EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Heart Health Month

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

In recognition of Heart Health Month, we’re spotlighting the importance of cardiovascular wellness. From risk factors and prevention to innovative treatments, we’re exploring the science and stories shaping heart health today.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Jul-2025 12:10 ET (20-Jul-2025 16:10 GMT/UTC)

18-Jul-2025

A healthier start begins with personalized nutrition during pregnancy

BGI Genomics

Pregnancy is one of life's most exciting chapters, but it also brings real health challenges. When nutrition during pregnancy is overlooked, it can affect the well-being of both the mother and the baby.

Personalized nutrition, guided by genetic insights, reduces risks, improves outcomes, and supports lifelong health by tailoring food and supplement choices to each mother's body.

17-Jul-2025

Scar tissue in athletes’ hearts tied to higher risk of dangerous cardiac rhythms

American Heart Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scar tissue in the heart may be linked to dangerous heart rhythms in otherwise healthy athletes, according to a U.K. study.

Journal: Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging

17-Jul-2025

Research spotlight: Study finds a protective kidney RNA that could transform disease treatment

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Guoping Li, PhD, of the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the lead author and Saumya Das, MD, PhD, of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in Science, “A hypoxia-responsive tRNA-derived small RNA confers renal protection via RNA autophagy.”

Journal: Science
Funder: American Heart Association, NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Cancer Institute, Preeclampsia Foundation

17-Jul-2025

Patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation undergoing transcatheter mitral edge-to-edge repair for severe mitral regurgitation are at significantly higher risk of death or rehospitalization

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mount Sinai study emphasizes the importance of controlling heart rhythm before these procedures to improve patient outcomes

Journal: Journal of the American Heart Association

17-Jul-2025

Sunny side up for eggs and cholesterol

University of South Australia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Long blamed for high cholesterol, eggs have been beaten up for their assumed role in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Now, UniSA researchers have shown definitively that it’s not dietary cholesterol in eggs but the saturated fat in our diets that’s the real heart health concern.

Journal: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Funder: Egg Nutrition Center

16-Jul-2025

AI can identify hidden heart valve defects from a patient’s ECG

Imperial College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An AI algorithm could help to predict which patients might develop significant heart problems years in advance, just based on ECG readings.

Journal: European Heart Journal
Funder: British Heart Foundation

16-Jul-2025

Can AI detect hidden heart disease?

Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

With the help of AI, an inexpensive test found in many doctors’ offices may soon be used to screen for hidden structural heart disease.

Journal: Nature
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, Amyloidosis Foundation, American Heart Association, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Fonds de la Recherche en Sante, Montreal Heart Institute Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute Foundation, New York Academy of Medicine

16-Jul-2025

Dr. Jennifer Ashton and Dr. Joseph Woo join American Heart Association Board of Directors

American Heart Association
Business Announcement

The American Heart Association announces the appointment of two leading health and science leaders, Jennifer Ashton, M.D., M.S. and Joseph Woo, M.D., FAHA, to its volunteer Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2025.

16-Jul-2025

Optimal heart health in children cuts risk of chronic diseases in adulthood

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Optimal heart health from birth through adolescence, as measured by a combination of metrics, leads to long-lasting cardiovascular and overall physical, cognitive and mental health, according to the systematic review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Benefits include lower risks of cancer, dementia, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression and hearing loss, as well as better cognitive, dental and eye health.

Journal: Journal of the American Heart Association

15-Jul-2025

Scientists identify why some heart rhythm drugs heighten risks when sodium levels drop

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research explains how low levels of the electrolyte sodium in the blood can disrupt the timing of the heartbeat in patients taking widely used rhythm-control medications such as flecainide, which is commonly prescribed for atrial fibrillation and other fast or irregular heart rhythms.

Journal: Heart Rhythm
Funder: NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute