Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Nicotine gum may make smokeless tobacco withdrawal easier to manage

A randomized trial found that 2 mg nicotine gum controlled craving, anxiety, and sleep problems more effectively than behavioral counselling during smokeless tobacco cessation. Although abstinence rates were numerically higher with nicotine gum, the differences were not statistically significant, highlighting the need for larger studies.

6 Aug 2026

Nighttime light linked to conflicting signs of biological aging

Higher residential nighttime light exposure was associated with contrasting biological aging patterns in nearly 300,000 UK Biobank participants, depending on the aging algorithm used. PhenoAge and homeostatic dysregulation suggested a potentially adverse aging pattern, while KDM-BA showed the opposite association, underscoring uncertainty about how nighttime light relates to biological aging.

6 Aug 2026

New review links obesity with accelerated biological aging mechanisms

The global rise in obesity and population aging represents a major public health challenge, with growing evidence suggesting that excess body fat not only increases the risk of chronic disease but may also accelerate the biological aging process.

6 Aug 2026

AI sleep model reveals health risks missed by standard apnea scores

An AI foundation model extracted hidden physiological patterns from routine polysomnography and identified five patient groups with distinct long-term risks of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. The approach outperformed apnea–hypopnea index severity categories for risk stratification and remained informative in an independent sleep cohort.

6 Aug 2026

GLP-1 drug tirzepatide associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular events

Adding the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) to standard care for patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease is associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

5 Aug 2026

Global surveys reveal little progress in tobacco risk awareness over two decades

Across 46 countries, adults who smoked showed high awareness that tobacco causes lung cancer but substantially lower knowledge of cardiovascular and secondhand smoke harms. Knowledge changed little overall across two decades, supporting stronger health warnings, mass media campaigns and enforced smoke-free policies.

5 Aug 2026

Physical activity linked to lower stroke and death risk in adults with atrial fibrillation

Being physically active was linked to a lower risk of stroke and death for adults with atrial fibrillation, or AFib, according to new, independent research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

5 Aug 2026

NIH funds smartphone platform to improve driving safety for teens

Dr. Jeffrey Keller, Hibernia National Bank/Edward G. Schleider Endowed Chair at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Sara Seifert, president of Minnesota HealthSolutions, have received a new National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award to develop an innovative digital health platform that will help parents support teenagers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as they learn to drive.

4 Aug 2026

Tadalafil may increase glaucoma risk in men with enlarged prostates

An erectile dysfunction drug that is also used to treat symptoms like sudden urgency and frequency, which are associated with an enlarged prostate in men, may heighten the risk of the serious eye condition, glaucoma, finds a large comparative study published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

4 Aug 2026

Daily social connections may improve long-term health and cognition

Calling a friend after a long day. Showing up to a neighbor's dinner when you'd rather stay home. Lingering a little longer in a conversation that didn't need to last.

3 Aug 2026

Gestational diabetes cases surge across England, raising health concerns

One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with diagnoses rising by 60 per cent in just five years, according to a major study.

3 Aug 2026

Perilla oil may curb platelet reactivity and inflammatory signaling in smokers

An eight-week randomized trial found that daily perilla oil increased plasma and red-cell ALA, plasma EPA, and platelet closure time in healthy smokers. Perilla oil also reduced TNF-α and TBX21 gene expression, but it did not improve broader coagulation, lipid, endothelial, or postprandial markers.

3 Aug 2026

Researchers propose new framework to define clinical obesity

A new approach to defining obesity could help physicians better determine which patients need more intensive treatment by focusing on the effects of excess adiposity on organs and tissues rather than relying primarily on whether a person meets a set of metabolic risk thresholds.

31 Jul 2026

Accumulation of somatic mutations drives vascular damage in people with progeria

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a genetic disorder that causes remarkable premature aging.

31 Jul 2026

Study reveals widening inequality in leisure-time physical activity

A ten-year study of residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, revealed that leisure-time physical activity is highly unequal and that the gap between social strata is widening.

30 Jul 2026

Perilla oil improves blood flow and reduces inflammation in healthy smokers

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is among the leading causes of death worldwide. In South Korea, it is the second leading cause of death, and its incidence has continued to rise in recent years.

30 Jul 2026

Experts propose a new strategy to better control high blood pressure

High blood pressure can be controlled better with a strategy that combines boosting potassium intake with reducing sodium, according to a new report.

30 Jul 2026

When sleep changes in women over 80, it may signal more than aging

Researchers tracked sleep-wake changes over five years in 704 women in their 80s and 90s using wrist actigraphy. Declining nighttime sleep and increasing 24-hour sleepiness were associated with approximately twice the hazard of all-cause mortality.

29 Jul 2026

AI model accurately predicts how effectively the heart pumps blood

Cardiovascular disease is becoming increasingly common in young people aged 20 to 29, according to the World Health Organization, due to the rise in metabolic conditions such as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes among young populations worldwide.

29 Jul 2026

New study reveals massive gap in American blood pressure care

Nearly 23 million Americans with blood pressure 130/80 mm Hg or higher may be eligible for blood-pressure-lowering medications based on the 2025 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline, according to new, independent research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Jul 2026