Curated News: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

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Cleveland Clinic researchers have made a significant discovery about how the gut microbiome interacts with cells to cause cardiovascular disease.

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In 2021, 1.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina moved from a fee-for-service Medicaid model to a managed care system known as N.C. Medicaid Managed Care. What impact did the transition have on Medicaid enrollees who live in Forsyth County?

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Conventional wisdom holds that storing fat around your belly puts you at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. But surprising new findings from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggest that naturally occurring variations in our genes can lead some people to store fat at the waist but also protect them from diabetes.

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A novel molecular pathway to explain how a mutation in the gene ACTA2 can cause individuals in their 30s – with normal cholesterol levels and no other risk factors — to develop coronary artery disease has been identified, according to researchers with UTHealth Houston.

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A modeled implementation of a nationwide produce prescription program—which would provide free or discounted fruits and vegetables to eligible Americans living with diabetes —projected extensive reductions in national rates of cardiovascular disease and associated healthcare costs.

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Older people who have fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides may have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias compared to people who have steady levels, according to new research published in the July 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the study found a link, it does not prove that fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides cause dementia.

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Clinicians have a new standard for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, according to results from a phase III study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The new standard is more effective at preventing GVHD and came with less side effects, compared with the current gold standard.

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Historically, scientists have studied how cells develop and give rise to specialized cells, such as heart, liver, or skin cells, by examining specific proteins.

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Mount Sinai researchers have developed an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) model for electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis that allows for the interpretation of ECGs as language. This approach can enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of ECG-related diagnoses, especially for cardiac conditions where limited data is available on which to train. In a study published in the June 6 online issue of npj Digital Medicine DOI: 10.1038/s41746-023-00840-9, the team reported that its new deep learning model, known as HeartBEiT, forms a foundation upon which specialized diagnostic models can be created. The team noted that in comparison tests, models created using HeartBEiT surpassed established methods for ECG analysis.

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The commonly used U.S version of the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) should not be routinely used to select younger postmenopausal women for bone mineral density testing. But the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST) is excellent at identifying women with osteoporosis-level bone mineral density, which is the goal of these screenings, while FRAX is not.

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The lingering effects of COVID-19 on some patients’ health has gotten a lot of attention. But a new study suggests many face long-term major financial impacts after their illness. Whether or not they got hospitalized during their bout with COVID-19, patients had a higher risk of serious money problems after their infection, compared with a comparison group of individuals whose financial outcomes were measured prior to getting COVID-19.

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A new study by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and others, shows how bringing together coalitions of individuals from government, public health, healthcare, public education, and other arenas to address a public health issue--in this case early childhood obesity--can result in better policies, systems, and environments for change.

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Having a four-year college degree and a low level of stress are strongly linked to psychological resilience in American women aged 80 and older, a new study suggests.

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A new, $1.8 million Florida State University study funded by the National Institutes of Health will examine the role adiponectin plays in the circulatory system of aging adults and how exercise affects its influence on vascular health. The research aims to offer more insight into how exercise brings benefits and explore how adiponectin can potentially be used for treatment.

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A study published April 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) evaluated two drugs that act on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) as potential treatments for severe COVID-19. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, enters pulmonary and myocardial cells through binding of its spike protein to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 is a vital enzyme that controls blood pressure and blood flow to multiple organs, including the lungs, heart and kidneys.