A Metro Detroit mother who has relied on a mechanical heart pump for years while she’s waited to get on the organ transplant list.

New data from the American Heart Association suggests drinking coffee straight black can reduce the risk of heart failure in the long term. Drinking one or more cups of plain (black), leaded coffee a day was associated with a long-term reduced risk of heart failure, according to a review of diet data from three major studies using analytic tools from the American Heart Association. “We identified multiple dietary and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease outcomes including marital status, red meat consumption, whole milk consumption, and coffee consumption. Among these dietary variables, increasing coffee consumption was associated with decreasing long-term risk of heart failure (HF) congruently in FHS (Framingham Heart Study), ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities), and CHS (Cardiovascular Heart Study). Further study is warranted to better define the role, possible causality, and potential mechanism of coffee consumption as a potential modifiable risk factor for HF.” American Heart AssociationMore: Healthy Heart news

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - DECEMBER 19: Doctor walks through the COVID-19 area in front of a wheelchair at the hospital of the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases Ismael Cosío Villegas on December 19, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Alfredo Martinez/Getty Images)ANN ARBOR – A growing number of studies have shown that in the first months after being discharged from the hospital, COVID-19 patients faced a high risk of returning for treatment, ongoing health problems and death. The overall risk of readmission or death for COVID patients was lower than that for patients with the other two conditions after 60 days. “For many patients, COVID-19 seems to set off cascades of problems that are every bit as serious as those we see in other diseases. Half of the patients in the study were Black and 95% of the patients were male -- both high risk groups.