Heart Health Archive

Pulmonary hypertension—a serious illness that affects the lungs and heart—has many possible causes, including a range of diseases and underlying conditions, as well genetic mutations and exposure to certain drugs. It is challenging to diagnose and treat, but a novel experimental drug that targets one form of the disease appears promising. The drug, called sotatercept, targets one of the dysregulated pathways that causes pulmonary arterial hypertension—one specific form of the disease.

In the United States, Black adults are more than twice as likely to die of cardiovascular disease than white adults. Discrimination and its downstream effects may underlie the survival gaps in cardiovascular disease between racial groups. Discrimination includes the daily hassles and indignities people experience in daily life and is reflected in a higher frequency of traumatic experiences. Unfair treatment can also affect employment opportunities, which limits opportunities to live in areas with access to heathy food, safe places to exercise, and good medical care.

Five smart watches capable of recording an electrocardiogram and detecting atrial fibrillation have been cleared for the market by the FDA. The devices can continuously monitor a person's pulse for an abnormally rapid heart rate and tell the wearer when to record an ECG, which involves opening an app and touching the side of the watch for 30 seconds. But it's not clear if using this feature can improve a person's health. There are many other ways to screen for afib. These strategies, which include simply checking one's pulse or wearing a heart monitor, depend on a person's afib risk and symptoms.

Swimming and water aerobics are joint-friendly forms of exercise that strengthen the cardiovascular system and muscles at the same time. A full-body exercise, swimming uses nearly every muscle in the body. Water aerobics includes exercises like jogging, jumping jacks, and twists done in waist-deep or higher water. The added resistance from moving in water also burns more calories compared with similar land-based exercise.

Drinking coffee does not appear to increase the risk of heart rhythm problems, such as atrial fibrillation, in healthy people. It may temporarily raise blood pressure and the number of non-harmful skipped beats. While it may have other minor mixed positive and negative effects on other heart-related factors and behaviors (such as increased daily step counts, but decreased sleep duration and slightly higher LDL cholesterol), moderate coffee consumption appears to have no impact on the overall risk of cardiovascular disease.

For people with depression, successful treatment with talk therapy may lower the risk for heart disease, perhaps by helping them adopt healthier habits, according to a 2023 study.

Using stretchy bands (known as exercise bands or resistance bands) can be a good way to ease into strength training. Pull-downs target the muscles of the middle and lower back and the front of the upper arms.

Lifestyle habits to prevent heart disease and strokes may also lower a person's risk for two other leading causes of death: cancer and dementia.

Regular exercise is crucial to keeping the circulatory system functioning optimally, which in turn is beneficial to overall health and protection from heart disease.