Heart Disease

An experimental oral pill called enlicitide lowered LDL cholesterol by about 60% in a large phase three clinical trial, according to results published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The trial, led by Dr. Ann Marie Navar at UT Southwestern Medical Center and sponsored by Merck, involved 2,909 participants mostly already on statins. If approved, the daily pill could improve access to effective cholesterol treatment.

March 20, 2026 Reported by AI

A new study found that the shingles vaccine reduced major cardiac events by 46% and deaths by 66% in people with atherosclerotic heart disease. The research, presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session, examined over 246,000 US adults aged 50 and older.

Men’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease begins rising faster than women’s starting in the mid-30s, according to an analysis of the long-running CARDIA cohort. Researchers found men reached a 5% cumulative incidence of cardiovascular disease about seven years earlier than women, with coronary heart disease driving most of the gap; traditional risk factors explained only part of the difference.

January 27, 2026 Reported by AI

Researchers have discovered a cluster of sensory neurons that link the brain and heart, triggering an immune response crucial for recovery after a heart attack. This finding reveals a feedback loop involving the nervous and immune systems that could lead to new therapies. Experiments in mice showed that manipulating these neurons speeds up healing and reduces scarring.

An analysis of more than 63,000 French adults from the long-running NutriNet-Santé cohort found that plant-based diets built around minimally processed, nutritionally high-quality foods were associated with about a 40% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, while diets heavy in ultra-processed plant products could erase this benefit and were tied to substantially higher risk, according to researchers from INRAE and partner institutions.

December 14, 2025 Reported by AI Fact checked

Researchers have developed a deep learning model that estimates chronic stress burden by measuring adrenal gland volume on standard CT scans, introducing what they describe as the first imaging-based biomarker for chronic stress. The metric, called the Adrenal Volume Index, is linked to cortisol exposure, perceived stress, overall physiological stress load and long-term cardiovascular risk, according to findings to be presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting.