Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Study shows link between exposure to air pollution and vascular damage

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, contributes new evidence about the negative impact of air pollution on cardiovascular health.

3 Jun 2020

Study reveals how a fat cell's immune response worsens obesity

When obesity occurs, a person's own fat cells can set off a complex inflammatory chain reaction that can further disrupt metabolism and weaken immune response--potentially placing people at higher risk of poor outcomes from a variety of diseases and infections, including COVID-19.

2 Jun 2020

New project investigating role of B cells in cardiovascular disease receives $6.5 million grant

Christoph Binder, Professor of Atherosclerosis Research at MedUni Vienna, is to coordinate an international research network investigating the role of B cells in cardiovascular disease.

2 Jun 2020

Does interferon therapy work in COVID-19?

A new study published on the preprint site medRxiv in May 2020 reports on the efficacy of interferons in treating COVID-19. The research could help evaluate the place of such therapy in the management of this disease.

2 Jun 2020

Specific immune suppression leads to severe COVID-19 disease

A new study published online on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports that specific changes in the way the human immune system responds to COVID-19 determine whether the individual develops moderate or severe illness.

2 Jun 2020

Developing an international consortium to improve clinical decision-making in Hodgkin lymphoma

A harmonization of 'big data' in examining long-term outcomes with contemporary treatment for pediatric and adult Hodgkin lymphoma patients is yielding a new approach to inform future clinical trial design and enhance clinical decision-making.

30 May 2020

Researchers identify risk factors for fatty liver disease

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have uncovered an unexpected connection between an imbalance of electrons in liver cells and many metabolic problems that increase the risk for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease.

29 May 2020

How comorbidities affect SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Almost from the start of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that individuals suffering from other medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease are far more likely to contract the infection and to have a poorer outcome.

28 May 2020

Scientists from gnomAD Consortium release first set of discoveries on human genetic variation

For the last eight years, the Genome Aggregation Database Consortium (and its predecessor, the Exome Aggregation Consortium, or ExAC), has been working with geneticists around the world to compile and study more than 125,000 exomes and 15,000 whole genomes from populations around the world.

28 May 2020

Women and minorities inadequately represented in clinical trials for novel cardiometabolic drugs

Women and minorities, particularly African Americans, continue to be inadequately represented in clinical trials for novel cardiometabolic medications, with no evidence of improvement in enrollment numbers over the past decade, according to new research published last week in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access journal of the American Heart Association.

28 May 2020

Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent in American Indians and Alaska Natives

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects American Indians and Alaska Natives at approximately three times the rate of white Americans and is closely linked to the disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, according to the American Heart Association Scientific Statement "Cardiovascular Health in American Indians and Alaska Natives," published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation.

28 May 2020

Is air pollution a risk factor for COVID-19 infection?

The COVID-19 pandemic began at the very end of 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. However, its spread soon began to threaten the health of the whole country and then of the world, leading to nearly 5.7 million cases and over 355,000 dead as of today. A new study, published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020, explores the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 infections in China.

27 May 2020

What affects the case fatality rate of COVID-19? Analysis of top 50 affected countries

Ever since the beginning of the international spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease, researchers have been trying to identify the risk factors that increase the chances of infection. Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 discusses various potential factors and reports the observed associations.

27 May 2020

Deaths from COVID-19 appear to be on the decline in Italian provinces

Researchers in Italy have found that the proportion of people dying from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be on the decline in Italy.

26 May 2020

Intermittent fasting does not work for everyone, study finds

Obesity is a global health problem. In 2016, an estimated 650 million people were obese, and that number is increasing. Lifestyle modification through reduced caloric intake and physical activity can help curb obesity.

26 May 2020

Heart failure patients who experience low health literacy have higher risk of death of hospitalization, mortality

Patients with heart failure who experience low health literacy are at an increased risk of hospitalization and mortality.

26 May 2020

Women and older adults still vastly underrepresented in cholesterol drug trials

Although heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, and older adults are more likely to have heart and vascular disease than young people, randomized clinical trials testing medications to lower cholesterol have historically underenrolled both groups.

22 May 2020