Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. FAO calls on Vietnam to declare swine fever a national emergency

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday advised Vietnam to declare a rapidly spreading outbreak of African Swine Fever as a national emergency. The virus was first detected in the Southeast Asian country a month ago at three farms in two northern provinces and has spread to 17 provinces in northern Vietnam with 239 outbreaks confirmed, the FAO said in a statement. Low awareness of heart risks, heart health among young women

Young women are largely unaware of the risks they face from cardiovascular disease, even though it remains the top cause of death for American women, researchers warn. Only one in 10 young women surveyed cited heart disease as the number one killer for women and fewer than one in 20 believed it was the leading health problem for women. Amarin's Vascepa cuts occurrence of serious heart problems 30 percent: study

A high dose of Amarin Corp's Omega-3 drug Vascepa significantly reduced the occurrence of first and subsequent heart attacks, strokes and other serious heart problems in high-risk patients already taking cholesterol medication by even more than initially reported, according to data presented on Monday. Compared with a placebo, Vascepa cut the combined rate of heart attacks, strokes, heart-related death, need for artery-clearing procedures and hospitalizations for unstable angina by 30 percent in heart disease patients at high risk for such events. Ohio accuses UnitedHealth's OptumRx of drug overcharges in lawsuit

Ohio's attorney general on Monday said he had filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group Inc's OptumRx unit, saying the pharmacy benefit manager had overcharged the state nearly $16 million for prescription drugs. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's lawsuit followed a probe into the extent pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) like OptumRx had engaged in pricing practices that resulted in the state overpaying for drugs for people covered by state health programs. Light physical activity tied to lower heart disease risk in senior women

Senior women may be able to reduce their risk of developing heart disease by increasing the number of hours they spend in low intensity activities, such as walking and gardening, a new study suggests. In the study of nearly 6,000 older women, researchers found women in the highest category of daily low intensity activity were 42 percent less likely to experience a heart attack or die from heart disease compared to those in the lowest category. And every extra hour of light activity per day appeared to cut women's risk even further, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open. With high-tech glasses, Japanese ALS patient makes the beat go on

The music booms and lights flash as Masatane Muto, a wheelchair-bound disc jockey, uses is eyes to put on a show at a recent Tokyo music festival. Muto, who lost the use of his hands to Lou Gehrig's Disease, wears a pair of high-tech glasses connected to an app that controls music-mixing software. Soda, sports drinks tied to higher risk of early death

People who consume lots of sugary sodas and sports drinks every day may be more likely to die early of causes like heart disease and cancer than people who rarely if ever indulge in these beverages, a U.S. study suggests. Heavy soda and sports drink consumption was associated with a 28 percent higher risk of early death from any cause, a 31 percent higher risk of death from heart disease and a 16 percent increased risk of death from cancer, researchers found. More U.S. youth seeking help during psychiatric emergencies

The number of young people visiting U.S. emergency rooms with psychiatric problems is rising, driven largely by a surge in teens and minority youth seeking urgent help for mental illnesses, a new study suggests. Between 2011 and 2015, there was a 28 percent increase in psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits among young people ages 6 to 24, the study found. Visits spiked 54 percent for teens, 53 percent for African-American youth, and 91 percent for young Hispanic patients.