Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Heart Disease

Researchers stimulated digital replicas of the patients' hearts with electrical signals to locate the sources of their irregular heartbeats.

Doctors Used ‘Digital Twins’ of Patients’ Hearts to Fix Their Irregular Heartbeats

A small clinical trial suggests the technology can help physicians perform life-saving surgeries more efficiently and safely

Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of eating normally and fasting

Intermittent Fasting Might Not Live Up to the Hype When It Comes to Weight Loss, New Research Suggests

The popular eating strategy is about as effective as doing nothing to lose weight, according to a review of several clinical trials

Researchers traced a pathway between the heart and the brain.

After a Heart Attack, the Brain’s Response Might Make Recovery Harder. Cutting Some Communication Between the Organs Could Help

The new study in mice could lead to innovative treatments for heart attacks

The daily pills are designed for use among those whose high cholesterol is not reaching healthy targets despite taking other medications.

New Daily Pill Could Potentially Be Life-Saving for Americans With High Cholesterol Levels, Researchers Say

The medication, which significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks, could be a promising alternative to expensive and unpopular injectables

A new study found that women with no history of heart disease can decrease their risk of disease with about half as much exercise as men.

Women Need About Half as Much Exercise as Men for the Same Heart Benefits, Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed the activity and health records of 85,000 U.K. adults over roughly eight years

Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization.

This 14-Year-Old Built an App That Detects Heart Diseases in Seconds

Siddarth Nandyala wants to put his tool in the hands of medical professionals so that they can catch cardiovascular abnormalities in their early stages

A group of female South Korean free divers on Jeju Island, known as the Haenyeo, exit the water after catching marine snails in November 2015.

South Korea’s Female Free Divers May Have Evolved to Thrive Underwater, Study Finds

The Haenyeo, a group of skilled divers on Jeju Island, plunge beneath the ocean’s surface without any breathing equipment, thanks to a combination of their training and genetics

A new, temporary pacemaker is smaller than a grain of rice.

Researchers Develop the World’s Smallest Pacemaker, and It Could Be Revolutionary for Newborn Babies With Heart Defects

The new device is smaller than a grain of rice and gets absorbed by the patient’s body when it’s no longer needed, eliminating the risks of an extraction surgery

Heart tissues within one of the launch-ready chambers

Heart Tissue Shows Signs of Aging After Just One Month in Space, Study Finds

Scientists sent bioengineered heart tissue samples to the ISS to study how to keep astronauts safe during future long-term space travel

The findings build on research from last year, which found that people with higher levels of the sweetener in their blood were at a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Common Artificial Sweetener Linked to Increased Heart Attack Risk in Small Study

Healthy people who consumed 30 grams of the sweetener erythritol had an increased risk of blood clot formation, while people who consumed the same amount of glucose did not

Akira Endo discovered the first statin, a class of molecule that decreases the production of cholesterol. He died June 5 at the age of 90.

Akira Endo, Biochemist Who Found a Way to Fight Heart Disease, Dies at 90

Endo’s research paved the way for the development of drugs to treat high cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes

Previous research suggested that anger can increase people's risk of heart attacks. In the new study, researchers found that part of the reason why could be that anger briefly reduces blood vessels' ability to widen.

Can Anger Affect Your Heart Health? Scientists Find the Strong Emotion Impacts How Blood Vessels Function

The results could even help explain why stress from anger may trigger a heart attack

Study participants who reported eating during shorter time frames were more likely to die from heart disease during the period of the study.

Intermittent Fasting Linked to Higher Risk of Death From Heart Disease, Preliminary Study Finds

New research challenges the idea that restricting eating to a limited time frame is beneficial—though the work has some notable limitations, such as a reliance on self-reported eating habits

Many organizations classify hypertension as a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher, though some say 130/80 mmHg.

High Blood Pressure Is a ‘Silent Killer’ That Affects One in Three People, WHO Says

But nearly half of those living with the condition don’t know they have it, according to the organization’s first report on hypertension

Though historians today generally agree that Harding died of natural causes, suspicions to the contrary lingered for decades.

Why President Warren G. Harding’s Sudden Death Sparked Rumors of Murder and Suicide

The commander in chief’s unexpected death in office 100 years ago fueled decades of conspiracy theories but was most likely the result of a heart attack

The artificial sweetener erythritol is widely used a sugar substitute. 

Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds

Erythritol was not proven to cause these health problems, but some experts recommend limiting intake

Most individuals born male have an X and a Y chromosome, while those born female have two X chromosomes. 

Loss of Y Chromosome in Mice May Lead to Heart Failure

A new study suggests the same loss in humans may lead to increased mortality

David Bennett with his son and Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin from the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Porcine Virus May Have Led to the Death of First-Ever Pig Heart Transplant Patient

Doctors say this infection will likely be preventable in future pig heart transplants

David Bennett Sr. with his son

Patient Who Received a Genetically Modified Pig Heart Dies After Two Months

The procedure marks the first time that a genetically-modified, non-human cardiac organ functioned without immediate rejection by the human body

Scientists built this synthetic fish using paper, plastic, gelatin and human heart cells.

Scientists Build an Artificial Fish That Swims on Its Own Using Human Heart Cells

The experiment could advance pacemaker technology and bring science closer to developing artificial hearts for people

Page 1 of 3