Heart Disease

A study is offering the most detailed investigation to date into the relationship between breast cancer survival and statins – common cholesterol-lowering drugs. The study saw a 58 percent greater survival rate in breast cancer patients taking statins.

Scientists at Oxford have uncovered a mechanism behind why people with diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. High blood sugar levels seem to “reprogram” stem cells so that the immune cells they produce become more inflammatory.

Does it contain EPA or DHA? A new meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials is suggesting the key to beneficial cardiovascular outcomes from omega-3 supplements could come down to the specific kind of fatty acid being consumed.

Accumulation of fat around the heart has long been linked to cardiovascular and metabolic disease but until now there hasn’t been a simple way to measure this. A new AI tool has been developed that can quantify these fat deposits from regular MRI images.

The heart has a limited capacity to heal itself, so heart attack survivors often have further episodes. Now, scientists have grown heart cells from stem cells, embedded them onto microspheres and injected them into damaged hearts to help repair them.

Introducing the concept of “microbiome architectures”, a new study has detected robust associations between several human diseases, including diabetes and liver cirrhosis, and patterns of bacterial genes.

Two new studies investigating the relationship between fasting and the microbiome are offering fresh insights into the way our gut bacteria composition can be remodeled by short-term dietary alterations, and how this can benefit cardiovascular health.

A robust new study has demonstrated how SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can infect and directly damage heart tissue, suggesting heart damage in patients is not due to inflammation but the virus itself interfering with heart muscles.

A new study is suggesting heart disease in mid-life is linked to cognitive decline in senior years. The research found subjects in their 50s with mild hypertension displayed evidence of impaired brain metabolism in areas associated with Alzheimer’s.

A phase 2 clinical trial of a cholesterol-reducing drug called evinacumab has reported promising results. In patients with extremely high cholesterol, the drug was able to reduce levels by about half, compared to a placebo.

New research has found diets higher in foods known to contribute to chronic inflammation can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. The research suggests certain pro-inflammatory foods amplify the development of heart disease.

Heart attack patients often need replacements for damaged arteries. In a new proof-of-concept study, scientists knitted a prototype graft out of hybrid synthetic and biological yarn, helping the patients own cells grow and repair the artery.