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.

Children with poor oral health more often develop cardiovascular disease as adults

University of Copenhagen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cavities and severe gum disease in childhood are linked to a significantly higher incidence of heart attack, stroke and coronary artery disease in adulthood, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen.

Journal: International Journal of Cardiology

1-Mar-2026

Statins, diuretics, and other common heart drugs do not worsen survival in multiple myeloma, scientists report

University of Sharjah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Commonly prescribed heart medications, including statins and diuretics, do not negatively affect the survival of patients with multiple myeloma. This reassuring conclusion comes from an international team of researchers who analyzed data from three major Phase III clinical trials involving a total of 1,804 patients.

27-Feb-2026

Designing the heart of hydrogen cars with AI... Development of next-generation super catalyst

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the era of climate crisis, hydrogen vehicles are emerging as an alternative for eco-friendly mobility. However, the fuel cell, known as the ‘heart of the hydrogen car,’ still faces limitations of high cost and short lifespan. The core cause is the platinum catalyst. While it is a decisive material for generating electricity, the reaction is slow, performance degrades over time, and manufacturing costs are high. Korean researchers have presented a clue to solving this difficult problem.

Journal: Advanced Energy Materials
Funder: National Research Foundation of Korea’s Nano & Material Technology Development Program, Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning’s Energy Innovation Research Center

26-Feb-2026

DopFone app can accurately track fetal heart rate using only a smartphone

University of Washington
Reports and Proceedings

A team led by University of Washington researchers has created DopFone, a system that uses an off-the-shelf smartphone’s existing speaker and microphone to accurately estimate fetal heart rate. The phone mimics a Doppler ultrasound, emitting a tone and listening for the subtle variations in its echo caused by fetal heart beats. A machine learning model then estimates the heart rate.

26-Feb-2026

College students nationwide received lifesaving education on sudden cardiac death

American Heart Association
Business Announcement

The American Heart Association brought hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Hands-Only CPR awareness to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions across the U.S.

26-Feb-2026

More organ donations now come from people who die after their heart stops beating

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

Organ donation after the heart stops beating, a practice called donation after circulatory death, has gone from rare to routine in the United States, a new study shows. This shift over the past 25 years, aided by technological advances, is helping to meet the growing demand for transplants, the authors say.

Journal: JAMA

26-Feb-2026

Researchers identify “fingerprint” of gene that commonly causes congenital heart defects

University of Oldenburg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Human geneticists at the University Medicine Oldenburg (Germany) have now presented a new method for determining whether a NOTCH1 gene variant is causative for a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). Once they know this, doctors will be able to make more reliable diagnoses and develop targeted and effective therapies. In addition, patients and their families will finally be able find out whether a heart defect is likely to be hereditary.

Journal: Genome Medicine

26-Feb-2026

Researchers find important clue to healthy heartbeats

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A tiny region in a little-known muscle protein may hold the key to a healthy, steady heartbeat, as well as possible clues to future treatment of devastating heart ailments.

Journal: Circulation Research
Funder: American Heart Association, American Heart Association

26-Feb-2026

Heart attack deaths rose between 2011 and 2022 among adults younger than age 55

American Heart Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to new research published today in a Go Red for Women spotlight issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association, death rates rose by a 1.2% absolute increase among adults younger than age 55, who were hospitalized between 2011 and 2022 with a first severe heart attack.

Journal: Journal of the American Heart Association

26-Feb-2026

Speaking from the heart: Study identifies key concerns of parenting with an early-onset cardiovascular condition

Elsevier
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While heart disease in younger populations is rising globally, there have been virtually no studies examining parenting while navigating an early-onset cardiovascular condition. To address this gap, new focus group research has pinpointed the main concerns of parents with an early-onset cardiovascular condition facing the complex task of managing their own recovery while raising younger children. The study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, highlights the need for developmentally appropriate communication and family-sensitive support within secondary prevention programming.

Journal: Canadian Journal of Cardiology
Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

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

Children with poor oral health more often develop cardiovascular disease as adults

Statins, diuretics, and other common heart drugs do not worsen survival in multiple myeloma, scientists report

Designing the heart of hydrogen cars with AI... Development of next-generation super catalyst

DopFone app can accurately track fetal heart rate using only a smartphone

College students nationwide received lifesaving education on sudden cardiac death

More organ donations now come from people who die after their heart stops beating

Researchers identify “fingerprint” of gene that commonly causes congenital heart defects

Researchers find important clue to healthy heartbeats

Heart attack deaths rose between 2011 and 2022 among adults younger than age 55

Speaking from the heart: Study identifies key concerns of parenting with an early-onset cardiovascular condition