Angelina Jolie's announcement this week that she had both breasts surgically removed to reduce her risk of breast cancer has raised lots of questions about how to best prevent the disease in the women at highest risk of it.

Summer sun increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults. A number of steps can help prevent that disease, as well as your risk of developing cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.

Not if the screening device scans your heel to capture your bone density measurement, instead of the lower spine or hip. Bone density measurements help determine if you have osteoporosis. But heel scans can be inaccurate, say our medical consultants. The problem is that "normal" results could provide a false sense of security. For a better assessment, and to help determine whether you even need the test at all, discuss with your doctor.

If you'll be doing yard work, hiking, or just sitting on the lawn in the spring loveliness this weekend, be aware that you might not be alone out there: It's tick time again.

Emergency-room visits stemming from Ambien, Edluar, Zolpimist, and other insomnia drugs containing zolpidem have more than tripled in recent years, according to a new report.

If you've experienced problems with a medical device (or even with medications and vaccines) the Food and Drug Administration wants you to know that now there's a free app to help you report it to the FDA.

My heart rate monitor has been sitting, unused, at the bottom of my gym bag for months. I couldn't get used to putting on the chest strap that comes with it, especially during winter workouts when that chest strap was ice cold from being in the car all day.

A number of nondrug measures can help lower your blood pressure, according to a new review from the American Heart Association. Those include exercise, biofeedback, meditation, and a device called RESPeRATE. And while drugs are often necessary, those and other lifestyle changes might be enough to help some people reduce or eliminate their need for medication, our medical experts say. The panel did not review dietary supplements or herbal treatments.

About a third of Americans now have high blood pressure, and nearly two-thirds of those take drugs to control it, according to a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our new blood pressure monitor Ratings can help you see if you are one of those 68 million Americans with hypertension. And if you are, our Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs report on high blood pressure drugs can help you get the right medication.

If you're younger than 50 or older than 70, you don't need to undergo prostate cancer screening. And if you fall between those ages discuss the pros and cons of the test with your doctor before undergoing it.

We're barely a week into Spring and already pollen counts in some parts of the U.S. are on the rise, causing sheer misery in the form of runny noses, itchy, watery eyes, and sneezing for nearly 60 million seasonal allergy sufferers. If you're one of them, you know that getting relief, short of locking yourself way for the next three months, can be difficult. But it's not impossible.

Over 90,000 OneTouch VerioIQ blood glucose meters are being recalled by its maker LifeScan, Inc. According to the company, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, the meters can inadvertently shut off if readings are extremely high. That could lead lead to incorrect or delayed treatment.

Scratch headaches off the list of excuses for avoiding sex. Surprisingly, German researchers recently found that among 800 migraine sufferers, two-thirds of those who had sex during their migraines reported that their headache pain felt better afterward. Most of the rest, however, said the pain got worse. We'll let you be the judge of that. In the meantime, we stand by another, better studied option to help relieve migraines: the generic form of Imitrex, or sumatriptan.

Q. I've read lately that supplements made from unroasted coffee beans can help you lose weight. Is that true?

The hour of sleep you'll lose Sunday morning when your clock springs forward might do more than just make you cranky. Some research suggests it translates into more car crashes and even heart attacks on Monday morning, thanks to worsened sleep deprivation. But a few simple steps might help smooth the transition.