Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Working shifts may change more than your sleep schedule

A cross-sectional analysis of 1,814 Japanese workers found that shift work was associated with lower raw seafood intake and shorter sleep patterns in both sexes, while female shift workers also consumed less milk and dairy products. Total energy intake was similar between work groups, but male shift workers were more likely to consider preference and convenience when choosing foods, highlighting potentially important differences in dietary quality and lifestyle rather than calorie intake.

8 Sep 2026

Virtual reality distraction helps claustrophobic patients complete cardiac scans

Patients who experience anxiety or claustrophobia can have difficulty completing important cardiac imaging, including Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computerized Tomography (CT) scans.

8 Sep 2026

Leicester's cardiovascular research hub shines spotlight on life-saving innovations

The latest medical innovations in cardiovascular research have been showcased by the British Heat Foundation Leicester Centre of Research Excellence.

8 Sep 2026

Could one amino acid help explain why men tend to live shorter lives?

A UK Biobank cohort and Mendelian randomization study involving 272,475 participants linked higher circulating tyrosine with greater all-cause mortality and genetically predicted higher tyrosine with shorter lifespan. After accounting for phenylalanine, the relationship with shorter lifespan was clearest in men, while findings in women were less consistent, suggesting a potential sex-specific role for tyrosine in longevity.

7 Sep 2026

AI chatbots wrongly reassure sleep apnea patients, study finds

In a third of cases, AI chatbots wrongly reassure sleep apnea patients that their symptoms are not serious, discouraging them from seeking a referral to a specialist, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

6 Sep 2026

What four pregnancy eating patterns revealed about mothers and newborns

Researchers analyzing 1,404 pregnant women in Germany identified four distinct dietary patterns that differed substantially in maternal BMI, socioeconomic status, age, and gestational weight gain. A vegetable-rich pattern was also associated with selected neonatal measures, including greater birth length, but most newborn associations were modest or nonsignificant, and the observational study cannot establish causality.

6 Sep 2026

Mitochondrial stress triggers long-term protection against heart damage

Mitochondria are popularly known as the "powerhouse of the cell," but these cellular structures do so much more-including acting as signaling hubs.

4 Sep 2026

Gestational diabetes history linked to earlier development of type 2 diabetes

New research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept 28 – Oct 2) shows that, in women that develop type 2 diabetes (T2D), those who had gestational diabetes (GD) when pregnant are developing T2D on average almost 13 years earlier than those who did not.

3 Sep 2026

Some fertility treatments may raise Kawasaki disease risk in children

A large-scale study in Japan, led by researchers from the University of Osaka and the Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, has found that certain fertility treatments are associated with an increased risk of Kawasaki disease before age five, although the association differed by treatment type.

3 Sep 2026

Same foods, different timing, very different glucose patterns

In a randomized crossover study of 22 healthy, normal-weight Chinese men, consuming canola oil alone or with spinach before a high-glycemic mashed-potato meal produced flatter post-meal glucose and insulin responses than spinach alone or no preload. The effects were associated with increased GLP-1 signaling and slower gastric emptying, with the findings indicating that the unsaturated oil was the primary driver of the metabolic response.

3 Sep 2026

ACC Quality Summit 2026 to focus on cardiovascular patient care improvements

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) Quality Summit 2026 will take place on September 16-18 in Orlando, connecting the cardiovascular quality improvement community to share ideas, learn from real-world successes and drive measurable improvements in the quality, safety and value of patient care.

3 Sep 2026

Too little or too much testosterone may matter for heart rhythm

A review of clinical trials, observational studies, genetic analyses, and mechanistic research suggests that atrial fibrillation risk may follow a U-shaped relationship with testosterone, increasing at both low and high levels. Evidence on testosterone replacement therapy remains mixed, with researchers calling for prospective studies to determine whether mid-physiological testosterone targets and treatment formulation influence AF risk.

2 Sep 2026

AI learned from cardiologists’ notes, and needed far less labeled ECG data

By teaching an AI system to connect raw heart signals with the clinical insights contained in cardiologists’ reports, researchers tested whether routine ECGs could reveal more with far fewer labeled examples.

2 Sep 2026

Menopause may start changing the gut years before periods stop

A longitudinal study of 964 women found that blood markers of gut epithelial barrier dysfunction and microbial product translocation began to rise around 2 to 2.5 years before the final menstrual period and remained elevated after menopause. The findings suggest that changes in gut barrier integrity may form part of the biological transition through menopause and could help explain links between menopause, inflammation, and later health outcomes.

2 Sep 2026

Your weekend meal schedule may matter more than you think

In a prospective analysis of 104,806 adults from the NutriNet-Santé cohort, greater differences in meal timing between weekdays and weekends were associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease in men over a median 8.1 years. The associations were strongest when weekend eating shifted earlier, while delayed weekend eating was linked specifically to coronary heart disease, with no association detected for cerebrovascular disease.

2 Sep 2026