Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, affecting nearly 17.9 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

‘Heart diseases’ or ‘cardiovascular diseases’ are umbrella terms that encompass a wide variety of diseases like angina, heart attacks, strokes, arrhythmia etc. These problems are often caused by fatty deposits building up inside the arteries. The reason why these clogs cause as issues is because they stop the blood from flowing to and from necessary body parts, depriving them of air as well as nutrients. This can also lead to damage in other vital organs like the brain, the heart itself, the kidneys, and even the eyes.

There are many different types of heart diseases, as well as many symptoms. The most common ones that many people know of are chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats, extreme fatigue, etc. However, there are also many subtle signs of heart diseases that you may not know of.

How Many People Know of This Subtle Symptom

It's important to know that the symptoms of heart disease can be different for each person. Because of this variability, some individuals might not even realize that the warning signs they are experiencing could be related to a serious heart condition.

A recent survey conducted by LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, involving 500 adults in the UK, found a concerning lack of awareness about certain heart disease symptoms. Specifically, only 46 percent of those surveyed knew that swelling in the legs could be a sign of heart problems.

This lack of knowledge is concerning because if people don't know that leg swelling can be related to their heart, they might not take it seriously or go to the doctor to get it checked out, potentially missing an important early sign of heart trouble.

When the survey asked about well-known signs of heart disease, most people got some of them right. A large majority knew that chest pain, especially if it feels like pressure or squeezing, could be a sign of a heart problem needing immediate attention. Many people also knew that feeling very out of breath and having an irregular heartbeat could be linked to heart issues. These are important symptoms for everyone to be aware of, as they are often key indicators that something might be wrong with the heart.

Lesser Known Symptoms

While many people knew about chest pain and shortness of breath, the survey showed that other important symptoms of heart disease were not as widely recognized. Feeling extremely tired all the time, even when you haven't done much, can be a sign. Also, as mentioned before, swelling in the legs, which happens when fluid builds up, is another symptom that many people don't realize could be related to their heart. Being aware of these less common signs is crucial for early detection.

The fact that many people don't know about all the different ways heart disease can show itself highlights why it's so important to learn about a wide range of potential warning signs. Relying only on the most commonly known symptoms like chest pain might cause people to ignore other important signals their body could be sending them. Recognizing less obvious signs, such as unusual fatigue or swelling in the legs, could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment, which can make a big difference in managing heart conditions and improving health outcomes.

One of the biggest concerns people with high blood sugar have is their diet. They must be very careful about what they consume as depending on how healthy it is and how much essential nutrition it has, it can either harm you or not affect you.

A recent study brings good news for people with type 2 diabetes. It suggests that having 100% orange juice with breakfast might not negatively affect blood sugar levels, which goes against what many have thought for a long time about managing this condition through diet. This could mean more flexibility in what people with type 2 diabetes can enjoy.

Type 2 diabetes is a big health issue, affecting millions of people. In the US alone, it's estimated that in 2021, 38.4 million people had diabetes. Because so many people are affected, it's really important to find ways to manage the condition through daily choices, especially what we eat and drink.

Unpacking the Impact of Orange Juice

In a recent research study published in the Nutrition and Diabetes journal, scientists looked at how different breakfast drinks affected people with type 2 diabetes who were already managing their condition well. Participants ate a breakfast that included carbohydrates, and then had either whole oranges, a glass of pure orange juice, or a sugary orange-flavored drink. For four hours after the meal, the researchers carefully checked their blood sugar and insulin levels to see the effects.

No Significant Difference

The research team was quite surprised by what they found. They had expected that eating whole fruit would lead to the lowest blood sugar levels, and that orange juice and sugary drinks would cause them to be higher. However, the study showed there was actually no difference in blood sugar levels between the groups.

The scientists believe that the main reason for the rise in blood sugar and insulin was actually the bread consumed as part of the breakfast. The small amounts of sugar from the fruit or drinks didn't seem to make much of a difference.

It's important to understand that this study doesn't suggest that people with diabetes should drink just any sugary beverage. Those kinds of drinks usually don't offer any nutritional benefits. However, 100% orange juice is different. Its sugars come directly from the fruit itself, and it contains many of the same important vitamins, minerals, and natural compounds found in whole oranges.

Bridging the Nutritional Gap

While eating whole fruit is still the healthiest choice, partly because it contains fiber, a small glass of 100% fruit juice each day can be a convenient option when whole fruit isn't available. This is especially helpful because a lot of young adults aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables according to health guidelines. Including a daily glass of pure fruit juice could help them get more of the important nutrients they need.

Pure orange juice and other 100% fruit juices are considered minimally processed. This means they don't have any added sugars, artificial flavors, or preservatives. Just one glass of orange juice provides a large portion of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C, which is a crucial nutrient for a strong immune system and healthy skin. Experts suggest that adding a small daily glass of fruit juice can be an easy way to make sure you get important nutrients and vitamins, especially if you have well-controlled diabetes and are also choosing high-fiber breakfast foods.

In the dark depths of Python Cave in Uganda, a leopard lunges at a bat perched atop a mound of guano. But this isn’t just a snapshot of predator and prey—it's a stunning revelation. The bat belongs to the Egyptian fruit bat species (Rousettus aegyptiacus), the natural reservoir for one of the world’s deadliest pathogens: Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola.

Thanks to the trail camera of a 25-year-old Ugandan undergraduate, Bosco Atukwatse, the world has fresh evidence of how this terrifying virus might spread—not in theory, but in action.

Atukwatse, working with the Kyambura Lion Project in Queen Elizabeth National Park, captured 261 predator interactions over just four months. Crowned eagles, Nile monitors, pythons, leopards, and even blue monkeys were all observed feeding on, or scavenging from, the infected bat colony.

This discovery wasn’t made in a top-tier lab—it came from a young, curious mind using a simple trail camera and sharp ecological instincts. Alongside a team of early-career Ugandan researchers, Atukwatse has revealed a third potential “spillover” pathway for the Marburg virus: animal predation.

Previously, scientists had identified two possible routes: humans directly entering bat-inhabited caves, or consuming fruit contaminated by bat saliva or feces. But this new footage suggests that predatory or scavenging animals feeding on bats could themselves become vectors, adding complexity to how Marburg might move through an ecosystem and eventually reach humans. Thanks to the new footage, Marburg virus has again become talk of the town.

ALSO READ: A Ugandan Scientist's Photos Reveal How Marburg Virus Can Spread To Different Species

What Is Marburg Virus Disease?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US (CDC), note that Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a rare but devastating illness caused by orthomarburgviruses—either Marburg virus or Ravn virus. First identified in 1967 during lab outbreaks in Germany and Serbia, the disease has since erupted in several African countries, including Uganda, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania.

The WHO classifies MVD as a severe hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate of up to 88%—though this can be reduced with early, supportive care.

How Marburg Spreads

The Egyptian rousette bat is the natural host, and humans usually become infected through prolonged exposure to bat-inhabited caves or contact with bat secretions. Once a person contracts the virus, it can be transmitted human-to-human through:

• Blood, vomit, or other bodily fluids of an infected person
• Surfaces contaminated with these fluids (e.g. bedding, medical equipment)
• Semen from a man who has recovered, even months after infection

The disease can also be contracted through contact with infected non-human primates—which makes the discovery of predators eating infected bats even more alarming.

Symptoms and Progression

Marburg symptoms typically emerge 2–21 days after exposure. Early signs include:

• Fever and chills
• Headache and muscle pain
• Rash (often on the torso)
• Sore throat and chest pain
• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

As the disease progresses, it can lead to severe bleeding, organ failure, delirium, and shock. Recovery is difficult, and outcomes vary: 20–90% of those infected will die, depending on the quality of medical care available.

Diagnosis and Treatment

There is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Marburg. Diagnosis involves advanced laboratory tests such as:

• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
• ELISA antigen and antibody tests
• Virus isolation in secure labs

Supportive care remains the only option: hydration, oxygen support, treating secondary infections, and managing blood pressure can help improve survival.

Why This Discovery Matters

The footage from Python Cave adds a critical layer to how we understand zoonotic disease spillover—the process by which viruses jump from animals to humans. While past outbreaks focused primarily on human interaction with bats, this new evidence shows that wildlife feeding on bats may serve as a viral bridge, either infecting humans through hunting, shared habitats, or through the broader food chain.

This finding should push public health and conservation teams to expand surveillance not just on direct bat-human interactions, but also across the web of predatory and scavenger species that intersect with these viral reservoirs.

For more than 17 years, one woman battled a growing list of unexplained and debilitating symptoms—fatigue, joint pain, spontaneous fevers, and swollen lymph nodes—without a clear diagnosis.

A former college athlete who once thrived on high-impact sports like rugby and ice hockey, she eventually found herself physically debilitated and mentally drained. Despite multiple hospital visits and consultations with specialists, answers remained elusive.

According to USA Today, her health journey began in college, where daily life became a struggle. Tests for common conditions, including mononucleosis and autoimmune disorders, failed to reveal anything conclusive. By her mid-30s, Nika Beamon, a New York-based author and an award winning journalist, had suffered two strokes, and yet, no diagnosis explained the persistent deterioration in her health.

The delay in diagnosis was not for lack of trying—she saw 26 doctors and underwent 37 medical procedures. Every physician agreed something was wrong. What remained unclear was what exactly was wreaking havoc in her body.

“I felt like I was aging rapidly,” she told USA Today. “It was as if you went from 20 to 50 in a day.”

A Long-Awaited Diagnosis

More than a decade and a half after her symptoms began, a rheumatologist finally offered clarity. The mystery illness turned out to be IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a rare immune-mediated condition that can inflame and damage organs if left untreated.

All it took to confirm the diagnosis was a blood test—an infuriatingly simple step that hadn’t been taken earlier because no one had a reason to look for such a rare disorder.

The immune disorder was first widely recognized by Japanese gastroenterologists in 2006, with formal naming and classification happening in 2012. The disease tricks the body’s immune system into producing excess IgG4 antibodies, which can form masses or cause swelling in critical organs such as the liver, lungs, or pancreas.

If these affected organs aren’t treated in time, irreversible damage—like cirrhosis—can occur.

While not fatal if caught early, the disease's real threat lies in its stealth and its ability to mimic other conditions. It’s often misdiagnosed or mistaken for cancer, as the masses caused by excess immune cells closely resemble tumors.

“It’s not cancers or anything,” a medical expert told USA Today. “It’s just that the immune system is confused and reacting to something.”

When Diagnosis Is Delayed

The journey to diagnosis for IgG4-RD is often complicated because the symptoms are both non-specific and widespread. Fatigue, joint pain, fevers, or masses can be attributed to more common conditions. It’s only when these symptoms span multiple organs, or when an aware radiologist spots a distinctive pattern on imaging, that IgG4-RD is even considered.

In this case, it took over 17 years for someone to finally put the pieces together. The woman had no known family history of autoimmune or immune-related conditions, making her case more perplexing. Compounding the delay was a lack of widespread awareness and diagnostic protocols for IgG4-RD at the time her symptoms began.

Treating IgG4-RD: A New Era

Treatment for IgG4-RD typically starts with steroids like prednisone, which can reduce inflammation. However, these drugs aren’t viable long-term due to their significant side effects. More recently, the FDA approved Uplizna, the first drug specifically designed to target IgG4-RD. The monoclonal antibody works by suppressing the B-cells responsible for producing the problematic antibodies.

In clinical trials, Uplizna showed an 87% reduction in flare-ups. Patients can now expect better management of the disease with fewer side effects and a more targeted approach.

“Most patients do well if the disease is diagnosed and treated on time,” USA Today reported, citing clinical experts.

Life After Diagnosis

Now in her 50s, Beamon continues to manage her condition with medications and regular checkups. Although the disease hasn’t disappeared, having a name for it—and a treatment plan—has drastically improved her quality of life.

“There are good days and bad days,” she admitted to USA Today, referring to flares and periods of inflammation.

She also found strength in community support, especially after publicly sharing her story and publishing a memoir documenting her medical journey. Her advice to others still searching for answers: advocate for yourself, keep detailed records, and bring someone to medical appointments.

Most importantly, she urges patients not to give up. “There’s always a doctor out there that can help you,” she said. “You just have to find the right one.”