African Americans who smoke appear to have more than twice the risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to those who do not smoke, a new study has found. The findings—the first up-close look at the relationship between smoking and coronary heart disease in this population—also examined the risk for plaque buildup in the arteries of...
WHAT: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) has tied for first out of 39 diets for “Best Diets for Healthy Eating” and “Best Heart-Healthy Diets” in the 2021 Best Diets report from U.S. News & World Report. DASH, which builds nutrient-dense meals around whole grains, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, and fruits, and includes fish,...
Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, has long been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack and stroke. Now, researchers have identified a key culprit: the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn), a condition that includes obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension, and is highly...
Three clinical trial platforms working together to test the effects of full doses of anticoagulants (blood thinners) in COVID-19 patients have paused enrollment for one group of patients. Among critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) support, therapeutic anticoagulation drugs did not reduce the need for organ support....
When the November 2020 news broke that two vaccines had proven to be highly effective in preventing COVID-19 or minimizing its impact, people everywhere began talking about seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. But many public health experts were talking, too, about another bright spot – the vast numbers of participants from racial and ethnic...
NIH-funded study finds higher dose is not more effective at reducing serious flu complications in this high-risk group High-dose influenza (commonly known as flu) vaccines are no better than regular-dose influenza vaccines in reducing deaths and hospitalizations among patients with underlying heart disease, according to a large study publishing in...
Updates to six key areas of asthma care focus on improving diagnosis, management and treatment The National Institutes of Health today announced 19 recommendations in six key areas of asthma diagnosis, management and treatment. The new guidance, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology , represents the first updates to federal...
WHAT: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) announces selection of Marishka Brown, Ph.D., as Director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR). Congress established the NCSDR in 1993 to coordinate sleep research throughout NIH and other federal agencies. Dr. Brown succeeds Michael Twery, Ph.D., who served as the...
Using a life support machine to replicate the functions of the heart and lungs significantly improved the survival of people who suffered from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a new study published today in The Lancet . The treatment program involving the life support machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) proved so...
A National Institutes of Health clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has formally concluded that the drug provides no clinical benefit to hospitalized patients. Though found not to cause harm, early findings in June when the trial was...
Targeting cell’s ‘trash compactor’ could lead to new antiviral strategy to fight COVID-19 Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a biological pathway that the novel coronavirus appears to use to hijack and exit cells as it spreads through the body. A better understanding of this important pathway may provide vital insight...