A team of researchers led by two University of Mississippi professors is working to unlock patterns and causes of the No. 1 killer of Mississippians: heart disease.

Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Personalised Risk Assessment, or AI4HF, is a 4-year project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework 

AI4HF aims to co-design, develop and evaluate the first trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) tool for personalising the care and management of patients with heart failure. 

The project brings together patients, clinicians and other stakeholders from Europe, South America and Africa with regular workshops to allow input from all 

The workshops have produced many ideas for refining AI for heart failure treatment, including increasing health and digital literacy, personalised recommendations on improving lifestyle, and social components such as involvement of carers. A new round of workshops is ongoing 

Regular walking is widely recognized for its significant benefits to overall health and well-being. Previous research has primarily focused on middle-to-high-income White populations. Now, a novel analysis using data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, involving 79,856 predominantly low-income and Black individuals across 12 southeastern US states, confirms the benefits of regular walking, especially at a faster pace, within a crucial, underrepresented group. The new study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, underscores the importance of promoting walking, particularly at a brisk pace, as an effective form of physical activity for improving health.

Coronary heart disease is an ischemic condition characterized by vascular stenosis or obstruction caused by coronary atherosclerosis, resulting in myocardial ischemia, hypoxia, or necrosis. It is one of the leading causes of death in both urban and rural populations in China. Safflower yellow pigments, the main active components of the traditional Chinese herbal medicine safflower, are primarily composed of quinochalcone compounds, including hydroxysafflor yellow A and anhydrosafflor yellow B—of which hydroxysafflor yellow A is the principal component. Studies have demonstrated that these pigments can improve myocardial ischemia, reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury, alleviate atherosclerotic damage, and address risk factors associated with coronary heart disease. This review aimed to systematically and comprehensively summarize the mechanisms of action of safflower yellow pigments and their active components in the context of coronary heart disease and its related risk factors.

New research from investigators at Mass General Brigham suggests that a commonly used type 2 diabetes medication is linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions compared to medications that hit other targets.

New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine found that a specific protein found in heart muscles regulates muscle contraction and may be related to certain heart diseases and conditions.

In a retrospective study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, adults aged 65 and older hospitalized for RSV in Ontario, Canada experienced significantly higher rates of adverse outcomes such as longer length of hospital stay, transfer to intensive care, and 30-day mortality, compared with patients hospitalized with influenza, urinary tract infection, or fracture.