decrease the non-fatal overdose rate, decrease the prescription opioid rate and increase the number of people in treatment.

WXOW La Crosse, Heart disease increases in the United States — Nearly half of the United States’ population has some form cardiovascular disease, according to a new report from the American Heart Association. The increase comes from doctors re-defining blood pressure levels that are deemed dangerous. “If you include coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke and high blood pressure you’re talking nearly fifty-percent of the adult population in the United States has some form of cardiovascular disease,” Mayo Clinic Health System Cardiologist Michael Meyers said.

La Crosse Tribune, Salvation Army of La Crosse County beats Red Kettle goal for first time in 3 years by Mike Tighe — For the first time in three years, The Salvation Army of La Crosse County easily surpassed its Red Kettle Campaign goal by thousands of dollars before its deadline Thursday…In addition to the volunteer turnout, the campaign featured successful matching events by Brenengen Auto Group, Kwik Trip, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare and a collection of organizations on Community Match Day, including Inland, Wieser Brothers Construction and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

MSN, 8 Weird And Terrifying Things That Can Happen To Your Body When You’re Asleep by Ileana Paules-Bronet — 3: You Can Act Out Your Dreams: While some of us wish our dreams would become a reality, we probably don’t want to act out our dreams while we’re sleeping — but that’s exactly what happens in REM sleep behavior disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic: “Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder is a sleep disorder in which you physically act out vivid, often unpleasant dreams with vocal sounds and sudden, often violent arm and leg movements during REM sleep — sometimes called dream-enacting behavior.”

US News & World Report, What Are Hernia Symptoms? by Ruben Castaneda — Treatment approaches depend on the type and severity of the hernia. For example, most hiatal hernias don't cause symptoms and won't require treatment. However, if you have a hiatal hernia that's causing heartburn or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), your physician may recommend over-the-counter antacids that neutralize stomach acid, OTC medication to reduce acid production and either over-the-counter or prescription drugs to block acid production and heal the esophagus, according to the Mayo Clinic. For more serious problems, the Mayo Clinic says there are three types of surgery…

Health Data Management, HSCC releases medical device, health IT cybersecurity plan by Greg Slabodkin — “The goal of this effort was to align cybersecurity priorities and processes between medical device manufactures and healthcare providers to lower the cybersecurity risk in medical devices,” said Kevin McDonald, co-chair of the initiative and director of clinical information security at the Mayo Clinic. “By creating this alignment, we can strengthen the security of medical technology against cyber threats, improve cyber risk management within healthcare organizations, and better protect patient safety.”

Topeka Capital-Journal, Mayo Clinic physician gives talk on healthy living, weight management by Brianna Childers — Mayo Clinic physician Donald Hensrud emphasized during a talk Thursday at Stormont Vail Hospital that one of the keys to weight loss and management is to not approach the issue negatively. “I think if you approach it in the right way, if you realize that if you’re more active, you’ll feel better, you lose weight you’ll feel better,” Hensrud said. “There’s a lot of great food out there. If you approach it in the right way, it makes all the difference in the world.” Hensrud, director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, spoke to about 250 people for a WellPower Healthy Living event. Audience members also watched a cooking demonstration by Amber Groeling, a registered dietitian at Stormont Vail, who made a chicken salad recipe from “The Mayo Clinic Diet, 2nd Edition.” During his talk, Hensrud spoke about how to live a healthy lifestyle, manage and lose weight, and the benefits of healthy living.

The DePauw, Step by Step: Senior Baseball Player Recovers From Spinal Disorder by Brooks Hepp — Elliot Shebek woke up in the middle of the night last April with a pain down the left side of his body. What started as a sharp pain quickly got worse when he lost all feeling in the left side of his body, which left him motionless in bed. The pain worsened by the second and normal bodily function became more difficult. He couldn’t walk, stand, or even speak correctly. His right leg, the leg he still had feeling of, began to spasm out of control. “Something was horribly wrong,” Shebek said. Shebek, the DePauw baseball 2018 opening day starter in left field, may never get to play baseball like he did before. A back injury after the 15th game of the year ended his season last year. What started as a standard injury got worse by the day until Shebek found himself confined to a wheelchair at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for the entirety of his first semester of his senior year.

FOX News, New York woman suffers ‘silent’ heart attack, details experience to warn others by Madeline Farber — Symptoms of a heart attack can differ between sexes, and, according to the Mayo Clinic, women are “more likely than men to have heart attack symptoms unrelated to chest pain,” which is a common sign of a heart attack. Neck, jaw, shoulder and upper back pain can be a sign of a heart attack in women, as can abdominal discomfort, the Mayo Clinic says. Shortness of breath, pain in one or both arms, nausea or vomiting, sweating, and “unusual” or extreme fatigue are additional signs.

HealthLeaders, 5-Step ‘Huddle’ boosts safety in violent patient transfers by Christopher Cheney —Workplace violence is widespread in the healthcare sector. There are nearly 25,000 workplace assaults reported annually and 75% of the incidents occur at healthcare and social service facilities, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Compared to other vocations, healthcare workers are 20% more likely to be victims of workplace violence, the National Crime Victimization Survey found. The recent research at Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic examines implementation of a "huddle handoff communication tool" protocol for transfers of potentially violent patients. "The huddle handoff communication tool and other methods to facilitate the transfer of potentially violent patients have the potential to decrease the number and severity of violent incidents in the healthcare workplace," the researchers wrote.

Mindbodygreen, New Study Finds The Simple Secret To Losing The Fat You Can't See by Elizabeth Gerson — On the quest to find our healthiest selves, it turns out we may have been focusing on the wrong thing all along when it comes to fat. Visceral fat, or the internal fat that you can't see or feel, is way more important in keeping us healthy, and scientists may have just cracked the code on how to reduce it. A study released today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that exercise—whether that be weight lifting, resistance training, or cardio—actually reduces unhealthy visceral fat. Visceral fat is located deep in the belly, giving all our precious organs much-needed cushioning, but too much visceral fat often results in high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Additional coverage: Science Daily, Gulf Digital News, Women’s Health

NDTV, Want To Lose Deep Abdominal Belly Fat? Exercise Regularly Says Study: These Foods May Help Too! — Health experts and fitness enthusiasts have often emphasised the importance of exercise in a sustainable weight loss regime. According to a study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, exercise may also help combat internal, visceral fat that you cannot see or feel, this type of fat is particularly dangerous as it may lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease and inflammation. For the study, researchers analysed two types of interventions -- lifestyle modification (exercise) and pharmacological (medicine) -- to find out what is the best way to cut down deep abdominal belly fat. The findings revealed that the reductions were more significant per pound of body weight lost with exercise.

Winnipeg Free Press, Might be time for a 'sugar break' by Erika Pearson — Dr. Donald Hensrud, who runs the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, said the negative health effects of sugar are broader than many people realize. Sugar adds extra calories that have no nutritional value, and can drain the body of vitamins because it needs certain nutrients in order to metabolize. It can cause dental cavities, inflammation, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Finally, it can displace healthier foods or drinks (like when a child drinks pop instead of a glass of milk). "It’s a quadruple whammy," Hensrud said.

MDedge, Phase 3 studies of antiamyloid Alzheimer’s drug crenezumab stopped by Michele G. Sullivan — After a disappointing interim analysis, Roche and its collaborator AC Immune are halting two phase 3 trials of the antiamyloid antibody crenezumab… Despite its failure in sporadic Alzheimer’s, there is still some hope that crenezumab might benefit people with the PSEN1 mutation, said Richard Caselli, MD, professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Scottsdale and associate director and clinical core director of the Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Healio, ‘Simple, inexpensive’ intervention improves patient punctuality — Adjusting the patient scheduling process improved patient punctuality as well as patient and provider satisfaction, according to findings recently published in Quality Management in Health Care. “As health care providers we need to be constantly evaluating our practice and looking for ways to optimize flow (ie, minimize waste) and hopefully improve patient safety,” Jed Colt Cowdell, MD, MBA, of the division of community internal medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville Florida, told Healio Primary Care Today.

La Nacion, Se espera un fuerte cambio en la cirugía robótica en la region — Para el cirujano argentino Enrique Elli, no hay dudas: la presencia de los robots en el quirófano será cada vez más común en nuestro país y el resto de la región. Sobre todo porque, de acuerdo con su experiencia en la Clínica Mayo, de los Estados Unidos, disminuyen las complicaciones en algunas intervenciones con buenos resultados.

Mayo Clinic in the News is a weekly highlights summary of major media coverage. If you would like to be added to the weekly distribution list, send a note to Emily Blahnik with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News. Thank you.

Editors: Emily Blahnik, Karl Oestreich

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