Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Older adults might be able to lower their blood pressure by reducing their sitting time by as little as 30 minutes per day, according to a 2024 study.

Using a Web-based app, most people can correctly assess their need for a cholesterol-lowering statin and take the drug appropriately with good results, according to a 2024 study. If approved, the app could facilitate statin use without a doctor’s prescription.

The spouses of people who have heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure may face an elevated risk of depression, according to a 2024 study.

People who have or are at risk for cardiovascular disease should be extra cautious when exercising outside when it’s hot, humid, and hazy, as they are more vulnerable to the hazards of high temperature and air pollution. To exercise safely during a heat wave, people should avoid being outside during the middle of the day; wear light-colored, lightweight clothing; and be careful to stay hydrated.

The American Heart Association’s first-ever scientific statement on artificial intelligence (A.I.) in cardiology explores how the technology may improve how doctors prevent, detect, and treat heart disease. For example, A.I. data from patch monitors may predict who will develop potentially serious heart rhythms. Applying A.I. tools to a single chest x-ray may predict a person’s risk of heart attack and other serious health problems.

A meditation practice may help lower blood pressure and encourage people to make healthier choices when coping with stress. The two best-studied forms are Transcendental Meditation, which may lower blood pressure, and mindfulness-based meditation, which may reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and blood pressure. People can learn how to meditate at in-person or virtual classes or by using an app.

While the best health outcomes are linked to taking about 10,000 steps per day, people who walk as little as 2,200 steps may lower the odds of developing heart disease or dying early compared to those who walk fewer steps.

A 2023 study suggests habitually adding salt to food may raise the odds of developing chronic kidney disease, which increases the risks of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.

Two-thirds of Americans with long COVID are women. Women approaching menopause who have long COVID seem to experience worsened symptoms of both conditions. Women’s sex hormones appear to contribute to this phenomenon. Hormone therapy is becoming both a treatment and a diagnostic tool to determine driving factors behind affected women’s symptoms. Because symptoms overlap, some women may have trouble being correctly diagnosed with perimenopause or long COVID.

Vertigo is a symptom, not a condition. It can make people feel lightheaded, faint, unsteady, or like the room is spinning. Common conditions causing vertigo include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular migraines, vestibular neuritis, and Ménière’s disease. People should see a doctor after a single vertigo episode to determine the cause. Depending on the cause, treatments might include medications, a canalith repositioning procedure, vestibular therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Staying active, not sedentary, between episodes can help people with vertigo feel better.