Pharmaceutical giant Merck is buying Verona Pharma, a company that concentrates its efforts on respiratory diseases, in an approximately $10 billion deal.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Here’s our weekly round up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.

Residents at Waterford Square Apartments in Waterford Township say they’ve been without hot water since the beginning of the year.

If you’ve ever had the feeling that you just can’t get enough air, you know what it’s like to experience shortness of breath. At Heart & Vascular Institute, their team of experts sees many patients who’ve experienced dyspnea, or shortness of breath. Shortness of breath that requires medical careIf you’re not in one of the “don’t worry” situations and experience shortness of breath, schedule an appointment with your doctor, said the experts from Heart & Vascular Institute. Other serious causes of shortness of breathIf you develop a blood clot in your lungs, called a pulmonary embolism, you may feel short of breath. Cardiac causes of dyspneaMultiple cardiac conditions can cause shortness of breath, including:Congestive heart failureArrhythmiaPericarditisA heart attackCardiomyopathyWhen you come to Heart & Vascular Institute with shortness of breath, doctors will run a battery of tests to learn what’s causing the problem.

Harvard researchers wanted to see if increases in emergency department visits for respiratory illnesses among older adults happened in the days surrounding thunderstorms because vulnerable groups and those with common chronic respiratory disease may be able to take steps to prevent worsening. The study in JAMA Internal Medicine found thunderstorms are linked with an average of 3,700 emergency department visits annually in the U.S. among seniors with respiratory illnesses, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They collected the data from 1999 through 2012 in more than 3,000 counties and looked at emergency department visits due to respiratory conditions in older patient populations in the days before and after thunderstorms. They found an uptick of ER visits of those with asthma and COPD on the day before thunderstorms. You can find the full study here.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Air pollution does a lot more damage to our lungs than scientists realized, according to a new study in Monday's European Respiratory Journal. Researchers found it ages lungs more quickly and putting us at higher risk of COPD. Particle pollution is the mix of solid and liquid droplets in the air, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. They think air pollution has this impact because it causes inflammation in the lungs, which narrows airways and makes it harder to breathe. Air pollution also increases the risk of heart disease, strokes and lung cancer.