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.

Oral semaglutide vastly reduces heart attacks, strokes in people with type 2 diabetes

University of North Carolina Health Care
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A large clinical trial, co-led by researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, has shown that the popular weight-loss drug significantly reduces cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes, pre-existing cardiovascular disease, and/or chronic kidney disease.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine

29-Mar-2025

Finerenone and atrial fibrillation in heart failure

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The efficacy of finerenone was consistent regardless of atrial fibrillation status in this study. New-onset atrial fibrillation was associated with a substantially higher risk of subsequent outcomes.

Journal: JAMA Cardiology

29-Mar-2025

Women with chest pain may not need intensive medical therapy

American College of Cardiology
Reports and Proceedings

An intensive three-drug regimen of heart medications did not significantly impact the rate of serious cardiovascular events at five years in women who experienced signs and symptoms of ischemia, or insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle, but had no blockages in their heart’s arteries, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).

Meeting: American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session

28-Mar-2025

Studying cardiac cells in space to repair heart damage on Earth

International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in five deaths. The inability of damaged heart muscle tissue to regenerate makes heart disease difficult to treat, and end-stage heart failure patients have no choice but to join a long list of people waiting for a heart transplant. Researchers from Emory University are working to provide another option for such patients. To do this, the team took their research to a laboratory unlike any on Earth—the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station).

Journal: Biomaterials
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

27-Mar-2025

Gasdermin D emerges as a potential therapeutic target for atrial fibrillation

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers investigated the function of gasdermin D, a key participant in inflammatory pathways, in atrial heart cells and found a potential contribution to atrial fibrillation (AF), which positions gasdermin D as a promising target for novel therapeutic option for this serious heart condition.

Journal: European Heart Journal

27-Mar-2025

Elevating global heart failure care with new certification

American Heart Association
Business Announcement

American Heart Association’s international Heart Failure Center Certification will recognize hospitals dedicated to optimizing HF treatment, reducing readmissions.

27-Mar-2025

Combination of hypertension and atrial fibrillation is a ticking time bomb – experts call for simultaneous screening

University of Turku
Reports and Proceedings

A group of 29 international experts says that simultaneous screening for hypertension and heart arrhythmia could prevent thousands of strokes.

Journal: Circulation

27-Mar-2025

Smartwatches may help control diabetes through exercise

Lancaster University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wearable mobile health technology could help people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) to stick to exercise regimes that help them to keep the condition under control, a new study reveals.

An international team publishing in the BMJ Open studied the behaviour of recently-diagnosed T2D patients in Canada and the UK as they followed a home-based physical activity programme, with some participants wearing a smartwatch paired with a health app on their smartphone.

The ‘Mobile Health Biometrics to Enhance Exercise and Physical Activity Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes (MOTIVATE-T2D) feasibility trial recruited participants aged 40-75 years, diagnosed with T2D within the previous 5-24 months and managing their condition through lifestyle modification alone or Metformin.

They discovered that MOTIVATE-T2D participants were more likely to start and maintain purposeful exercise at if they had the support of wearable technology. The study successfully recruited 125 participants with an 82% retention rate after 12 months.

Journal: BMJ Open

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

Oral semaglutide vastly reduces heart attacks, strokes in people with type 2 diabetes

Finerenone and atrial fibrillation in heart failure

Women with chest pain may not need intensive medical therapy

Studying cardiac cells in space to repair heart damage on Earth

Gasdermin D emerges as a potential therapeutic target for atrial fibrillation

Elevating global heart failure care with new certification

Combination of hypertension and atrial fibrillation is a ticking time bomb – experts call for simultaneous screening

Smartwatches may help control diabetes through exercise

Smartwatches may help control diabetes through exercise

Early signs of heart problems linked to smaller brain volumes