Medical therapy is better for late treatment.

Imagine this scenario: You've finally gone to the hospital because of chest pain you were having yesterday. After an electrocardiogram and blood test, you're told that sometime in the preceding 24 hours a clot in one of your coronary arteries cut off the blood supply to a section of your heart muscle. You had a heart attack!

So should you get an artery-opening angioplasty?

No. In 2006, the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT) determined that performing angioplasty — an invasive and expensive procedure — delivered no tangible benefit to people who'd had a heart ...

If one occurs, early detection and immediate action are crucial.

Pacemakers and implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are helping the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people pump at the right pace or nipping potentially lethal rhythms in the bud. But more people are developing infections after receiving such devices. Those infections keep people in the hospital longer and increase their risk of dying.

Anytime the protective barrier of your skin is breached — whether it's from a splinter or a surgical incision to implant a heart-aiding device — there's a risk of infection. When a team of Philadelphia-based researchers tracked implantations ...

The brief boost in risk usually doesn't linger.

Artery-clogging atherosclerosis is a slow, silent process that often begins in one's teens or 20s. Some people with atherosclerosis live out their lives completely untouched by it. Some develop chest pain (angina) or other problems when they exercise or are under stress. And some have heart attacks or strokes.

What kicks atherosclerosis over the edge, changing it from a relatively predictable, chronic problem to a potentially life-threatening emergency? Usually a trigger — a physical or emotional jolt that sparks a sudden change in the cardiovascular system.

Some triggers cause a surge in ...

Uses for beta blockers range from lowering blood pressure to improving heart failure.

The release of the first beta blocker in the early 1960s revolutionized the treatment of angina (chest pain caused by exertion or stress). Over the following four decades, these old dogs have learned many new tricks, from protecting the heart after a heart attack to controlling heart failure. Today, millions of Americans take a beta blocker.

This medication spotlight looks at how beta blockers work, who can benefit from them, and what to expect if you take one.

What beta blockers do Tiny proteins called beta receptors ...

The Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Health Publications have worked together to offer a more detailed alternative to the government's MyPlate dietary recommendations.

A specifically tailored exercise program may help people with heart failure regain strength without overworking the heart.

An expert advisory panel reiterated its belief that healthy people who have not been diagnosed with heart disease do not need to get an electrocardiogram test.

For people with peripheral artery disease, any sort of physical activity is better than not doing anything.

You've emphasized that people generally eat too much sodium and not enough potassium. Could I solve both problems at once by replacing my regular table salt with a substitute containing potassium?

I come from a long line of family members with heart disease. Right now, my HDL is 62 mg/dL [milligrams per deciliter], and my LDL is 115 mg/dL. My doctor isn't worried about my LDL, but shouldn't I shoot for an LDL level under 100 mg/dL?