Vital Signs

The state health department in June expanded its list of required screenings for newborns to include spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It's a rare neuromuscular disorder affecting cells in the spinal cord that signal the muscles how to work.

The most recent CDC data showed a more than 1,300% increase in hepatitis A virus infections between 2015 and 2019, and a 63% increase for hepatitis C.

Vital Signs host Sam Baker spoke with Vanessa Simpson, the behavioral health care manager with Children’s Health. She said the loss of routine and fear of the unknown could have contributed to the rise in mental health issues among children.

After a year of strict COVID safety protocols, the CDC now says fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask in many indoor or outdoor settings. Gov. Greg Abbott later banned mask mandates from local governments, public schools, and public health authorities in Texas.

Cardiogenic shock occurs when your heart suddenly fails to pump enough blood for your vital organs. It’s the leading cause of death in heart attack patients.

Tarrant County Public Health recently confirmed its first positive sample of the disease in mosquito traps in Crowley. No human cases spotted, so far.

One reason the medical community pushes for vaccination against COVID-19 is to hold back variants of the disease that have found their way into North Texas.

New figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed the American Medical Association's predictions of higher overdose numbers from illicit opioids during the pandemic – 90,000 nationwide. Texas had 4,000 of those overdoses, the highest number among states.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued new guidelines for who should get screened lung cancer — the number one cause of death worldwide.

An online survey of more than 7,700 adults found a majority gained at least 1 1/2 pounds per month during the pandemic. Dr. Tu Le has seen proof among his own patients. The interventional cardiologist with Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Hurst-Euless-Bedford told KERA’s Sam Baker lifestyle changes are to blame.

Turning the clocks back to daylight saving time provided an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day at the expense of an hour's sleep in the beginning.

Between Oct. 1 of last year and Jan. 30, there were 98% fewer flu hospitalizations than during the same time the previous season.