Heart Health Archive

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called broken-heart syndrome, is a weakening of the left ventricle that is usually the result of severe stress. Its symptoms resemble those of a heart attack, and treatment is usually the same as that for heart failure.

Making plaque disappear is not possible, but it is possible to shrink and stabilize it. Drugs called statins can help with this, and so can eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising, and quitting smoking.

Exercise can lower resting heart rate and raise maximum heart rate to reduce the risk of heart attack and death.

When it comes to managing blood pressure, doctors tend to focus on lowering the top (systolic) number, but the bottom (diastolic) number also plays an essential role in heart health. Diastolic pressure is the pressure during the resting phase between heartbeats, and helps coronary vessels supply oxygen to the heart muscle. It's important to keep both blood pressure numbers low per guidelines, but research suggests the diastolic number should not fall too low.

The 2026 lipid guidelines explain how people can estimate and lower their risk of a heart attack. They include information about tools and tests, updated targets for LDL (bad) cholesterol, and advice about lifestyle changes and medications.

Pain in the chest sometimes is a symptom of heart disease. But heart problems aren't always obvious. Fatigue, unexplained aches and pains, shortness of breath, swollen feet or ankles, and heart palpitations may also indicate heart trouble.

Sometimes swollen feet are a red flag for an underlying vascular, bone-related, or skin-related health condition.

Compared to people who have moderate sleep-and-wake patterns, night owls may be more likely to have unhealthy habits that put their heart health at risk, according to a 2026 study.

Women have unique risk factors for heart disease, including pregnancy-related complications and a higher rate of autoimmune diseases. Anatomical and other differences also influence how heart disease manifests in women.

An enlarged heart has many possible causes, including conditions that force the heart to work harder than usual (such as chronic high blood pressure or heart valve problems) and different types of cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease).