Heart Health Archive

Medication to lower high blood pressure is a proven way to reduce a person's risk for heart disease. But adopting lifestyle changes may let people maintain healthy readings and perhaps even avoid drug therapy. Six lifestyle changes have the most significant influence on blood pressure: diet, exercise, weight control, limiting sodium and alcohol, and managing stress.

Otherwise healthy men treated with prescription drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction had a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, or death from heart-related causes.

A wearable sensor no bigger than a postage stamp can capture detailed images of the heart, even when a person is exercising. The technology may one day make high-quality cardiac imaging more widely accessible to a larger population.

What people choose to eat has a big impact on their cardiovascular health. The dietary habits of the nation as a whole also have a major effect on the country's economic health. About 45% of the costs associated with heart disease, stroke, and diabetes is related to unhealthy diets. The dietary habits that appear to have the biggest effect are not eating enough nuts, seeds, and seafood omega-3 fatty acids. Among foods to avoid, sugary beverages and processed meats seem to contribute the most to higher costs. Each year, unhealthy diets cost the United States an average of about $300 per person in medical costs, which translates to $50 billion nationwide.

A sugary diet contributes to weight gain and other factors that boost heart disease risk, including inflammation, disrupted blood sugar control, and increased cholesterol. The typical American diet is very high in added sugar, nearly half of which comes from sugar-sweetened beverages. Another 30% comes from baked goods such as cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, doughnuts, sweet rolls, and pastries. People don't need to completely give up sweet treats but should enjoy them just once or twice a week rather than daily.

Some research says taking a daily fish oil supplement can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, while other studies say the evidence remains thin. While fish oil is the best source of omega-3 fatty acids (essential nutrients that the body cannot make on its own),  taking an over-the-counter fish oil supplement probably provides no extra heart benefit beyond a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of omega-3-rich fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.

Coronary artery calcium scans tend to be quite accurate. Unlike some other imaging tests, the results are unlikely to be either falsely negative or falsely positive because the results are literally black and white (the calcium shows up as white on the scan).

Tofu may be good for the heart. A study published in March 2020 in the journal Circulation found that people who ate at least one weekly serving of tofu or another food containing isoflavones (a compound found in soybeans and other legumes) had an 18% lower risk of developing heart and blood vessel disease than people who ate these foods less than once a month. These foods appeared particularly beneficial to premenopausal women and women who had gone through menopause but weren't using hormone replacement therapy. Experts recommend substituting these foods for less healthy protein options such as red or processed meats.

Over the past decade, nutrition experts have shifted away from recommending a low-fat diet to focusing more on an overall healthy dietary pattern. This eating style, which includes lots of plant-based foods, is naturally low in saturated fats. Found mainly in meat and dairy products, saturated fat can boost levels of harmful LDL cholesterol, a key contributor to heart disease. Cutting back on all types of fat does not necessarily translate into a diet that lowers cardiovascular risk. The plant-centric Mediterranean eating pattern, which is rich in healthy unsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, and olives, has the best evidence for lowering heart disease risk.