Latest news with #heartdisease
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
How heart attack deaths dropped 90 per cent in 50 years
A Stanford University study found that overall heart disease deaths in the US dropped 66 per cent over 50 years, largely due to an 89 per cent decline in heart attack fatalities. This success is attributed to significant advancements in managing acute cardiac events, including improved treatments, increased bystander CPR, and public health initiatives like no-smoking laws. Despite the reduction in heart attack deaths, the study revealed a concerning rise in other heart conditions, with arrhythmia deaths increasing 450 per cent, heart failure deaths rising 146 per cent, and hypertensive heart disease deaths up 106 per cent. Researchers link the increase in these other heart-related deaths to the growing prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure among the US adult population. Experts stress the importance of shifting focus to prevention, starting from childhood, and recommend following guidelines such as the American Heart Association's 'Life's Essential 8' to maintain heart health.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Heart attack deaths have plummeted in US, but new cardiovascular threats emerge
Print Close By Melissa Rudy Published June 26, 2025 Heart attack deaths have plummeted in recent years — but other types of cardiovascular disease still pose a major threat. A new study by the American Heart Association (AHA) found that overall heart disease-related death rates have declined by 66%, and heart attack deaths have dropped by almost 90%. While heart attacks are no longer the most fatal form of heart disease, there have been increases in other types — heart failure, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertensive heart disease (long-term high blood pressure). CANNABIS USE RAISES RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE MORE THAN COCAINE, OTHER DRUGS, MAJOR REVIEW SUGGESTS The findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Heart Association. In the study, researchers analyzed more than 50 years of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focusing on heart disease deaths among adults aged 25 and older. In 1970, heart attacks — also known as ischemic heart disease — represented more than half (54%) of all heart disease deaths, the study found. As of 2022, only 29% of heart disease deaths were caused by heart attacks. Other types of heart disease deaths — such as heart failure, hypertensive heart disease and arrhythmia — have risen during that timeframe, however. EXPERIMENTAL CHOLESTEROL PILL CUTS HEART ATTACK RISK WITH 'CONVENIENT' ONCE-DAILY DOSE In 2022, these other types were responsible for 47% of heart disease deaths, up from just 9% in 1970, the study found. "This distribution shift in the types of heart disease people were dying from the most was very interesting to us," said the study's first author, Sara King, M.D., a second-year internal medicine resident in the department of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine in Stanford, California, in the release. "This evolution over the past 50 years reflects incredible successes in the way heart attacks and other types of ischemic heart disease are managed," she went on. "However, the substantial increase in deaths from other types of heart conditions, including heart failure and arrhythmias, poses emerging challenges the medical community must address." "The increase in other types of heart disease leading to death has offset the wins from deaths from heart attacks declining." Arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, happen when electrical impulses to the heart are too fast, slow or erratic, according to the AHA. One common example of an arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation (AFib), which begins in the upper chambers of the heart. Heart failure is defined as a "chronic condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen." Hypertensive heart disease describes damage to the heart caused by long-term, unaddressed high blood pressure, the AHA stated. Sadiya S. Khan, MD, a cardiologist and associate professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, was not involved in the study but commented on the "important analysis." "Fortunately, this study suggests important progress in a preventable cause of death — heart attacks," she told Fox News Digital. STANFORD RESEARCHERS DEVELOP 'GAME-CHANGING' STROKE TREATMENT THAT DOUBLES EFFECTIVENESS "Unfortunately, it suggests that there is a smoldering crisis of other types of heart disease deaths that may be in part related to heart attacks, but speak to the growing burden of obesity that results in more heart failure and arrhythmia-related deaths." "The increase in other types of heart disease leading to death has offset the wins from deaths from heart attacks declining." Why the decrease in heart attacks? The researchers presented several possible reasons for the decrease in heart attack deaths, primarily advancements in treatment for sudden and acute cardiac events. "From the establishment and increased use of bystander CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to treat cardiac arrest outside the hospital setting, to the creation of systems of care that promote early recognition of and quick procedural and medical intervention to treat heart attacks, there have been great strides made in helping people survive initial acute cardiac events that were once considered a death sentence," King said in the release. The researchers also touted several other medical advancements, including coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac imaging and many new heart disease medications. Healthy lifestyle modifications, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly and managing cholesterol and blood pressure, have also contributed to the reduced heart attack deaths, the AHA report stated. Khan added, "It is important to note that this doesn't mean the heart attack may still not have been the driver, if someone with a heart attack developed heart failure and that is now called a heart failure death." Risk factors remain Despite the improvements, the researchers cautioned that several other heart disease risk factors — including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and physical inactivity — are still fueling cases. Obesity in particular has risen from 15% to 40% during the study timeframe, and type 2 diabetes affects nearly half of U.S. adults, according to the report. Increased life expectancy is another factor — as people are living longer, a larger aging population is more likely to experience various types of heart disease. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "We've won major battles against heart attacks; however, the war against heart disease isn't over," King said. "We now need to tackle heart failure and other chronic conditions that affect people as they age." "The next frontier in heart health must focus on preventing heart attacks, and also on helping people age with healthier hearts and avoiding chronic heart conditions later in life." The AHA calculates heart health based on an individual's score for what it calls "Life's Essential 8." Those who score high in those eight areas are, on average, six years younger biologically than their actual age. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER The eight lifestyle behaviors for optimal heart health are listed below. Eat better Be more active Quit tobacco Get healthy sleep Manage weight Control cholesterol Manage blood sugar Manage blood pressure Potential limitations The researchers pointed out several limitations of their study, including that they did not analyze data by age, sex, race, ethnicity, region or urbanization. There could also be potential inconsistencies and "miscoding" of data over the years, they noted. "We've won major battles against heart attacks; however, the war against heart disease isn't over." It's also possible that the "true burden" of heart attacks is "underestimated" in the findings, according to the researchers. "Certain conditions including heart failure, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias — and, in particular, ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac arrest — may be overly simplistic," they wrote. "Many of these cases likely have underlying causes that cannot be precisely differentiated using current or past ICD (International Classification of Diseases) codes." For more Health articles, visit Khan pointed out that despite the decrease in direct heart attack deaths, heart disease overall is still the leading cause of mortality in the U.S., accounting for more than 900,000 deaths in 2022. Print Close URL
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Heart attack deaths plummet 90% in 50 years – but three other conditions are surging, study warns
A new study shows heart attack deaths in the US have dropped nearly 90 percent over 50 years - but other heart conditions are on the rise. Published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine analyzed age-adjusted heart disease death rates among adults 25 and older from 1970 to 2022. Researchers found that overall heart disease deaths dropped 66 percent over 50 years, mainly due to an 89 percent decline in heart attack deaths. In 1970, heart attacks caused over half of heart disease deaths but, by 2022, they accounted for less than one-third. 'This evolution over the past 50 years reflects incredible successes in the way heart attacks and other types of ischemic heart disease are managed,' said Sara King, M.D., the study's first author and a second-year internal medicine resident at Stanford School of Medicine in California, in a news release. 'There have been great strides made in helping people survive initial acute cardiac events that were once considered a death sentence,' she added. Advances like more bystander CPR, better awareness of early heart attack symptoms, improved treatments, and no-smoking laws have helped reduce heart attack deaths. However, experts warn that as more people survive heart attacks, other forms of heart disease are now on the rise. Deaths by Arrhythmia, when the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly, increased 450 percent, while heart failure deaths rose 146 percent. Hypertensive heart disease deaths rose 106%, driven by long-term high blood pressure. Researchers link these rising causes of death to obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure in the U.S. Obesity in the U.S. rose from 15 percent in the 1970s to 40 percent by 2022. Nearly half of adults now have type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure rates grew from 30 percent in 1978 to almost 50 percent in 2022. 'The focus now must be on helping people age with strong, healthy hearts by preventing events, and prevention can start as early as childhood,' said senior author Latha Palaniappan, M.D., associate dean for research and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. The American Heart Association's 'Life's Essential 8' outlines key steps to reduce heart disease risk: eat healthy, manage weight, quit smoking, exercise more, improve sleep, and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Heart attack deaths plummet 90% in 50 years – but three other conditions are surging, study warns
A new study shows heart attack deaths in the US have dropped nearly 90 percent over 50 years - but other heart conditions are on the rise. Published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine analyzed age-adjusted heart disease death rates among adults 25 and older from 1970 to 2022. Researchers found that overall heart disease deaths dropped 66 percent over 50 years, mainly due to an 89 percent decline in heart attack deaths. In 1970, heart attacks caused over half of heart disease deaths but, by 2022, they accounted for less than one-third. 'This evolution over the past 50 years reflects incredible successes in the way heart attacks and other types of ischemic heart disease are managed,' said Sara King, M.D., the study's first author and a second-year internal medicine resident at Stanford School of Medicine in California, in a news release. 'There have been great strides made in helping people survive initial acute cardiac events that were once considered a death sentence,' she added. Advances like more bystander CPR, better awareness of early heart attack symptoms, improved treatments, and no-smoking laws have helped reduce heart attack deaths. However, experts warn that as more people survive heart attacks, other forms of heart disease are now on the rise. Deaths by Arrhythmia, when the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly, increased 450 percent, while heart failure deaths rose 146 percent. Hypertensive heart disease deaths rose 106%, driven by long-term high blood pressure. Researchers link these rising causes of death to obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure in the U.S. Obesity in the U.S. rose from 15 percent in the 1970s to 40 percent by 2022. Nearly half of adults now have type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure rates grew from 30 percent in 1978 to almost 50 percent in 2022. 'The focus now must be on helping people age with strong, healthy hearts by preventing events, and prevention can start as early as childhood,' said senior author Latha Palaniappan, M.D., associate dean for research and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. The American Heart Association 's 'Life's Essential 8' outlines key steps to reduce heart disease risk: eat healthy, manage weight, quit smoking, exercise more, improve sleep, and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
CNET
2 days ago
- Health
- CNET
Your Blood Type Can Mean You're More Prone to Heart Disease. Here's What to Know
Knowing your blood type is important information that can come in handy during a medical emergency. It can also tell you more about which medical conditions you're more at risk for, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In fact, your blood type may be more connected to your heart health than you realize. This is what you should know about your blood type and how it could potentially connect to heart disease. Also, learn more about what lifestyle changes you can make for better heart health. How Healthy is Your Heart, Really? 5 Ways to Tell at Home How Healthy is Your Heart, Really? 5 Ways to Tell at Home Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 3:59 Loaded : 9.96% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 3:59 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. How Healthy is Your Heart, Really? 5 Ways to Tell at Home What does your blood type mean for your body? The letters A, B and O represent various forms of the ABO gene, which program our blood cells differently to form the different blood groups. If you have type AB blood, for example, your body is programmed to produce A and B antigens on red blood cells. A person with type O blood doesn't produce any antigens. Blood is said to be "positive" or "negative" based on whether there are proteins on the red blood cells. If your blood has proteins, you're Rhesus, or Rh, positive. The ABO system is the best known way of classifying blood types. Ekachai Lohacamonchai/EyeEm/Getty Images People with type O-negative blood are considered "universal donors" because their blood doesn't have any antigens or proteins, meaning anyone's body will be able to accept it in an emergency. But why are there different blood types? Researchers don't fully know, but factors such as where someone's ancestors are from and past infections that spurred protective mutations in the blood may have contributed to the diversity, according to Dr. Douglas Guggenheim, a hematologist with Penn Medicine. People with type O blood may get sicker with cholera, for example, while people with type A or B blood may be more likely to experience blood clotting issues. While our blood can't keep up with the different biological or viral threats going around in real-time, it may reflect what's happened in the past. "In short, it's almost like the body has evolved around its environment in order to protect it as best as possible," Guggenheim said. People with type O blood may have a lower risk of cardiovascular events. Arctic-Images/Getty Images The blood types most at risk for heart disease People with type A, type B or type AB blood are more likely than people with type O to have a heart attack or experience heart failure, according to the American Heart Association. While the increased risk is small (types A or B had a combined 8% higher risk of heart attack and 10% increased risk of heart failure, according to one large study) the difference in blood clotting rates is much higher, per the AHA. People in the same study with type A and B blood were 51% more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis and 47% more likely to develop a pulmonary embolism, which are severe blood clotting disorders that can also increase the risk of heart failure. According to Guggenheim, a reason for this increased risk might be inflammation in the bodies of people with type A, type B or type AB blood. The proteins present in type A and type B blood may cause more "blockage" or "thickening" in the veins and arteries, leading to an increased risk of clotting and heart disease. Guggenheim also thinks this may describe the anecdotal decrease in risk of severe COVID-19 disease in people with type O blood. (Note: Since this article was first published, more research has added to the notion that people with type A blood may have a higher risk of infection. This is because the COVID-19 virus binds to cells slightly differently based on blood type.) There are four main blood groups (types of blood): A, B, AB and consequences of blood type People with type O blood enjoy a slightly lower risk of heart disease and blood clotting, but they may be more susceptible to hemorrhaging or bleeding disorders. This may be especially true after childbirth, according to a study on postpartum blood loss, which found an increased risk in women with type O blood. People with type O blood may also fare worse after a traumatic injury due to increased blood loss, according to a study published in Critical Care. Other research has found people with type AB blood might be at an increased risk for cognitive impairment when compared to people with type O. Cognitive impairment includes things like trouble remembering, focusing or making decisions. Read more: Mediterranean Diet for Heart Health: Foods to Eat and How to Get Started Should you change your lifestyle based on your blood type? While research available now shows that blood type can tip the scale in terms of someone's risk of developing heart disease, big factors such as diet, exercise or even the level of pollution you're exposed to in your community are the major players in determining heart health. Guggenheim says that for patients trying to keep their heart healthy, there's no special recommendation that he'd make other than a good heart-healthy diet that lowers inflammation, regardless of someone's blood type. Lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains are all part of a heart-healthy diet. Lina Darjan/500px/Getty Images But, he notes, future research could offer more definitive ways doctors treat patients based on their blood type. All factors considered equally, a patient with healthy cholesterol levels and type A blood may benefit from taking aspirin each day whereas it might not be necessary for a person in the same boat with type O blood. "A well-balanced, heart-healthy diet in general is going to be what any physician is going to recommend, and I would say that ABO doesn't change that," Guggenheim said. "I don't think there's a protective benefit from just having type O blood that contributes to being scot-free," he added.
