Doctor's Orders: Nov. 28, 2005

PET RX: NOTHING TO SNIFF AT Heart-failure patients fare much better--with lower anxiety and stress-hormone scores--when visited in the hospital by dogs rather than people.

GOOD FOR GOOSE, NOT FOR GANDER A Duke University analysis of 95,456 patients reports that taking regular low doses of aspirin reduces the risk of stroke in women 17% but not at all in men.

HEART-STOPPING THRILL RIDE A study of 55 adults on a roller coaster called Expedition GeForce reports that it triggered irregular heartbeats and atrial fibrillation, potentially fatal for heart patients.

11TH HOUR IS THE DANGEROUS ONE A Penn State study finds that a truck driver's risk of crashing is three times as high during the last hour of a haul as during the first.

DANISH, NO COFFEE A survey of 88,482 Danish women, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that pregnant women who drank eight or more cups of coffee a day had a risk of stillbirth and miscarriage 59% higher than those who drank none.