Heart attack

A high resting heart rate, considered anything above 100 beats per minute, has been linked to an elevated risk of serious cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease and stroke. Knowing how genes impact this is vital for preventative care.

Researchers have found that red blood cells have an innate ability to trigger a pathway that protects the heart from injury during periods of low oxygen, such as during a heart attack. The discovery could lead to new drugs that activate this pathway.

It's enough to give you heartburn: previously linked to a higher risk of stroke and heart attack, the prolonged use of common, popular acid reflux medicines has now been connected to an increased likelihood of developing age-related dementia.

For the first time, scientists have discovered how a change in the ACTA2 gene can cause heart disease in otherwise adults who have normal cholesterol levels and no other risk factors. This could lead to early detection of an often silent killer.

High levels of a common genetic ‘bad’ cholesterol protein has again turned up in the blood of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. While one in five of us have this gene variant that can sneakily spike cholesterol levels, medical help is on the way.

For many, Monday means the weekend's over and it's back to work. Now, there's something else to worry about. Research has found that the most life-threatening type of heart attack is more likely to occur on a Monday than any other day of the week.

Looking at more than 30,000 people who'd suffered a heart attack, it was found they also had a steady, quicker decline in cognition, memory and executive function in the years that followed. And the medical world doesn't yet know why.

Heart attack symptoms are sometimes similar to other non-heart-related conditions. UK researchers have used machine learning to develop a fast, highly accurate tool for helping doctors diagnose the potentially fatal condition.

Beta-blockers are prescribed as a matter of course to people following a heart attack, but a study found that people who have not experienced cardiac complications after a heart attack gain no improvement in outcomes by taking beta-blockers long-term.

For all they do for us, our hearts aren't very good at repairing themselves. Now however, inspired by young hearts, researchers have transmuted scars into healthy tissue in mice, walking back the damage brought about by heart attacks.

More than 50% of deaths across the globe are from inflammation-related diseases. Now, a breakthrough in immune cell behavior has the potential to treat the condition before it triggers serious health issues such as stroke and heart attack.

Quick, accurate detection of a blocked artery is critical following a cardiac arrest admission to hospital. Doctors are hoping a new wrist device, currently undergoing human trial, will save both them and their patients precious time in an emergency.