Heart Health Archive

People seeking motivation to be more active and connected to their community might consider signing up for a Turkey Trot, a race or "fun run" held on Thanksgiving morning. Most events are 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), and participants can walk all or part of the course. Many feature ways to support a local community charity.

A 2024 study suggests that swapping table salt for a salt substitute can markedly lower the risk of developing high blood pressure.

People who have stable angina despite taking medications can be treated with stents or bypass surgery. The best choice depends on the location and complexity of the artery blockages and other health conditions.

In 2024, the FDA approved two catheter-based devices for treating a leaky tricuspid valve. Both relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for people with moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation, which affects about 4% of people ages 75 and older. One device is a modification of a system to treat mitral valve regurgitation that works by bringing the valve leaflets together at the areas of most severe leakage. The other device delivers a new valve made of cow heart tissue, which is commonly used in surgical valve replacements.

About 98 million Americans have prediabetes, in which the average amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood is high but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. While people with prediabetes want to avoid getting diabetes, prediabetes can be dangerous on its own, as it increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and fatty liver disease. Controlling blood pressure, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, and managing glucose levels with weight loss, exercise, and diet offers protection against diabetes and these conditions.

For stroke survivors, workouts that alternate high- and low-intensity exercise (known as high-intensity interval training or HIIT) may boost fitness more than moderate-intensity workouts.

Over a 24-year span, people whose diets favored plant-based fat lived longer than people who ate more animal-based fat, according to a 2024 study. The same distinction appeared specifically for deaths from heart disease.

A 2024 report suggests that rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and colon cancer would fall substantially if people ate less red and processed meat.

A 2024 study suggests that older women with higher scores on tests to assess gratitude may live longer than those with lower scores. Most of this benefit seems to come from preventing deaths from heart disease.