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New AI-based approach detects fatty deposits inside coronary arteries using OCT images

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence-based approach for detecting fatty deposits inside coronary arteries using optical coherence tomography (OCT) images.

17 Feb 2026

Reducing maternal smoking during pregnancy could lower hypertension rates in children

Maternal smoking during pregnancy may be associated with higher blood pressure and increased risk of hypertension in children, according to a new ECHO Cohort study led by Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University.

17 Feb 2026

Redefining cardiovascular care for women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death for women across the globe, yet significant progress has been made in prevention, diagnosis and management thanks to more sex-specific research, as noted in a special Go Red for Women issue of Circulation, the American Heart Association's flagship, peer-reviewed scientific journal, published today.

17 Feb 2026

Do cocoa flavanols influence heart and fatty liver risk factors?

A recent Nutrients review examined whether cocoa-rich dark chocolate influences cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease risk factors through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and endothelial effects. Evidence suggests modest improvements in biomarkers, but most data come from short-term studies, so definitive clinical benefits remain unproven.

16 Feb 2026

Schools and families may not be fully prepared to respond to teen cardiac emergencies

Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, including teens, and a new national poll suggests many schools and families may not be fully prepared to respond.

16 Feb 2026

Study explores how reversible RNA editing could transform future cardiovascular medicine

This mini-review synthesises evidence showing that adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing plays an important regulatory role in cardiovascular development, cellular homeostasis, and disease biology. It highlights emerging links between dysregulated RNA editing and cardiovascular conditions while outlining biomarker potential and reversible RNA-editing therapeutic strategies that remain under investigation.

15 Feb 2026

Obesity sharply increases hospitalisation risk from infections, global analysis shows

Adult obesity is associated with a substantially higher risk of severe hospital-treated or fatal infections across multiple pathogens, with risk increasing as obesity severity rises. Global modelling suggests roughly one in ten infection-related deaths worldwide may be attributable to adult obesity, although causality cannot be confirmed.

15 Feb 2026

Osteoprotegerin links bone metabolism to cardiovascular disease

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a glycoprotein in the tumor necrosis factor superfamily, regulates bone metabolism by suppressing the formation and activation of osteoclasts.

13 Feb 2026

Whole-heart mapping captures arrhythmias in a single heartbeat

The UPV and Corify Care present the first whole-heart mapping technology that provides a comprehensive view of cardiac arrhythmias in a single heartbeat.

13 Feb 2026

Study: 71% of US grocery store baby food products are ultra-processed

An alarming 71 percent of grocery store baby food products in the United States are classified as ultra-processed foods (UPFs), according to new research published today in the scientific journal Nutrients.

13 Feb 2026

Exercise-induced activation of neurons mediates improvements in endurance

Exercise does more than strengthen muscles; it also rewires the brain. In a study publishing February 12 in the Cell Press journal Neuron, researchers reveal that the lasting gain in endurance from repeated exercise-such as the ability to run farther and faster over time-involves changes in brain activity that help muscles and hearts to become stronger.

13 Feb 2026

Trump team’s planned ACA rule offers its answer to rising premium costs: Catastrophic coverage

The Trump administration has unveiled a sweeping set of regulatory proposals that would substantially change health plan offerings on the Affordable Care Act marketplace next year, aiming, it says, to provide more choice and lower premiums.

13 Feb 2026

Lay health workers improve blood pressure control in rural Africa

In rural regions of Africa, high blood pressure often goes untreated because health centers are far away and there is a shortage of health professionals.

12 Feb 2026

Novel DAMP markers advance myocardial contusion detection

Researchers are exploring a new generation of biochemical markers that may help clinicians detect myocardial contusion. A frequently overlooked form of heart injury caused by blunt chest trauma, earlier and more accurately.

12 Feb 2026

Novel cardiac MRI guides surgery in children

With a new MRI technique that shows both heart tissue and blood flow simultaneously, physicians can see where heart defects occur and precisely plan to repair them, according to new research published today in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

12 Feb 2026

Public preparedness key to improving cardiac arrest survival

When a medical emergency happens, time matters and a quick response is needed. During American Heart Month 2026, the National Fraternal Order of Police joins the American Heart Association in urging Americans everywhere to be the help until help arrives and learn how to respond in a medical emergency such as cardiac arrest – when providing help like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be the difference between life and death.

12 Feb 2026