Diabetes mellitus continues to be linked to higher all-cause and CVD mortality in patients living with the disease, according to work published in the Journal of the American Heart Association Feb. 19. But some of that risk could be mitigated by controlling cardiovascular risk factors, and diabetes-related deaths are down overall.

The American Heart Association announced on Feb. 20 it launched a series of quick online reference tools for physicians and their patients who struggle with high blood pressure, including a list of four of the most common mistakes hypertensives can make on a daily basis.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the country’s first interoperable insulin pump Feb. 14, reporting the technology will help diabetics better individualize their treatment regimens.

Results from President Donald Trump’s latest physical, released Feb. 14., reveal the president’s overall cholesterol has improved since last year’s check-up, according to the Associated Press. But Trump has also gained weight and is now classified as obese, which could raise his already elevated risk for heart disease.

Though many physicians are reluctant to change the status quo, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine Feb. 4 suggests automated office blood pressure measurement (AOBP) is the way to go when recording a patient’s BP, since the approach bypasses the so-called “white coat effect” triggered by more traditional methods.

There’s not much aging individuals can do to beat back age-related cognitive impairment once it begins, but improving consistency in blood pressure seems to help slow the pace of the falloff in those with significant BP swings.

A 73-year-old Florida man posing as a fake doctor was arrested after he diagnosed an undercover cop with diabetes and high cholesterol and offered to “cure” the man with a $2,000 autologous blood transfusion, the Miami Herald reported Feb. 13.

“Rather than bringing in many additional statin candidates, this testing should serve as a decision aid to ‘de-risk’ certain patients and distinguish those who may benefit from preventive pharmacologic therapies," Johns Hopkins researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.