For the first time, researchers have found that low levels of an anti-inflammatory antibody predispose older women as well as men to cardiovascular (CV) disease. The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, could eventually lead to a vaccine against ischemic heart disease (IHD). The natural…

Regular mobile phone use is linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk, especially in current smokers and individuals with diabetes, according to a new large-scale cohort study that used UK Biobank data. This association, the researchers say, was partly attributed to poor sleep, psychological distress, and neuroticism. The team is led…

New research funded by the NIH National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI) has identified a combination of biomarkers that can predict a woman’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 30 years. The study, presented as late-breaking research at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024 and published in…

An updated cardiovascular disease risk calculator released late last year by the American Heart Association (AHA), touted as more precise than its predecessor, could unintentionally lead to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke risk over 10 years, if current treatment guidelines for cholesterol and blood pressure therapy remain…

Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist designed to treat type 2 diabetes, is also effective at improving cardiovascular and kidney health and reducing the risk for death in people with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, the patients randomized…

A large, individual-level data analysis, of 28 general population–based cohorts from 12 countries has revealed that cardiovascular biomarkers were strongly associated with fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events and mortality.  The report was published in JAMA and the lead author is Johannes Tobias Neumann, MD, PhD. The addition of biomarkers to established…

The V142I transthyretin variant, present in three to four percent of self-identified Black individuals in the U.S., increases the risk for both heart failure and death and contributes to significant decreases in longevity, according to work by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University.  Their study looked at…

Verve Therapeutics, a biotech based in Cambridge, MA, has progressed its second base edited gene therapy, aimed at significantly lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, to the clinic in a Phase I trial. The company is using base editing, a more precise gene editing technique than CRISPR-Cas9, to create novel therapies…

Researchers at the University of Granada (UGR), Spain have shown that sclerostin, a bone formation inhibitor protein, is also protective of the cardiovascular health of patients with type 2 diabetes. The research was conducted by the MP20-Biomarkers of Metabolic and Bone Diseases research group at the Biohealth Research Institute in…

Weight loss by diet and lifestyle can reverse Type 2 diabetes, evidence suggests. Now, new research shows diabetes remission may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk by 40% and chronic kidney disease (CKD) by 33%. The study appeared in Diabetologia and was led by Edward Gregg, head of the School of…

Results from a large study carried out in Sweden show that long-term use of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication can increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Zheng Chang, a group leader at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues found that for every year of ADHD medication use CVD risk increased by…

Walgreens and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) announced a collaboration on a population-based clinical trial that seeks to quantify the prevalence of valvular heart disease (VHD) in older Americans. Under the terms of the deal, Walgreens will leverage its broad national presence to help recruit potential trial participants employing its…

The Million Hearts Model, a cardiovascular disease event prevention program created by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), significantly reduced the risk of heart attacks, strokes and related deaths. As reported in JAMA, the model, which paid healthcare providers to carry out cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessments,…

A new review published in The Lancet Neurology by researchers at Mass General Brigham presents findings indicating that cardiovascular disease risk may be increased by traumatic brain injury (TBI). The review presented evidence of the long-term associations between TBI and cardiovascular disease noting that post-injury comorbidities, as well as neuroinflammation,…

Research at Kaiser Permanente Southern California shows that some types of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy may have a better cardiovascular risk profile than others. As reported in JAMA Network Open, use of tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) for HIV PrEP was linked to increased risk for high blood pressure and…