Heart Failure Archive

Doctors have long prescribed drugs called beta blockers to all heart attack survivors. These drugs, which slow down the heart and lower blood pressure, include atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol). Growing evidence suggests that these drugs offer no meaningful benefit for people whose hearts still pump normally after a heart attack. Sometimes, however, a heart attack leaves the left ventricle (the heart's main pumping chamber) unable to contract effectively. When that's the case, beta blockers are still recommended.

A type of artificial intelligence that uses a deep machine learning tool to analyze different features from routine mammograms can predict a woman's risk of heart-related problems, according to a 2025 analysis.

A 2025 study suggests that more than 99% of people who have a first-time heart attack, stroke, or heart failure have at least one of four risk factors: unhealthy blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar levels, or past or present smoking.

A 2025 survey suggests that many adults don't have a good understanding of high blood pressure, including not knowing what reading signifies high blood pressure and confusion about symptoms related to the condition.

A free online tool that estimates your heart's age suggests that most adults have a heart that is older than their chronological age, according to a 2025 study.

A diet high in ultra-processed foods is linked to higher burden of fatty plaque in the carotid arteries, according to a 2025 study.

Circadian rhythms, which are hardwired into nearly every cell of the body, regulate the heart and blood vessels. Disruptions to this rhythm-from shift work, poor sleep, or unhealthy habits-can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. For example, heart attacks are more likely to occur on Mondays than any other day of the week. That's because people tend to stay up later than usual and then sleep in the next day. On Monday morning, when they have to wake up early again for work, the change may cause subtle changes in blood pressure, hormone secretion, and metabolism that raise heart attack risk.

A 2025 study finds that smoking and high blood pressure are the two most important factors driving heart disease risk. Together with high cholesterol, excess weight (or being underweight), and diabetes, these five factors account for about 50% of the burden of cardiovascular disease. Compared to people with all five risk factors at age 50, those who had none of the factors were far less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die early. On average, women with none of the risks at midlife lived 13 more years without heart disease, while men lived an additional 11 years.

A diet low in sodium and rich in plant-based foods promotes a diverse, balanced population of gut microbes, which may help people maintain a healthy blood pressure. A salty diet increases the prevalence of bad microbes and reduces the number of beneficial microbes. When bad microbes accumulate in the gut, they form breakdown products and toxins that promote inflammation. Beneficial microbes feed on fiber, which is why a diet that provides a mix of healthy fiber from plant-based foods helps. These microbes produce short-chain fatty acids, which interact with specific receptors on cells that help regulate blood pressure.

A 2025 study suggests that higher fitness levels may help protect people from developing atrial fibrillation.