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A new solution to an old problem makes breath analysis in real time possible The breath we exhale can tell us a lot about our respiratory and metabolic health – like whether we have asthma or if we might be developing kidney disease or need to better manage a case of COPD. But the breath is famously hard to study, especially in real time....

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of painful and life-threatening genetic disorders that affect hemoglobin, the major protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. It occurs in nearly 100,000 people in the United States and millions worldwide. The most common type is hemoglobin SS (HbSS), which affects about 65% of those with sickle cell...

The aorta, one of the “great arteries,” carries blood away from the heart to support circulation throughout the body. However, sometimes a tear in the lining of the aorta can occur, and while this is uncommon, it often requires immediate treatment. That’s why it’s important for people to be aware of common risk factors and symptoms. Sujata M...

Could next-generation gene editing mean a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF)? There's been a lot of advancement on the disease in the last decade, but there are still those living with the disease who get no relief from current treatments - especially those for whom health disparities already exist. Paul McCray, M.D., professor of pediatrics, and...

Supporting cardiovascular health is important at every age, and early influences can improve health outcomes years later As the body ages, lots of changes happen that can increase a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease. Blood vessels narrow. Arteries stiffen. Cell mutations can occur, while genes can influence fate. Fortunately, researchers...

Just over a year ago, Susan Martin – not her real name – a retiree in her 60s from Boston, received a phone call just as she was about to settle into an episode of the West Wing. She wanted to ignore the call, but the name on the phone’s identifier – Framingham Heart Study (FHS) – made her think twice. Martin knew a lot about FHS, an NHLBI-funded...

Early studies show unusual approach might speed response times and save lives When you look to the sky these days, you never know what you might see — a bird, a plane, a shooting star, or…a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator (AED)? That’s right: A medical drone. A team of NHLBI-funded researchers is testing drones to deliver AEDs...

Longest running study of HIV survivors is marking its 40th anniversary this year. In the 1980s, infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was often viewed as a death sentence. With no treatments available and little understanding of the virus or the disease, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States ultimately lost their lives and...

Imagine being a paramedic treating a trauma patient who’s bleeding severely. You know your patient’s life is in danger, but there’s not much you can do because the patient needs an infusion of blood containing platelets. Platelets encourage clotting, help stop bleeding, and are critical in emergencies like this. Yet, on board your ambulance, none...

Planetary health and environmental justice at the forefront of an NHLBI workshop Some 55 years ago the poet and environmentalist Wendell Berry pondered the distressing harm to the planet that had resulted from the very modernization that seemed to be improving lives. “We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the...