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To improve maternal health, report says to start before pregnancy
A woman's heart health prior to becoming pregnant greatly affects her risk for pregnancy-related complications and the long-term cardiovascular health of both mother and child, according to a new report that calls for greater attention to the issue. Improving maternal heart health during this critical period could help break the...
Pro wrestler-in-training thrown for a loop by extra electrical pathway in her heart
Megan Washington finished running a muggy mile outside the Orlando, Florida, warehouse where she attended professional wrestling school, and found herself abnormally out of breath and exhausted. When the group went to do squats and jumping jacks, Megan sat on a couch with her eyes closed. She felt dizzy and...
This is your brain on love
You walk into the room and see their face. They smile at you and look into your eyes. And just like that, your heart drops to your feet and you can't speak. At least, not coherently. What's happening to your brain? Falling in love may make you feel like it...
This is what a cardiac arrest looks like, and why you need to know
Dr. Anezi Uzendu should not be here to explain what a cardiac arrest looks like. He's alive only because strangers at a gym understood – and acted. In 2016, Uzendu, then a 25-year-old medical resident, was playing a pickup basketball game at a gym in Birmingham, Alabama. He doesn't recall what happened, but he's told he scored, then collapsed.
Lifelong runner and newlywed gets pacemaker to power her heart
After their Hawaii honeymoon, newlyweds Jackie Ng-Osorio and her husband, Kane, set a goal of training together for the Honolulu Marathon. The race went well. Afterward, Ng-Osorio, who was 26 at the time, eased back into shorter daily runs. But she noticed her heart rate stayed high well after running.
Improving heart health at midlife and beyond could lower future risk of stroke, dementia
Good heart health promotes better brain health and can help reduce the risk for stroke and dementia. But is it ever too late to make a difference? New research suggests the answer is "no." The study, to be presented Wednesday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in Dallas,...
Indigenous populations may have higher stroke risk
In highly developed countries, Indigenous populations may have a higher rate of stroke, according to new research that highlights a dire need for more data and well-designed studies. Each year, nearly 12 million people worldwide have a stroke, which takes place when a vessel carrying blood to the brain is...
Bone marrow transplant may protect blood vessels in the brains of adults with sickle cell disease
Bone marrow transplants may prevent or improve blood vessel damage in the brains of adults with sickle cell disease, new research suggests, offering a potentially promising treatment for people at high risk of stroke because of the inherited blood cell disorder. Sickle cell disease is characterized by abnormally shaped red...
Former Grand Slam champion wants every tennis court to have an AED, someone trained in CPR
If you're looking for a tennis court anywhere in the country, the "Find a Place to Play" page on the United States Tennis Association's website can help. Just plug in a location as a starting point. You can narrow the search by surface type, court size, number of courts and whether a facility is public or private. You can even aim for places with indoor courts, lights, a hitting wall, coaches, a pro shop and/or Spanish-speaking instructors.
They married at a hospital chapel, days before the groom's triple bypass surgery
Although weekday weddings are a growing trend, Daniel Pecoraro and Lisa Siegel hadn't originally scheduled theirs for a Monday afternoon. And certainly not at a hospital near their home in Boynton Beach, Florida. But married life requires adjusting to situations, and they faced a drastic one days before their vows...
Genes, neighborhoods and a surprising finding on stroke risk
A genetic score may be able to identify higher stroke risk – but only for people living in the most privileged neighborhoods, according to new research that highlights inequities related to wealth and health. Researchers looked at acute ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke. It is caused...
Intensively lowering blood pressure may help clear toxins from the brain
Intensively lowering blood pressure may lead to structural changes in the brain that help it clear away toxins and other byproducts, potentially reducing the risk for dementia, new research suggests. This is the first study to look at whether intensive blood pressure treatment can slow or reverse the volume of...
Pregnancy complications could increase a woman's stroke risk at an earlier age
Women who have pregnancy-related health problems face an increased risk for having a stroke much earlier in life than their peers with uncomplicated pregnancies, a risk that climbs with each complicated pregnancy, new research suggests. The findings, which will be presented Feb. 8 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke...
Getting sepsis in the hospital could increase cardiovascular risk in the future
People discharged from the hospital after having sepsis face an increased risk of dying or returning to the hospital within 12 years because of a stroke, heart disease or other medical condition, new research suggests. They also faced an especially high risk for developing heart failure, compared to people who...
Depression, poor mental health in young adults linked to higher cardiovascular risks
Young adults with depression or overall poor mental health report more heart attacks, strokes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease than their peers without mental health issues, new research shows. The findings, published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, add to a large body of evidence linking...
Student-athlete's parents grateful for national spotlight on cardiac arrest
Dylan Dorrell fell in love with running when he was in kindergarten and ran a 5K with his mom on Mother's Day. As a 17-year-old senior in high school, he'd just finished practicing with his cross-country team at a local park in Denton, Texas, when he went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Researchers take a closer look at what COVID-19 does to the heart
People hospitalized with COVID-19 may have an increased risk for heart damage, but not so much the type of inflammation previous research suggested, according to a new study. Early in the pandemic, several studies suggested many COVID-19 survivors experienced heart damage even if they didn't have underlying heart disease and weren't sick enough to be hospitalized. The new study, published Friday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, examined the nature and extent of the heart damage and inflammation in the sickest people with COVID-19.
After a stroke at 87, woman had to convince family she was really OK
Barbara Bartels and a friend were catching up over coffee on a Sunday morning in August. They'd met up at a café not far from Bartels' home in Santa Cruz, California. As an artist and a bit of a self-professed hermit, Bartels didn't socialize much beyond her regular art critique group. But she did occasionally accept invitations to go out.
Cardiovascular deaths saw steep rise in U.S. during first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a steep rise in cardiovascular disease deaths in the U.S., with especially high mortality rates for Asian, Black and Hispanic people, according to a new statistical report from the American Heart Association. Cardiovascular disease-related deaths jumped from 874,613 in 2019 to 928,741...
A thump to his chest during a game stopped his heart. Textbook response saved him.
On April 16, 2021, Peter Laake was a starting freshman defender for his prep school's varsity lacrosse team. He'd had a good year, and now his team was playing a key rival on home turf in Towson, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb. The first quarter was nearing an end when the...
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Heart and Stroke News: Stories about people, science and health, from American Heart Association News.
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