Heart Health News & Features

Some ways to boost heart health have sound science to back them up. Others are pure hype. See what an expert says about the latest ways you can prevent heart disease.

Is That Statin Doing You Any Good? By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Oct. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Many people who take cholesterol-lowering statins may not benefit from them, researchers say. Drugs like atorvastatin (Lipitor) and fluvastatin (Lescol) provide little value to people without heart disease, new research shows. Yet these heart-healthy folks represent a sizable number of statin users.While statins for people with heart disease isn't controversial, their use in people without heart disease (known as "primary prevention") is the subject of debate.The use of statins for primary prevention "warrants more careful consideration," concluded

The "polypill" reduced the risk of life-threatening heart health problems by more than one-third during a five-year period in a group of more than 3,400 people aged 50 to 75.

Researchers found that compared with people who had no pets, dog owners tended to have fewer risk factors for heart disease: They got more exercise, and had healthier diets and lower blood sugar levels.

The team's findings come as the FDA mulls possibly removing the right to a labeling claim that soy "may reduce the risk of heart disease," first approved by the agency in 1999.

The research found no decrease in major heart events in people taking vitamin D supplements. There was no drop in heart attack rates. No drop in stroke. No drop in death from any cause

More Americans than ever are opting out of a morning meal.

Your heart will thank you if you replace red meat with healthy plant proteins. Doing so will lower your odds for heart disease, according to a new study.

A gradual rise in heart rate could mean trouble ahead for your heart health.

The printer-generated heart is only about a third the size of an actual human heart -- and it doesn't actually work.

For participants who adopted a plant-based diet high in fruit juices, refined grains, potatoes and sweets, the risk of death jumped 11 percent.

Those who ate energy-rich breakfasts -- consuming at least a fifth of their daily calories at the breakfast table -- had significantly less buildup of fatty plaque and stiffness in their arteries, compared to people who had a less caloric breakfast or skipped breakfast altogether, said a team led by Dr. Sotirios Tsalamandris.

Attending cardiac rehab is associated with improved sexual function and more frequent sex, according to a new evidence review.

The 'import alert' from the FDA against Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals comes after a series of recalls for valsartan heart and blood pressure drugs that include ingredients made by ZHP.

But new research involving 24,000 U.S. adults suggests milk and milk-derived products don't pose the dire health risks suggested by prior research, and maybe those old warnings should be relaxed.

Target blood pressure for people in the United States is now 130/80, according to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

A review of popular diet trends by a panel from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) finds that omega-3 fats and legumes (including beans, lentils and peas) have good evidence of heart benefits. Coffee and tea, meanwhile, are reasonable choices -- just hold the cream and sugar. And full-fat dairy foods should probably be avoided.

Add protection from heart disease and stroke to the health benefits of marriage.

Those who had exercised two to three times a week for at least a half-hour a day for many years had more "youthful" -- that is, less stiff -- middle-sized arteries, the researchers found.

The best choices are oily fish with large doses of omega-3 fatty acids. The options include salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, lake trout, herring and sardines.

The findings suggest efforts in recent years to close gender gaps in the use of recommended treatments after a heart attack have failed, according to the researchers.

Eating lots of vegetables may help older women keep their blood vessels healthy, with the biggest benefit from cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli.

The study found the daily pill can reduce the risk for heart failure-related hospitalization and death in people who have both conditions.  However, it also found that a daily aspirin raises their risk for nonfatal heart attack and stroke.

On either diet, participants lost about 3 pounds of body fat and about 4 pounds of weight overall. They also had similar decreases in body mass index (BMI), an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.

However, the study researchers are concerned that the fat migration could pose a problem for people who already have heart issues.