Nearly half of all adult Americans have cardiovascular disease

http://bit.ly/2Ba5UIg At least 48 percent of all adults in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease, according to the latest statistics. Much of the prevalence is driven by an increase in the number of people classified as having high blood pressure, following the 2017 guidelines that redefined hypertension levels to 130/80 mm Hg.

Identity crisis of satiety neurons leads to obesity

http://bit.ly/2sYF1T2 Obesity — as research in the past decade has shown — is first and foremost a brain disease. Researchers have discovered a molecular switch that controls the function of satiety neurons and therefore body weight.

Americans concerned about weight, but don’t understand link to heart conditions, health

http://bit.ly/2ScUugL A new survey finds that while most Americans (88 percent) understand that there is a connection between a healthy heart and a healthy weight, most aren’t doing enough — or anything — to combat their own weight issues. The survey found 65 percent are worried about getting heart disease due to extra pounds, yet less than half (43 percent) of Americans have tried to make dietary changes to lose weight.

Americans concerned about weight, but don’t understand link to heart conditions, health

http://bit.ly/2ScUugL A new survey finds that while most Americans (88 percent) understand that there is a connection between a healthy heart and a healthy weight, most aren’t doing enough — or anything — to combat their own weight issues. The survey found 65 percent are worried about getting heart disease due to extra pounds, yet less than half (43 percent) of Americans have tried to make dietary changes to lose weight.

Athletes can rest easy: Extreme exercise does not raise heart disease risk or mortality, study shows

http://bit.ly/2WwLKS0 High volumes of exercise are safe, even when coronary calcium levels are high, new research suggests.

New heart valve modeling technique enables customized medical care for patients

http://bit.ly/2FXRwqB Engineers develop noninvasive way to simulate repairs to the heart’s mitral valve allowing surgeons to provide patient-specific treatments.

New molecular player in heart enlargement due to cardiac disease

http://bit.ly/2CT0cdY Researchers have found that an RNA-binding protein called Lin28 is crucial for pathological hypertrophy, an enlargement of the heart associated with diverse cardiac diseases.

Investigators study effect of switching insulin medications

http://bit.ly/2WvnEa3 Switching from higher cost analogue insulin to lower cost human insulin resulted in small increases in blood sugar levels not likely to be clinically meaningful, according to a new study.

Extremely high blood pressure in African-Americans is 5 times the national average

http://bit.ly/2SkEBoi Extremely high blood pressure that leads to strokes, heart attacks and acute kidney damage, classified as hypertensive emergency, is five times higher in inner-city African-American patients than the national average, according to a recent study.

Some gut cells slow down metabolism, accelerate cardiovascular disease

http://bit.ly/2Tiosgu Researchers have discovered how specific cells in the guts of mice slow down metabolism and eventually contribute to obesity, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The findings, scientists say, could have important implications for the prevention and treatment of these kinds of metabolic diseases in humans.