Cardiovascular Health

Sleep disruption has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, but the mechanism has been unclear. A new study in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Raphael Vallat, Vyoma Shah, and Matthew Walker of the University of California at Berkeley and colleagues reveals that fragmented sleep exacerbates atherosclerosis and may raise the risk of stroke … [Read more...]

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School recently proved the ability to grow human-derived blood vessels in a pig -- a novel approach that has the potential for providing unlimited human vessels for transplant purposes. Because these vessels were made with patient-derived skin cells, they are less likely to be rejected by the recipient, helping … [Read more...]

The relationship between egg consumption and CVD risk has been a topic of intense debate in the scientific community in recent decades. Just in the past 12 months, three published studies have reported conflicting results. The new findings update a 1999 study -- the first major analysis of eggs and cardiovascular disease -- that found no association between eggs and CVD … [Read more...]

Two studies demonstrate that older adults may be able to live longer, healthier lives by increasing physical activity that doesn't have to be strenuous to be effective, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2020. The EPI Scientific Sessions, March 3-6 … [Read more...]

New research has found that music therapy sessions have a positive effect on the neurorehabilitation of acute stroke patients, as well as their mood. The study -- the first large-scale investigation into the feasibility of delivering these exercises -- was led by Dr Alex Street, of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), and was carried out on a 26-bed stroke and rehabilitation unit … [Read more...]

Drinking 12 ounces of sugary drinks more than once per day is linked to lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), ("good" cholesterol), and higher levels of triglycerides, in middle aged and older adults, both of which have been shown to increase risk of cardiovascular disease. These results are from a new observational study published today in the Journal … [Read more...]

Walnuts may not just be a tasty snack, they may also promote good-for-your-gut bacteria. New research suggests that these "good" bacteria could be contributing to the heart-health benefits of walnuts. In a randomized, controlled trial, researchers found that eating walnuts daily as part of a healthy diet was associated with increases in certain bacteria that can help promote … [Read more...]

Researchers may have discovered a way to turn back the clock on aging heart muscles in fruit flies, a development that could lead to new therapies for older humans with heart disease. Hua Bai, an assistant professor of genetics, development and cell biology at Iowa State University, led a study, published recently in the academic journal Autophagy, that explores the … [Read more...]

An age-related decline in recovery from muscle injury can be traced to a protein that suppresses the special ability of muscle stem cells to build new muscles, according to work from a team of current and former Carnegie biologists led by Chen-Ming Fan and published in Nature Metabolism. Skeletal muscles have a tremendous capacity to make new muscles from special muscle stem … [Read more...]

Trips to the toilet at night are a sign of high blood pressure, according to results from the Watari study presented today at the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS 2019). "Our study indicates that if you need to urinate in the night -- called nocturia -- you may have elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in your body," said study … [Read more...]

Vitamin D levels in the blood are linked to cardiorespiratory fitness, according to a study published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a publication of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). "Our study shows that higher levels of vitamin D are associated with better exercise capacity," said Dr Amr Marawan, assistant professor of internal … [Read more...]

A new study in Cardiovascular Research, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that patients with high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing dementia. This research also shows (for the first time) that an MRI can be used to detect very early signatures of neurological damage in people with high blood pressure, before any symptoms of dementia occur. High … [Read more...]

Adopting a Mediterranean-style eating pattern improves heart health, with or without reducing red meat intake, if the red meat consumed is lean and unprocessed, according to a Purdue University nutrition study. "This study is important because it shows that red meat can be part of a heart-healthy eating pattern like a Mediterranean-style eating pattern," said Wayne W. … [Read more...]

Data assessed from roughly a half-million people in the UK Biobank database showed that greater grip strength, more physical activity and better cardiorespiratory fitness are all associated with reduced risk for heart attacks and stroke, even among people with a genetic predisposition for heart disease. For participants with an intermediate genetic risk for cardiovascular … [Read more...]

A study from the University of Illinois at Chicago has found that women are at the highest risk for heart failure within the six weeks after delivery, known as the postpartum period. "This finding lends support to using delivery-related hospitalization as a window of opportunity to identify high-risk women and develop surveillance strategies before discharge," said the … [Read more...]

Cardiovascular disease patients have lower levels of an important family of protective molecules in their blood in the morning, which could be increasing their risk of blood clots and heart attacks at those times, according to early research led by Queen Mary University of London. The discovery of the importance of this compound in the blood could lead to new ways to … [Read more...]

Peter Ruben and his team of researchers have spent years studying why seemingly healthy patients with inherited cardiac arrhythmias can sometimes suddenly die during exercise. (2017, 2016, 2015) His past research has shown that exercising can trigger a perfect storm of events, unmasking an arrhythmia: high heart rate, elevated body temperature, and elevated acid in the … [Read more...]

New data from the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest that the guidelines used to evaluate an individual's peak blood pressure response during cardiopulmonary exercise testing, which were last updated in 1996 and help doctors screen for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, may need to be revised. "This is the first systemic effort to establish maximum … [Read more...]

Obesity and other common cardiovascular risk factors may play a greater role in sudden cardiac arrest among younger people than previously recognized, underscoring the importance of earlier screening, a Cedars-Sinai study has found. While sports activity often garners attention in cases of sudden cardiac arrest in younger patients, it was cited only in a small … [Read more...]

A new study in the American Journal of Hypertension, published by Oxford University Press, suggests that higher yogurt intake is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk among hypertensive men and women. High blood pressure is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor. Clinical trials have previously demonstrated beneficial effects of dairy consumption on … [Read more...]

When the heart is put under stress during exercise, it is considered healthy. Yet stress due to high blood pressure is bad for the heart. Why? And is this always the case? Researchers of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) and of Heidelberg University Hospital have obtained new findings which indicate that a previously undetected signal pathway causes or … [Read more...]

Reversing scar tissue after a heart attack to create healthy heart muscle: this would be a game-changer in the field of cardiology and regenerative medicine. In the lab, scientists have shown it's possible to change fibroblasts (scar tissue cells) into cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells), but sorting out the details of how this happens hasn't been easy, and using this kind of … [Read more...]