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: 27-Oct-2025 21:11 ET (28-Oct-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

22-Oct-2025

Early life sugar restriction linked to lasting heart benefits in adulthood

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Restricted sugar intake during early life is linked to lower risks of several heart conditions in adulthood, including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today using data from the end of UK sugar rationing in 1953.

Journal: The BMJ
Funder: Guangzhou Municipal Research Fund

22-Oct-2025

‘Weight loss’ drug helps heart regardless of amount of weight lost

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Anti-obesity medication semaglutide may help to prevent heart attacks and other major cardiac events regardless of how much weight people lose while taking the drug, according to a new study led by a UCL (University College London) researcher.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: Novo Nordisk

22-Oct-2025

Hunting for the chromosomal genes that break the heart

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Three copies of chromosome 21 causes Down syndrome. It remains unclear why roughly half of children born with Down syndrome in the United States also have congenital heart defects. In a new paper published in Nature, a team of scientists identify a nuclear binding protein as a key contributor to these trisomy 21-related heart defects.

Journal: Nature

22-Oct-2025

Scientists pinpoint a key gene behind heart defects in Down syndrome

Gladstone Institutes
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For decades, scientists struggled to pin down which gene is responsible for the heart problems that are so common among babies born with Down syndrome. Now, scientists at Gladstone Institutes have an answer. In a study published in Nature, the researchers leveraged stem cell science and artificial intelligence to discover that a gene called HMGN1 disrupts how DNA is packaged and regulated, and can throw off levels of hundreds of other molecules involved in healthy heart development.

Journal: Nature

22-Oct-2025

Small changes in alcohol intake linked to blood pressure shifts

American College of Cardiology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increases in blood pressure (BP) and stopping drinking – even drinking less – may lead to clinically meaningful BP reductions, according to a study published today in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology. Findings show that slight changes in alcohol consumption can affect BP and can be a strategy for BP management and improvement.

Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology

22-Oct-2025

Drug prevents congenital heart block recurrence in a high-risk pregnancy

NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study of one pregnant mother with systemic lupus erythematosus and high levels of anti-SSA/Ro antibodies, NYU Langone Health researchers found a drug that blocks the movement of harmful immune proteins (autoantibodies) across the placenta and into the fetal circulation, preventing development of congenital heart block in the newborn.

Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institutes of Health

21-Oct-2025

Daily step counts of 4,000 or more tied to reduced risk of heart disease, mortality in older women

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham examined 13,547 older women, comparing their step counts over a one week period against their mortality and cardiovascular disease rates over the next decade. They found that achieving just 4,000 steps one or two days per week was associated with lower risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease—and with more steps came even greater benefits, up to a point when risk reductions leveled.

Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

20-Oct-2025

Female bodybuilders at risk of sudden cardiac death

European Society of Cardiology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sudden cardiac death is responsible for an unusually high proportion of deaths in female bodybuilders worldwide, according to research published in the European Heart Journal. The study found the greatest risk among women competing professionally. It also revealed a high proportion of deaths from suicide and homicide among female bodybuilders.

Journal: European Heart Journal

20-Oct-2025

Boston University biomedical engineer Christopher Chen elected to National Academy of Medicine

Boston University
Grant and Award Announcement

Boston University biomedical engineer Christopher Chen has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

20-Oct-2025

About 9 in 10 haven’t heard of condition that affects nearly 90% of U.S. adults

American Heart Association
Reports and Proceedings

About 9 in 10 U.S. adults have not heard of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a newly defined health condition affecting nearly 90% of adults that includes heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, according to a new survey from the American Heart Association.