Cardiovascular

Eating less meat is known to be good for heart health, but studies have been hampered by confounding factors such as genetics and background. Now, 22 sets of twins on 'healthy' meat and plant-based diets provide us with the best comparative data yet.

No-one enjoys idling in peak-hour traffic, yet scientists have identified that a blood pressure spike during it doesn't come from frustration but from ultrafine particles flowing into the car. And the average 4.5 mm Hg spike lasts for an entire day.

A study has found that moderate increases in blood pressure and cholesterol make 40-year-olds more vulnerable to developing arterial plaques, or atherosclerosis, than people over 48, suggesting earlier intervention is needed to slow the disease.

There is a growing body of evidence that points to night shift work being extremely bad for our health. But scientists believe some big, hairy "extreme shift workers" may hold the cellular secrets to staying healthy amid circadian rhythm disruptions.

People with high blood pressure may soon be able to swap the daily pills for an injection every few months. A phase 2 clinical trial has shown that Zilebesiran can drastically reduce blood pressure for long periods of time with no side effects.

A clinical trial has shown that the cardiovascular benefits that the drug semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, affords to overweight or obese type 2 diabetics extend to those without diabetes.

Researchers have identified a previously unknown step in the process by which dietary cholesterol is absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream. The newfound pathway provides a potential new target for treating high cholesterol.

A large study has linked abnormal heart rhythm to cognitive decline, the latest evidence that connects common cardiovascular conditions with dementia. But there is some good news: Early diagnosis and medication may completely remove the increased risk.

A new study has found that healthy women risk future cardiovascular disease by reducing their sleep time by as little as one-and-a-half hours a night over the long term. The finding reinforces an important message: make sure you get enough sleep.

Researchers have developed a more convenient way of measuring omega-3 fatty acid levels in the blood, an important biomarker of disease risk, making it easier to obtain critical information about cardiovascular and cognitive health.

A 58-year-old man with terminal heart disease has become the second patient to receive a pig's heart, in a complicated, high-risk xenotransplant. The first recipient died last year from complications, two months after the landmark world-first surgery.

As a new age of weight-loss therapeutics dawns, scientists are one step closer to a drug that can coax muscles into behaving as if they’ve just been put through a workout. The benefits range from weight loss to treating diabetes and heart conditions.