Alison Relyea-Parr

What does a heart attack look like? Easy, right? We’ve all seen the dramatic enactments on TV and in the movies. The actor suddenly clutches his chest in anguish, moans and collapses to the floor. A scene so familiar everyone of us can immediately make a confident diagnosis. But notice …

In the last several months there have been changes to the breast cancer screening recommendations of some prominent American health organizations. As these organizations review new research and weigh benefits and risks they periodically update their opinions. In October of 2015 the American Cancer Association released new recommendations.  The guidelines …

Drug trials and medical research have long focused on the male body. It is less expensive and easier to avoid the complicating factors of women’s hormones when developing new drugs. The assumption was that if a therapy worked for a man, it would work for a women. Increasingly the medical community …

Clinical trials are scheduled to begin next year on a medication that some scientists believe could extend human life up to 120 years! A common medication prescribed for diabetics, Metformin, has been observed to slow the aging process and stave off disease, while extending life. Diabetics who were taking Metformin lived …

Feeling stressed out?  Take a deep breath, roll your shoulders back down to their natural position and check out this TED ED animated video on the physiology of stress. No doubt you will be inspired to put stress reduction closer to the top of your list of priorities. Need more advice …

The period after the birth of a child is a time of incredible transition for a woman. Her body, schedule and new responsibilities can feel both unfamiliar and demanding. The new baby in her life is a source of alternating pride, wonder and frustration. Life becomes a maelstrom of responsibilities; some critical, some mundane, …

The painful burning chest and sour throat of heartburn are a familiar after-dinner event for many women. Commonly understood triggers include medications, certain foods, obesity and bending over or laying down too soon after eating. When heartburn symptoms escalate and occur at least twice a week, a diagnosis of GERD …

About 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. But that number starts to change when you begin looking at the specific factors in any individual woman’s life and family history. What factors influence a woman’s personal risk of breast cancer? Age, family history, alcohol use, …

A mother’s child lives in her heart forever. The precious curls, the adorable gurgling laugh or the soft curve of a baby’s cheek can etch themselves in a woman’s mind long after her baby has left for college. But new research is beginning to understand ways in which this connection …

What’s on your kitchen counter? I’ll guess a toaster, a pile of mail, a cell phone charger –  and just maybe the secret to your weight. Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab recently studied the correlation between what food is sitting on a kitchen countertop and the weight of the …