Smokers who make the decision to quit will experience immediate health benefits, including a rapid reduction in their risk of atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. The study, conducted by Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, offers compelling evidence for smokers to quit, showing that it’s never too late to avoid the damaging effects of smoking on heart health.

Dr. Marcus, the senior author of the study, emphasized that A-Fib can be prevented even in individuals who have smoked for years. "The findings provide a compelling new reason to show current smokers that it’s not too late to quit, and that having smoked in the past doesn’t mean you’re ‘destined’ to develop A-Fib," Marcus explained. "Even for the current and longtime smoker, A-Fib can still be avoided."

What is Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)?

"There’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of A-Fib," Marcus said. "But the benefits of quitting smoking have been less certain." With this in mind, his team sought to determine whether quitting could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing A-Fib, or if the risk would remain the same.

The research team analyzed data from over 146,700 current and former smokers, tracking their smoking habits and health over a 12-year period using data from the UK Biobank database. The results were promising: former smokers had a 13% lower risk of developing A-Fib compared to current smokers, while those who quit during the study saw an 18% reduction in their risk.

"This is likely a testament to the potency of reducing atrial fibrillation risk pretty shortly after quitting," Marcus said in a statement from the American College of Cardiology.

The findings highlight the importance of quitting smoking, not only for general health but specifically for reducing the risk of serious heart conditions like A-Fib.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lower the risk of A-Fib and improve overall heart health. While it can be challenging, the benefits of quitting are clear and immediate. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking successfully:

1. Choose a specific date to quit smoking and stick to it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for this change.

2. Reach out to family, friends, or a support group to help keep you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can provide encouragement.

3. Options like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.

4. Identify situations that make you want to smoke, such as stress or social gatherings, and find healthy ways to cope with them.

5. Regular exercise can help distract you from cravings and improve your mood during the quitting process.

6. Drinking water can help flush nicotine out of your system faster, reducing cravings.

7. Activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help manage stress, a common trigger for smoking.

Quitting smoking offers immediate and significant benefits, particularly in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The latest research provides smokers with more motivation to quit, showing that it's never too late to take control of their heart health.

The longtime Connecticut TV weather reporter Geoff Fox on Saturday announced that he would be entering hospice care as part of his ongoing cancer battle. He has spent nearly three decades at WTNH News8. Everyone's favorite weatherman, wrote on Facebook thar he was dealing with "cancerous growths" on his liver, lungs, and pancreas. He also wrote that he opted for hospice care because he was too weak for chemotherapy after previous bouts of cancer.

Now 75, he wrote, "With hospice I’m given the opportunity to stay just drugged enough to avoid the worst. And a guarantee I can die at home." He also noted that currently he had no symptoms or experiencing any pain from cancer.

"So, I've chosen how to die - out of pain. At the moment nothing is necessary. I feel fine," he wrote.

Fox's Cancer Diagnosis

It was in 2016, when his first diagnosis and update on cancer came in. It was pancreatic cancer. For that, he underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation before being declared in remission. Earlier this year too, he had another surgery on his vocal chords after a cancerous mass was found on his clavicle.

Cancer Recurrence

Cancer recurrence happens when cancer comes back after treatment. It could be because treatment missed cancerous cells or because the treatment did not affect some cells. Cleveland Clinic notes that while remission means you don't have cancer symptoms and tests don't find signs of cancer, it can come back after being in remission.

There are different types of cancer recurrence, based on its location.

• Local Recurrence: The same kind of cancer has come back to same place as the original cancer.
• Regional Recurrence: The cancer returns to lymph nodes or tissues near the original cancer.
• Distant Recurrence: The same cancer from the original tumor has spread to organs or tissues located far from the original tumor.

Cancer recurrence is a foremost concern of patients and their caregivers. The 2018 study titled Fear of Cancer Recurrence: A Practical Guide for Clinicians note that the fear of recurrence can negatively affect quality of life, and approximately 7% of patients develop severe disabling fear that includes constant intrusive thoughts and misinterpretation of mild or unrelated symptoms.

Another 2018 study, Central Nervous System Cancers, published in the Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology notes that some cancers are difficult to treat and may have a high rate of recurrence. Glioblastoma, which is the most aggressive and common type of primary brain cancer, recurs in nearly all patients, despite treatment.

A 2017 study titled Preoperative predictors for early recurrence of resectable pancreatic cancer, and a 2012 study titled Early recurrence of pancreatic cancer after resection and during adjuvant chemotherapy, note that pancreatic cancer has a 36% chance of recurrence within 1 year of curative surgery, 38% chance of local recurrence after adjuvant chemotherapy, and 46% distant metastasis after adjuvant chemotherapy.

In an exclusive interview with People, the NFL Legend, Dan Marino shared how minor changes in body, which, usually go unnoticed lead to liver disease, like it did for him. Marino did not notice any symptoms in his routine checkup in 2007, but he did feel a "little fatigued". He also "was not rally working out as much as" he usually would. "These are the things I kind of noticed," he said, now, 64. "Then they told me I had a fatty liver. I had MASH."

What Is MASH?

It is a liver disease, short for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, which was formerly called the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This happens when excess fat cells accumulate in the liver, causing chronic inflammation that leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer, as notes the Cleveland Clinic.

He informed People that the doctors "right away said that can be reversible, it can be taken care of". However, for him, it was to "work out" or to "lose weight", he noted.

The NFL legend is current part of Novo Nordisk's Unordinary Stories campaign, where athletes like him, share their unique health journey.

A Support System

Marino shared that his journey and health improvement also is credited to the support he got from his friends and family who helped him prioritized his health. Former teammate Terri Kirby also trained him at his nearby gym and his wife Claire joined him for night walks and bike rides. He also said in the campaign video that his wife helped him with "doctor's appointments, being on time, and making sure I'm doing things right".

Also Read: Every Year, They Return To Lake Minnetonka: Four Survivors Who Beat Cancer And Celebrate Life

Like most of us must have heard that it takes a village to raise a child, Marino echoes the same emotions. It does take a village to bring someone back to health too. "It is the people that love you and you love them. It feels like a little village," he says.

A Consistent Focus On Health

After his diagnosis, he soon realized that the focus on his health needs to be consistent. “It's the exercise, riding bike, walking, and diet, and then getting back to just being consistent — waking up and making sure you gotta do something every day.”

He also thinks that it is the diet that caused his MASH. He shared with People that while he played football, he had weigh-ins, but after he retired in 2000, he "kind of" let his diet go. "That's really where it kind of came about," he said.

A Diet To Fix

He shared that his doctor recommended him the Mediterranean diet to "cut back on the wine and pizza and candy, ice cream, those kind of things, you know - you can't eat those as much".

For people, he has a message: “if you get diagnosed with fatty liver and MASH, doing the things you need to do, like I talked about — diet, working out — and staying consistent with it, that's what our message really is.”

All such practices has made him get better. "I get the ultrasounds and all that every year, and so far it's been fine [and it is] gonna get better and better and better," he says.

Cholera, a disease so fatal that it can become severe within hours without treatment, was something we thought was not a big cause of worry. With proper measures, the cases of cholera were contained, however, recently we are seeing a worrying rise in the numbers again.

According to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the global situation with cholera is getting worse. In 2024, the number of people who got sick from cholera went up by 5%, and the number of people who died from it jumped by 50% compared to the year before. More than 6,000 people died from this disease, even though it's easily preventable and treatable. The real numbers are likely even higher, because many cases and deaths are never officially reported.

What is Cholera, How Is It Treated?

According to WHO, cholera is a severe sickness that causes watery diarrhea. It is caused by a germ called Vibrio cholerae, which people get from eating food or drinking water that has been contaminated with the germ.

Cholera is a big problem for global health, and its presence often points to a lack of clean water, proper sanitation, and overall development in a community. Access to safe drinking water and good hygiene practices are key to stopping cholera and other similar diseases.

Most people who get cholera have mild to moderate symptoms and can be treated with a simple solution called oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the illness can get very bad very quickly, so it's crucial to start treatment right away to save lives. People with severe cholera need to be treated with fluids given directly into their veins, along with ORS and antibiotics.

What Is Causing The Increase In Cholera Cases?

Cholera is a disease caused by a type of bacteria that spreads through water contaminated with human waste. It's becoming more common because of several big problems around the world:

• Conflict and wars disrupt clean water systems and force people to move from their homes.
• Climate change can cause floods and droughts, which also affect water safety.
• Population displacement, or people being forced to leave their homes, often means they live in crowded camps with poor sanitation.

In 2024, 60 countries reported cholera cases, which is a big jump from the 45 countries in 2023. Most of the outbreaks (98% of cases) were in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The disease even came back to places like Comoros, which hadn't had an outbreak in over 15 years, showing how easily it can spread.

Is Cholera Preventable?

The report shows that many health systems are struggling to fight cholera. In Africa, the number of people who died from the disease went up, which shows there are problems getting life-saving care to those who need it. A worrying one-fourth of all deaths happened outside of hospitals, which means people couldn't get the treatment they needed in time.

To fix this, governments and aid groups need to make sure people have access to safe drinking water and clean toilets. They also need to share accurate information so people know how to protect themselves. During outbreaks, it's crucial that people can quickly get treatment and vaccines.

Is There A Vaccine for Cholera?

A new cholera vaccine called Euvichol-S® became available in early 2024, which helped the global supply. However, the world still doesn't have nearly enough vaccines to meet the demand. In 2024, countries asked for 61 million doses, but only 40 million were available. Because of this shortage, a temporary rule was put in place to give only a single dose of the vaccine instead of two, to make the limited supply last longer.

The WHO says the risk of cholera is "very high" globally and is working hard to reduce deaths and stop outbreaks. The crisis is expected to continue into 2025, with many countries already reporting new outbreaks.