EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Heart Health Month

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.

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Women who see themselves as having lower social status are more likely than other people to show early signs of heart stress linked to future disease risk, according to a new study led by researchers at McGill and Concordia universities.

Journal: Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine
Funder: Courtois Cardiovascular Biorepository Program

2-Jul-2025

Nearly 1 in 6 older adults take aspirin despite no history of heart disease

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Around 1 in 6 older adults take aspirin as their primary method of preventing cardiovascular disease – despite stricter guidelines that no longer always call for it, a study finds. Almost one-quarter of those aspirin users started taking the medication without a physician recommendation.

Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Funder: AARP, Michigan Medicine, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

1-Jul-2025

New software tool could help better understand childhood cancer

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New cutting-edge software developed in Melbourne can help uncover how the most common heart tumour in children forms and changes. And the technology has the potential to further our understanding of other childhood diseases, according to a new study.

Journal: Genome Biology
Funder: NHMRC Ideas Grant, Heart Foundation, 10x-Millenium Science’s Spatial Pioneer fellowship, NHMRC Independent Research Institute Infrastructure Support Scheme, Victorian Government, Australian Government, Novo Nordisk Foundation

1-Jul-2025

Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage

Radiological Society of North America
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers using cardiac MRI have found that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with early signs of heart damage, according to a new study. The research indicates that fine particulate matter in the air may contribute to diffuse myocardial fibrosis, a form of scarring in the heart muscle that can precede heart failure.

Journal: Radiology

1-Jul-2025

First oral drug shows promise for Barth syndrome heart and muscle symptoms

Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Barth syndrome is a rare genetic disorder with no known cure. Researchers at Tohoku University examined a new oral drug called MA-5 that could provide life-changing relief to these young patients.

Journal: The FASEB Journal

30-Jun-2025

Rice bioengineer looks to mitochondria as key to heart failure recovery

Rice University
Grant and Award Announcement

Rice bioengineer Mario Escobar has won a Transformational Project Award from the American Heart Association to develop a new therapy for heart failure.

Funder: American Heart Association

27-Jun-2025

How the early heart develops

Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The ion channel PIEZO2 doesn’t just convey touch stimuli. It also plays a key role in the development of coronary vessels, a team led by Annette Hammes from the Max Delbrück Center reports in “Nature Cardiovascular Research.” The findings could improve our understanding of congenital heart defects.

Journal: Nature Cardiovascular Research

26-Jun-2025

Can the enzyme behind high cholesterol be turned off?

University of Texas at Arlington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at The University of Texas at Arlington have identified a new enzyme that can be “turned off” to help the body maintain healthy cholesterol levels—a significant development that could lead to new treatments for diseases that affect millions of Americans.

Journal: Langmuir
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Science Foundation, Schwartzberg Companies

26-Jun-2025

Saliva analysis could reveal the risk of developing cancer, heart disease or Parkinson’s

University of the Basque Country
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by the University of the Basque Country (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, EHU) has identified hundreds of molecular markers in saliva that could reveal the risk of a person developing major diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. Their results lay the foundation for the development of a powerful, non-invasive tool for early diagnosis and precision medicine

Journal: npj Genomic Medicine

25-Jun-2025

Olympians' hearts in focus: groundbreaking study reveals elite rowers' surprising AFib risk

Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study involving 121 former elite rowers from Australia has revealed one in five develops atrial fibrillation (AFib).

This common heart rhythm condition can lead to stroke and heart failure in some individuals, but the researchers identified new genetic and clinical tools that enable early preventive strategies.

Journal: European Heart Journal
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council, NIH/National Institute on Aging, NIH/National Cancer Institute, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Heart Foundation of Australia

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

Latest News Releases

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

Nearly 1 in 6 older adults take aspirin despite no history of heart disease

New software tool could help better understand childhood cancer

Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage

First oral drug shows promise for Barth syndrome heart and muscle symptoms

Rice bioengineer looks to mitochondria as key to heart failure recovery

How the early heart develops

Can the enzyme behind high cholesterol be turned off?

Saliva analysis could reveal the risk of developing cancer, heart disease or Parkinson’s

Olympians' hearts in focus: groundbreaking study reveals elite rowers' surprising AFib risk