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Stroke prevalence has been climbing over the past decade, reversing a steady decline among all Americans while rising the most among adults under 65, a new CDC analysis reports. Strokes still strike more adults older than 65, but the increase at younger ages mirrors another recent turnaround: rates of heart failure deaths, which had been dipping, are rising the most in adults under 45. (Cooney, 5/23)

Tobacco companies still actively target young people via social media, sports and music festivals and new, flavored products, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, accusing companies of trying to hook a new generation on nicotine. Amid ever-stricter regulation targeting cigarettes, big tobacco companies and new entrants have begun offering smoking alternatives such as vapes, which they say are aimed at adult smokers. (5/23)

A generic high blood pressure drug has become the most commonly prescribed oral medication to treat acne in women, overtaking antibiotics and birth control pills, a new report from Epic Research shows. The report, conducted on behalf of NBC News, found that spironolactone made up 47% of all oral medications prescribed to women for acne in 2023, up from 27% in 2017. (Kopf, 5/23)

New research finds getting an epidural during labor could help reduce the risk of complications. ... Researchers in the U.K. analyzed data on more than half a million women in labor. They found that those who received an epidural were 35 percent less likely to have severe, potentially life-threatening complications such as heart attack, stroke, or hysterectomy in the first few weeks after birth. (Marshall, 5/23)