New Atlas

Medical Audio available

Harvard scientists uncover how poor sleep leads to cardiovascular disease

Michael Irving March 19, 2019

The main risk factors for heart disease are lifestyle choices like a bad diet, smoking, lack of exercise – and poor sleep. That last point has gone relatively unstudied, but new research out of Harvard has found the chemical chain reaction that links disrupted sleep and cardiovascular disease.

Harvard researchers have uncovered the chemical chain reaction that links a lack of sleep to cardiovascular ...

Wearables Audio available

Stanford study suggests Apple Watch can safely identify irregular heartbeats

Nick Lavars March 17, 2019

A massive new study carried out by Stanford scientists together with Apple hints at a future where the Apple Watch could be used to detect irregular heartbears, with the device able to detect such events in a meaningful amount of users.

Time is absolutely of the essence when it comes to heart failure, so imagine a world ...

Medical Audio available

Harvard's 3D-printed heart valves open the door to a perfect fit

Nick Lavars December 10, 2018

Scientists at Harvard University have broken new ground in applying 3D printing technology to the problem of damaged hearts, providing a potential new tool to keep blocked arteries open and the blood pumping freely.

Scientists have used 3D printed models of individual heart valves and calcium buildup to help carve ...

Medical Audio available

Successful transplantation of pig hearts into baboons bring human trials a step closer

Rich Haridy December 5, 2018

A new study has reported the first successful long-term survival of baboons transplanted with genetically modified pig hearts. The research is a leap forward in the quest to achieve cross-species organ transplantation, and gives hope to the many humans on waiting lists for donor organs.

One of the surgeons working on the new research suggests we could be as little as ...

Biology

"Cell-by-cell map" suggests heart stem cells don't exist

Michael Irving December 5, 2018

Whether or not cardiac stem cells exist has been up for debate, but now European scientists claim to have created a cell-by-cell map of a mouse heart before and after a heart attack – and found no evidence of stem cells at all.

The heart wall of a mouse after a heart attack. Scar tissue is visible in red, ...

Medical

Little pacemaker may do away with big surgeries on babies

Ben Coxworth November 9, 2018

Typically, if an infant is receiving a pacemaker, open-chest surgery is required. Should a new prototype miniature pacemaker reach commercialization, however, all that will be required is a single small incision – that means shorter surgeries, less pain and faster recoveries.

Members of the Children's National team run through the procedure used to implant the pacemaker

Medical

Adult heart attack risk can be predicted in childhood with new cheap genetic test

Rich Haridy October 9, 2018

Using data from nearly half a million people, researchers have developed a DNA test called a Genomic Risk Score (GRS), which can assess a person's genetic risk factor for developing heart disease. The test will allow doctors to combine a GRS with other factors to better target at risk individuals.

A cheap genetic test has proved successful in early tests in identifying people at risk of ...

Medical

Harvard's artificial heart parts beat like the real thing

Michael Irving July 23, 2018

It's difficult to study how the heart reacts to diseases and medications. Researchers at Harvard have now grown a model of a human left ventricle that spontaneously beats, marking a substantial step towards engineering entire hearts for more accurate testing of new treatments.

Harvard scientists have grown a beating human heart ventricle to help model disease and drug treatments

Health & Wellbeing

Comprehensive study concludes omega-3 fish oil supplements don't reduce risk of heart disease

Rich Haridy July 17, 2018

A large-scale meta-analysis collecting data from 79 trials has concluded that omega-3 supplements have little to no effect in preventing heart disease, stroke or death. The results contrast the common belief that omega-3 supplements confer a variety of beneficial cardiovascular protections.

A massive study has found omega-3 supplements confer little to no beneficial protective effect against heart ...

Medical

Mechanism uncovered explaining how coffee could help protect your heart

Rich Haridy June 24, 2018

A new study has revealed a previously undiscovered mechanism showing how caffeine can trigger the repair of heart muscles. The research, so far only involving mouse experiments, lends more weight to the growing body of observational evidence suggesting caffeine has beneficial health effects.

New research offers up a compelling causal mechanism that could explain how coffee protects against heart ...