News by Subject Medicine & Health

People with larger waistlines, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome may be at higher risk for having a second stroke and even dying than people who do not have metabolic syndrome, according to a meta-analysis published in the July 28, 2021, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Tragically, the opioid epidemic has led to an increase in accidental and premature deaths, which has also increased the number of hearts available for potential organ donation. Receiving a heart from a donor who used illicit drugs does not impact the recipient's survival, according to a group of researchers from Virginia, Arizona and Indiana.

Machine learning can accurately predict cardiovascular disease and guide treatment--but models that incorporate social determinants of health better capture risk and outcomes for diverse groups, finds a new study by researchers at New York University's School of Global Public Health and Tandon School of Engineering.

An analysis of nearly one million patients found that many heart failure diagnoses may be missed in a primary care setting. Women, Black adults and individuals with low net worth had higher heart failure diagnosis rates in an acute care setting such as the emergency room (ER) or during hospitalization. Almost half of the people first diagnosed with heart failure in the ER or during hospitalization had reported potential heart failure symptoms at outpatient care visits in the previous months.

Receiving the diagnosis of a genetic heart disease such as long QT syndrome, which can cause sudden cardiac death, has long been a game-ender for young athletes. But a 20-year study at Mayo Clinic following such athletes who were allowed to return to play suggests that the risks can be managed through a shared decision-making process. The retrospective study findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.

Two drugs commonly used to treat high blood pressure are equally effective as single-drug therapies, but one is slightly safer, a new study has found.

Historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples have significant cardiovascular health inequities, and these groups are underrepresented in genetic and genomic research. Almost 80% of participants in genomic research are of European ancestry, yet this group makes up just 16% of the global population. Heart-disease risk calculations and information about how different populations respond to treatment with medicines based on genetic studies are less accurate when used to assess risk for historically underrepresented or Indigenous peoples.

Drinking up to 105 grams of alcohol per week - equivalent to 13 UK units of alcohol, less than six pints of medium-strength beer or just over a bottle of wine - may be associated with a decreased risk of heart attack, stroke, angina or death among those with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The findings are published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

In an analysis of almost 3 million patients taking a single high blood pressure medication for the first time, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were as good as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors at preventing cardiovascular events linked to hypertension, including heart attack, stroke and heart failure. 51 possible side effects and safety concerns were examined: The patients taking ARBs were found to be significantly less likely to develop tissue swelling, cough, pancreas inflammation and bleeding in the digestive tract.