Dear Mayo Clinic: What is the best long-term treatment for vaginal prolapse? I am in my late 50s.

A: There are nonsurgical and surgical treatment options for vaginal prolapse, and the treatment that is best usually depends on the severity of the condition and how much the symptoms are bothering you. Surgery often is recommended to repair the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave a sympathetic hearing Tuesday to health insurers who were promised their losses would be covered if they expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act, only to have the Republican-controlled Congress later refuse to pay.

"This case involves a massive government bait-and-switch and the fundamental question ...Read more

Almost 15.7 million people in the U.S. report they've been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the most common forms of COPD is emphysema. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus production and wheezing.

But a minimally invasive procedure is...Read more

A lonely and anxious Rebecca Massie first called the Mental Health Association of San Francisco "warmline" during the 2015 winter holidays.

"It was a wonderful call," said Massie, now 38 and a mental health advocate. "I was laughing by the end, and I got in the holiday spirit."

Massie, a San Francisco resident, later used the line multiple ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- More than $12 billion is at stake for the nation's health insurers Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears another Affordable Care Act case.

For the federal government, the potential damages could be far greater, as its reputation as a reliable partner to private businesses is on the line.

Unlike earlier Obamacare cases before the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- When Mary Prehoden gets dressed for work every morning, her eyes lock on the bite-shaped scar on her chest.

It's a harsh reminder of one of the worst days of her life. Prehoden, a nurse supervisor at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, was brutally attacked last year by a schizophrenic patient who was off his medication. He lunged at...Read more

Caring for someone with a serious illness stretches people spiritually and emotionally, often beyond what they might have thought possible.

Dr. Arthur Kleinman, a professor of psychiatry and anthropology at Harvard University, calls this "enduring the unendurable" in his recently published book, "The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a ...Read more

More than two years after California's surprise-billing law took effect, there's one thing on which consumer advocates, doctors and insurers all agree: The law has been effective at protecting many people from bills they might have been saddled with from doctors who aren't in their insurance network.

But the consensus stops there.

"In general,...Read more

A large study led by government scientists is renewing concern about whether chemicals used to dye and straighten hair raise the risk of cancer.

National Institutes of Health researchers found an increased chance of breast cancer among women who regularly used permanent hair dye, particularly African-Americans. Black women who used dye at least...Read more

Loneliness kills. According to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, isolation and weak social connections "are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking fifteen cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity." Even when it's not fatal, loneliness makes life a lot less pleasant. We'll talk...Read more

The one thing we know about health care in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race is that it's a top issue for voters.

The latest Tracking Poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 24% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they want to hear the candidates discuss health care. That's twice the total for the next top ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: What causes scoliosis? Do genetics play a role? I was diagnosed with it as a teenager, and several of my cousins had it, too. Now I'm worried that my daughter, who's 8, may be affected when she gets older. Should she be checked for scoliosis soon?

A: The exact cause of scoliosis isn't known. But it tends to run in families, ...Read more

UnitedHealth Group is projecting revenue growth to pick up a bit next year led by its Optum division for health care services, which includes a fast-growing network of medical clinics and surgery centers.

The Minnesota-based company provided its first financial outlook for 2020 during an investor conference Tuesday in New York.

Chief executive...Read more

Yobania and Jeffrey Nieto are more than 3,000 miles from home, and on a desperate mission they never anticipated would last this long, or be this hard: finding medical help for their 2-year-old son, Jesseht.

Jesseht suffers from a disorder called hypotonia, or an abnormally low level of muscle tone, and other conditions that affect his ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: Is minimally invasive heart surgery to repair a mitral valve a safer option than open-heart surgery? Is it common for a surgeon to have to switch to an open-heart procedure after starting the surgery?

A: Both minimally invasive heart surgery and traditional surgery that involves opening the chest bone -- a procedure known as ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Munaf Patel is an active husband and father. He plays cricket, basketball and volleyball, and runs around with his young kids in the family's yard near the city's Far Northwest Side.

So when he had an "uneasy" feeling in his chest in September 2015, he took some aspirin and followed up with his doctor. He was concerned but didn't ...Read more

Q: My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, but she seems to be declining rapidly. Doesn't Alzheimer's usually get worse slowly?

A: Yes, Alzheimer's disease usually worsens slowly. But its speed of progression varies, depending on a person's genetic makeup, environmental factors, age at diagnosis and other medical conditions.

...Read more

CHICAGO -- Outcome Health and its former executives, Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, were shining stars in Chicago's tech scene.

There were plans to put the company's name on a skyscraper. A fund co-founded by J.B. Pritzker and units of Goldman Sachs and Google made investments in the company. Shah was the youngest newcomer to the Forbes 400 ...Read more