Heart Health Archive

A daily serving of cheese is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and death from cardiovascular disease. But it's best to pair cheese with foods like whole-grain crackers or salad instead of combining it with refined carbohydrates and meat, such as cheese on burgers or pizza. Health-promoting fermentation products may counteract the saturated fat and sodium found in cheese.

A 2025 study found that in people who are overweight or obese, substituting standing and light walking in place of sitting may help improve blood levels of certain types of fats, including triglycerides and small, dense LDL cholesterol particles.

About 25% of people have a common heart variant called a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a flaplike opening between the heart's upper chambers. In people with the condition, venous blood can leak across the heart from the right atrium to the left atrium, bypassing the lungs. If that blood contains a clot, it can travel directly to the arteries that send blood throughout the body. A stroke can occur if that clot lodges in an artery supplying the brain. In people prone to blood clots, a PFO raises the risk of stroke and dementia.

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) creates a 3D image of the heart and its blood vessels, revealing both obstructive and nonobstructive plaque. Most heart attacks occur when smaller, nonobstructive plaques rupture and form a clot that triggers a heart attack. Used to assess people with stable angina, CCTA may prevent heart attacks by improving how cardiologists find and treat heart disease.

Older people with atrial fibrillation are sometimes advised to stop taking clot-prevention drugs due to fears about bleeding. But a 2025 study suggests that the risk of stroke and heart attack from stopping the drugs outweighs the risk of bleeding.

Evidence published in 2025 suggests that 15 million people in the United States are at risk for developing heart failure, a condition in which the heart doesn't pump well enough to meet the body's needs. The estimate was determined with improved tools to calculate risk, called the PREVENT equations. Like previous methods, the equations consider age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and smoking history. But the PREVENT equations remove race (an unreliable predictor) and add additional aspects of health.

TV medical dramas often portray treatments for heart attacks and cardiac arrest. While the timelines are often accelerated and certain aspects may be dramatized to engage viewers, the medical details are, for the most part, factual and authentic. Writers and producers routinely rely on health care experts - including Harvard doctors - to make sure the information is accurate. For people with heart disease, seeing how emergency physicians treat urgent conditions may show them what to expect.

A 2025 studyfound that intermuscular fat-fat stored within muscle tissue-may increase a person's risk of heart disease.

With ticks thriving in a wider geographic range, appearing earlier and sticking around later, it's important to stay vigilant about protecting yourself against ticks that cause Lyme disease and other illnesses. Learn some steps you can take to avoid tick bites.

Long-term research found that higher consumption of butter increases mortality risk, while higher consumption of plant-based oil lowers it. And substituting certain plant oils for butter might help people live longer. What's a butter lover to do?