https://medicalxpress.com/cardiology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Cardiology Perimenopausal women are two times more likely to have a low cardiovascular health score compared to women having regular menstrual cycles, according to an analysis of nationwide U.S. data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-perimenopause-window-opportunity-heart-disease.html Wed, 13 May 2026 05:00:05 EDT news697794177 Aerobic and resistance training combined, and high intensity interval training (HIIT), are associated with significant reductions in blood pressure over 24 hours, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence for several different types of structured exercise, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-combined-high-intensity-interval-linked.html Tue, 12 May 2026 18:30:01 EDT news697710900 Researchers have developed artificial intelligence (AI) models that can scrutinize electronic health records (EHR) and electrocardiograms to identify individuals in the general population at elevated risk for sudden cardiac arrest—a condition that causes more than 400,000 U.S. deaths annually and has a survival rate of only 10%. The finding represents a significant advance in predicting a largely unpredictable medical emergency that often strikes people with no known heart disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-patient-cardiac.html Tue, 12 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news697815961 For decades, scientists have known that estrogen protects cardiovascular health, but exactly how that protection works—and what happens when it disappears—has remained unclear. New research from University of Texas at Arlington points to the liver and the immune system as critical players. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-estrogen-liver-inflammation-cholesterol-heart.html Tue, 12 May 2026 16:00:04 EDT news697815347 A low dose of digoxin ensures that people with heart failure are hospitalized and die less frequently. This emerges from three studies led by UMCG cardiologists Dirk Jan van Veldhuisen, Kevin Damman, and Peter van der Meer. They expect that these latest insights will lead to changes in heart failure guidelines in the future, allowing many more patients to access this inexpensive medication. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-centuries-medicine-benefits-heart-failure.html Tue, 12 May 2026 13:20:09 EDT news697808883 A new way to detect the onset of heart and kidney disease far earlier than previously possible has been discovered by scientists. The breakthrough, published today in Nature Communications, reveals a novel method for identifying damage to the lining of microscopic blood vessels. This transforms our ability to detect disease at its very earliest stages, before it progresses and becomes potentially life-threatening. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-enables-earlier-heart-kidney.html Tue, 12 May 2026 09:20:08 EDT news697796281 Analyses supporting the use of digitalis glycosides in patients with heart failure were presented in a Late-Breaking Science session today at Heart Failure 2026, the annual congress of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-positive-drugs-digitalis-heart-failure.html Tue, 12 May 2026 04:30:01 EDT news697729081 Analyses identified a high-risk subgroup of patients—described as the "lemon-on-sticks" phenotype—who had a high disease burden and poor outcomes, according to results presented today at Heart Failure 2026, the annual congress of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-lemon-phenotype-poor-prognosis-heart.html Mon, 11 May 2026 22:40:01 EDT news697729043 Following an acute heart attack, pathological remodeling processes occur in the heart. One consequence is so-called left ventricular systolic dysfunction, in which the pumping function of the left ventricle is impaired. To compensate for this, the heart muscle enlarges excessively, thereby becoming further weakened. The key regulator of this harmful growth of heart muscle cells is microRNA-132 (miR-132). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-rna-therapy-heart-remodeling-clinical.html Mon, 11 May 2026 21:20:03 EDT news697734078 Findings from a new study have identified a new model for predicting outcomes for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition with a prevalence of one in 500 people and a frequent cause of sudden cardiac death. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that incorporating prospective data including clinical history, imaging, and blood biomarker data into risk assessment can improve prediction of adverse cardiac events in people with HCM. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cardiac-mri-blood-markers-sharpen.html Mon, 11 May 2026 17:00:01 EDT news697734320 Heart disease risk has been found to increase in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), even in those with normal weight, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague. This long-term study is the first and largest carried out on the association between PCOS and heart disease across three Nordic countries and highlights the importance of regular medical screenings in these women. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-large-scale-nordic-link-polycystic.html Mon, 11 May 2026 16:00:01 EDT news697717809 Interpreting relatively inexpensive electrocardiograms (ECGs) with an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm accurately screened patients for a key precursor of heart failure in Kenya, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows. The results, published in JAMA Cardiology, suggest AI-augmented ECG (AI-ECG) analysis could be a potential low-cost strategy for identifying patients who have underlying impairment in heart function. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-powered-electrocardiogram-early-heart.html Sat, 09 May 2026 14:00:01 EDT news697298029 A new survey by Morning Consult and the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine finds that a majority of Americans, 60%, are concerned about high blood pressure. Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and alarmingly, this condition is increasing among children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-survey-majority-americans-high-blood.html Sat, 09 May 2026 13:00:02 EDT news697201036 Short QT syndrome is a genetic disease that leads to sudden cardiac death at a young age. Mutations in the SLC4A3 gene, which regulates bicarbonate-chloride exchange, were recently described as a potential cause. An international research team including a group from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, investigated this possibility. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hereditary-heart-rhythm-disorders.html Fri, 08 May 2026 12:20:03 EDT news697461001 Between 1999 and 2022, the US had substantially higher death rates than other wealthy nations, largely due to cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases (including diabetes), Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and drug and alcohol complications. Policies are needed to address the underlying health, social, and economic conditions that increase Americans' risk of developing these diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-americans-die-sooner-disease-drugs.html Fri, 08 May 2026 11:00:05 EDT news697454401 A higher dietary intake of soy and legumes is linked to a lower risk of high blood pressure, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-everyday-protein-quietly-reshaping-blood.html Thu, 07 May 2026 18:30:05 EDT news697359295 A tool developed by the American Heart Association (AHA), proven to accurately predict heart disease risk for Americans, can be applied to the global population, a new study led by NYU Langone Health shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-heart-disease-tool-validated-globally.html Thu, 07 May 2026 18:00:01 EDT news697386925 Results from the first randomized trial of Impella pumps during complex stent procedures, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have shown that the pumps offer no significant benefit to patients compared to standard care. An Impella pump is a miniaturized, catheter-based pump that is inserted through an artery in the leg and designed to take over part of the heart's pumping work to help reduce strain on the heart. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-benefit-miniature-heart-complex-stent.html Thu, 07 May 2026 16:50:01 EDT news697390382 People who eat more ultra-processed food (UPF) have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death, according to a report published in the European Heart Journal. The report, by a group of cardiology experts from across Europe, brings together the results of all research on UPFs and cardiovascular disease that has been published to date. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-limit-ultra-foods-heart-disease.html Wed, 06 May 2026 19:10:07 EDT news697292521 When the human heart is damaged by a heart attack, stiff scar tissue eventually forms around the affected areas. This weakens the heart's pumping ability and increases the risk of heart failure and arrhythmias. Zebrafish, by contrast, can regenerate their hearts completely. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-zebrafish-hearts-early-immune.html Wed, 06 May 2026 19:00:04 EDT news697305001 Metabolic and bariatric surgery offers significantly greater long-term protection against heart attack, stroke and death than widely used GLP-1 drugs in older adults with obesity and diabetes, according to a new real-world analysis study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS2026). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-bariatric-surgery-effective-glp-drugs.html Wed, 06 May 2026 07:00:05 EDT news697200998 A study presented at the European Stroke Organization Conference (ESOC) 2026 suggests that both very low and very high resting heart rates are linked with an increased risk of stroke. As the largest population-level study to examine this relationship, the findings challenge the assumption that lower heart rates are always a sign of good cardiovascular fitness and carry no risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-high-heart-significantly.html Tue, 05 May 2026 18:10:06 EDT news697106641 Researchers at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomedical Engineering have developed a new method to mature lab-grown heart cells, so they more closely resemble adult human heart tissue. By optimizing the chemical cocktail in which these cells are grown, the team improved their structure, electrical activity, and ability to contract. This advance could help create more reliable models for studying heart disease and testing new drugs, where current lab-grown cells often fall short due to their immature state. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-optimized-formula-lab-grown-heart.html Tue, 05 May 2026 17:20:04 EDT news697219022 What exactly happens in the hearts of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)—and how can this knowledge be used to develop new therapies? A research team led by Dr. Gabriele Schiattarella from the Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité and a guest researcher at the Max Delbrück Center now has an answer: The heart muscle of patients with HFpEF and obesity shows a very distinct metabolic pattern—a kind of "metabolic fingerprint." This fingerprint, the researchers found, is distinct from people with obesity but who do not have symptoms of cardiometabolic diseases. The study is published in Cardiovascular Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-distinct-metabolic-signature-patients-heart.html Tue, 05 May 2026 16:20:03 EDT news697212421 Lifestyle, environment, and genetics can shape heart disease risk, but a new study from UConn researchers explores how negative childhood incidents impact heart health in adulthood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-links-childhood-adversity-heart-disease.html Tue, 05 May 2026 11:00:03 EDT news697193521 Using a deep learning model to analyze the composition of large muscles on MRI, German researchers found that the proportions of intermuscular fat and lean muscle mass were associated with high blood pressure and unhealthy lipid and blood sugar levels. Results of the study were published in Radiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hidden-muscle-fat-poses-danger.html Tue, 05 May 2026 10:00:10 EDT news697097221 Sodium can catch anyone by surprise—even a hypertension specialist like Dr. Jennifer Cluett. Cluett knows all about high blood pressure. She's a practicing primary care physician, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the medical director of the Complex Hypertension Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-sodium-expert-dangers.html Tue, 05 May 2026 09:40:03 EDT news697190762 Positive psychology interventions such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling, and optimism training can consistently improve blood pressure, inflammation markers, and other cardiovascular disease risk factors within a matter of weeks, a recent study has found. However, since these benefits are associated with lifestyle changes such as eating healthier and greater physical activity, the researchers suggest that ongoing reinforcements may be needed to stay on course for the long term. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-healthy-heart-require-regular-doses.html Mon, 04 May 2026 16:40:04 EDT news697122961 Modern medicine prides itself on being a universal science, built on evidence from clinical trials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-bias-medical-africa-huge-disease.html Mon, 04 May 2026 11:20:01 EDT news697109701 People with obesity face a significantly increased risk of atherosclerosis, and consequently heart attack and stroke. This elevated risk is largely driven by chronic inflammation in the blood vessels, which is more common in severe obesity. A new study led by Florian Kiefer at the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, MedUni Vienna, has now identified brown adipose tissue (brown fat) as a potential protective factor for vascular health. The findings, published in Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, show for the first time in humans that individuals with obesity and active brown fat exhibit significantly lower arterial inflammation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brown-fat-cardiovascular-disease-obesity.html Mon, 04 May 2026 09:00:04 EDT news697102861