BOSTON -- In Monday's medical news, NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported on ways to combat seasonal affective disorder, children and weight loss and heart attack survivors and risk of stroke.

Heart Attack And Stoke

Patients who have just had a heart attack are at greater risk of suffering a stroke within a month of their attack, according to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic followed more than 2,000 heart attack patients for an average of 5 ½ years after their heart attack. They found the risk of stroke was 44 times greater in the month following the attack and stroke risk remained two to three times greater for three years.

Kids And Weight Loss

More mothers are watching their children's waistlines, but are the children paying attention?

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital looked at survey data from thousands of adolescents and their mothers.

About half the mothers said it's important that their children not be fat, but only 4 to 5 percent of children got the message. Instead, the survey found celebrities and the media had a greater influence on a child's desire to be thin than their parents.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

And if the dark days of December are casting a cloud over your mood, you're not alone.

Experts say as many as 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Symptoms of the disorder include feeling sluggish and depressed, craving comfort foods and gaining weight.

"This time of year in New England the days are shorter, the days are more cloudy, so there's not as much opportunity, plus it's cold so people aren't outside getting the natural light exposure they would normally get," said Dr. Carol Glod, of McLean Hospital.

Doctors said to get through the dark days of winter people should cut back on carbohydrates, maintain their sleep schedule, exercise regularly, and whenever the weather permits, get outside and soak up the sun.