Heart Health

This news channel includes content on cardiovascular disease prevention, cardiac risk stratification, diagnosis, screening programs, and management of major risk factors that include diabetes, hypertension, diet, life style, cholesterol, obesity, ethnicity and socio-economic disparities.

Plant-based diets may help patients with diabetes, heart disease live longer
Researchers focused on data from nearly 78,000 adults with cardiometabolic disorders, sharing their findings at ACC.25 in Chicago.
Oral semaglutide reduces heart risks while helping patients move past ‘fear of the needle’
Researchers still think patients should receive an injectable version of semaglutide when possible, but new data out of ACC.25 confirm that an oral formulation of the drug is associated with significant benefits.
‘A practice-changing trial’: Semaglutide linked to key benefits for PAD patients with diabetes
Patients who present with type 2 diabetes and PAD often face substantial mobility issues. According to new data presented at ACC.25, however, treatment with semaglutide could represent a major step forward for this high-risk population.
A glass of orange juice a day may help keep the cardiologist away
Drinking orange juice is associated with several interactions in the body that may help combat the risks of cardiac remodeling.
Opportunistic screening: AI highlights key heart findings in mammography images
Breast artery calcifications are already visible when radiologists review mammograms, but nothing typically happens with them. Researchers aimed to see if AI could help translate those findings into an easy-to-understand cardiovascular risk score.

Cumulative BP measurements improve CVD risk prediction models

Swapping singular blood pressure measurements for long-term, cumulative ones could improve CVD risk prediction models, Northwestern University researchers report in the current online edition of JAMA Cardiology.

What the new definition of ‘hypertension’ means for AFib patients

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA)’s most recently updated guidelines for high blood pressure in adults redefined hypertension at a lower threshold, and those boundaries remain safe for patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to a large-scale review published in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Americans are dying because they can’t afford insulin

The cost of insulin in the U.S. is on the rise, and not all Americans can afford it—a problem one Minnesota mother blames for her son’s death from diabetic ketosis—NPR reported this week.

Birth through assisted fertilization linked to higher hypertension risk

A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are at an increased risk of developing arterial hypertension early in life.

Weight-loss drug lorcaserin demonstrates cardiovascular safety

Lorcaserin was associated with significant weight loss among overweight and obese individuals without compromising cardiovascular safety, according to a large, randomized trial published Aug. 26 in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich.

Consumers at risk for CVD less likely to read, understand food labels

Most consumers at risk for heart disease either fail to look at the nutritional labels on their food or have trouble understanding them, according to a study presented this week at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2018.

FDA: Common diabetes drug linked to ‘rare but serious’ gangrene

The FDA is mandating a new warning label on all sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors after the drugs were linked to 12 cases of Fournier’s gangrene in diabetic patients over the past five years.

Systolic BP below 110 doubles risk of fainting, serious falls

Among 477,516 people in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health system who were treated for high blood pressure, those who reached systolic blood pressure below 110 mm Hg at any point during a one-year period were twice as likely to faint or fall as patients who remained above that threshold.

Heart Health

Plant-based diets may help patients with diabetes, heart disease live longer

Oral semaglutide reduces heart risks while helping patients move past ‘fear of the needle’

‘A practice-changing trial’: Semaglutide linked to key benefits for PAD patients with diabetes

A glass of orange juice a day may help keep the cardiologist away

Opportunistic screening: AI highlights key heart findings in mammography images