Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor Shows Encouraging LDL Lowering

A new oral formulation of a PCSK9-inhibitor, cholesterol-lowering drug in development by Merck has shown encouraging results in a phase 2 study.

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Endurance Exercise Tied to More Coronary Atherosclerosis

The suggestion that long-term endurance exercise may lead to a paradoxical increase in coronary atherosclerosis has been raised again by a new study.

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Hormones for Gender Dysphoria Associated With Cardiovascular Risk

People with gender dysphoria who are taking hormones to transition may face increased risks for certain cardiovascular events, according to a new report, which is the largest study to date examining such outcomes. 

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Experts' Perspective: Top Cardiology News from ACC 23

The American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 2023 Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology served as a showcase of the latest advancements in cardiovascular medicine. With more than 16,000 attendees, the annual meeting boasted dozens of pieces of featured research in addition to the more than 20 late-breaking presentations included in the meeting, with this research touching on multiple areas of care ranging from lipid management to heart failure to structural heart disease and implementation science.

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Gene essential to making DNA appears to be a good target in minimizing pulmonary hypertension

Scientists have found that inhibiting a gene essential to making DNA can significantly reduce the destructive cell proliferation and disease progression in pulmonary hypertension.

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History of infertility associated with increased risk for heart disease

Women with a history of infertility have an increased risk for CHD, but not stroke, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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FDA designates intra-aortic balloon pump recall as class I

The FDA announced it has designated a recall of intra-aortic balloon pumps by Datascope/Getinge as class I, the most serious kind.

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Cardiovascular health: Insomnia linked to greater risk of heart attack

As research progresses, experts are finding more and more reasons for people to prioritize sleep. One area of interest is how the sleep disorder insomnia increases the risk for other health problems.

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Areas of greater socioeconomic disadvantage linked to 60% greater likelihood of primary hypertension in youth

Children living in the most disadvantaged communities have a 60% greater likelihood of being diagnosed with primary hypertension, the leading risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease later in life, according to the first U.S. study of its kind, led by researchers at Nemours Children's Health and published today (March 15) in JAMA Network Open.

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Mediterranean diet cuts women's cardiovascular disease and death risk by nearly 25%, finds study

Sticking closely to a Mediterranean diet cuts a woman's risks of cardiovascular disease and death by nearly 25%, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence—the first of its kind—published online in the journal Heart.

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Step forward in gene therapy to treat cause of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes

University of Utah Health scientists have corrected abnormal heart rhythms in mice by restoring healthy levels of a protein that heart cells need to establish connections with one another. That protein, GJA1-20k, is underproduced in people with a genetic condition called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes under the age of 35.

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Cardiac Arrest Growing More Common in the Delivery Room?— National study suggests higher rates than previously estimated

Cardiac arrest during labor and delivery appeared more common than previously seen -- particularly for older, Black, and low-income pregnant patients -- but with better survival rates, according to a national study.

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Hep B Prior to Pregnancy Tied to Congenital Heart Diseases in Infants

Maternal hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prior to pregnancy was significantly associated with congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in offspring, a retrospective cohort study from China showed.

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Why Does Insulin Cost So Much? Big Pharma Isn't the Only Player Driving Prices

Eli Lilly & Co.'s announcement thatopens in a new tab or window it is slashing prices for its major insulin products could make life easier for some diabetes patients while easing pressure on Big Pharma.

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Novel PET Radiotracer Successfully Detects Multiple Cancers, Offers Potential for New Targeted Radionuclide Therapy

A new radiotracer has been found to be more effective than the most commonly used nuclear medicine cancer imaging radiotracer, 18F-FDG. In a study published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 68Ga-FAP-2286 detected 100 percent of primary tumors across multiple cancer types as compared to 18F-FDG, which identified only 80 percent. 68Ga-FAP-2286 was also more effective in detecting lymph node metastases and distant metastases.

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The American Diet Has a Sandwich Problem

Americans’ favorite lunch is a ‘heart bomb’ of salt, preservatives and sugar. But doctors say there’s a way to build a healthier sandwich—here’s how.

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Ozempic shortage: Diabetes patients at risk as TikTok and telehealth prescriptions fuel drug demand

Telehealth and social media are playing a significant role in driving demand for Ozempic, a prescription drug that treats Type 2 diabetes, experts told CNN. The current drug shortage has limited access for patients with diabetes who rely on it to control their blood sugar

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Exercise Decreases Suicide Attempts in Those With Mental and Physical Illness

A new study from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine found patients with mental or physical illness were able to successfully adhere to exercise regimes despite previous thinking, resulting in decreased suicide attempts.

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Dual immunotherapy plus chemotherapy before surgery improves patient outcomes in operable lung cancer

In a Phase II trial led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, adding ipilimumab to a neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, combination of nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a major pathologic response (MPR) in half of all treated patients with early-stage, resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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Gout may be caused by deficiency of a protein found in joint fluid

An international research team led by University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a novel molecular pathway that causes gout and its progression to erosion of joint tissue.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS): High doses of omega-3 reduce symptoms in animal study

Recently, researchers investigated how omega-3 fatty acid consumption reduces inflammatory responses in mice.

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Patients found to overwhelmingly prefer immediate access to test results, even when the news may not be good

Evidence suggests that patients may gain important clinical benefits by reviewing their medical records, and access through electronic patient portals has been advocated as a strategy for empowering patients to manage their health care and for strengthening patient-clinician relationships.

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Exposure to chemicals found in everyday products is linked to significantly reduced fertility, says study

Exposure to chemicals commonly found in drinking water and everyday household products may result in reduced fertility in women of as much as 40%, according to a study by Mount Sinai researchers.

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Pfizer Agrees to Buy Seagen for $43 Billion

Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay $43 billion for biotech Seagen Inc. and its pioneering class of targeted cancer drugs.

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Less staff, longer delays and fewer options: Rural America confronts a health care crisis

At least 136 rural hospitals and health systems closed between 2010 and 2021, and over 40% of rural hospitals operate with negative profit margins. Despite billions of dollars in investment in health care, hospitals throughout the United States face the possibility of shutting down.

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CMS lays out plans for negotiating drug prices

The CMS on Wednesday released initial guidance for how it plans to negotiate prices for drugs under Medicare, a power granted to the agency by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

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Healthcare companies may turn to big banks after SVB collapse

Healthcare startups may flock to traditional large banks and prioritize conserving cash after the collapse of regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

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Biden’s proposed HHS budget aims to make pandemic-era subsidies permanent

Released Thursday, the budget also proposes to extend Medicare solvency and give the federal government more power to negotiate prescription drug prices.

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27 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs



A number of hospitals and health systems are trimming their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges. 

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DNA Treatment Could Delay Paralysis That Strikes Nearly All Patients With ALS

In mice, DNA designer therapeutics restored levels of a protein critical to motor neuron function, restoring the activity that is impaired as a result of ALS.

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How Our Native Language Shapes Our Brain Wiring

Our native language may affect the way in which our brains are wired and underlie the way we think, a new study reports. Using neuroimaging to analyze neural connectivity in native German and native Arabic speakers, researchers found stronger connectivity between the right and left hemispheres in Arabic speakers, and stronger connectivity in the left hemisphere language area in German speakers.

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Epilepsy Could Become Easier to Pinpoint With Blood Test

Higher levels of immune proteins are present in the blood both before and after an epileptic seizure. Researchers say the biomarkers can be identified via a simple blood test.

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AI Can Re-create What You See from a Brain Scan

Image-generating AI is getting better at re-creating what people are looking at from their fMRI data. But this isn’t mind reading—yet

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Fresh understanding of aging in the brain offers hope for treating neurological diseases

Scientists have shed new light on aging processes in the brain. By linking the increased presence of specialized immune cells to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury for the first time, they have unearthed a possible new target for therapies aimed at treating age-related neurological diseases.

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Millions of People Could Lose Medicaid Starting in April

Due to pandemic-related continuous enrollment provisions, Medicaid rosters surged to over 90 million enrollees. On April 1, for the first time in 3 years, states will begin unwinding those provisions and disenrolling individuals no longer eligible for the program.

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Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.

To crack down on price gouging, proposed legislation in Missouri calls for allowing felony charges against healthcare staffing agencies that substantially raise their prices during a declared emergency.

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With Overdoses Up, States Look at Harsher Fentanyl Penalties

With U.S. overdose fatalities at an all-time high, state legislatures are considering tougher penalties for possession of fentanyl, the powerful opioid linked to most of the deaths

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Minnesota lawmakers look to increase charity care accessibility

Minnesota lawmakers introduced new legislation that, if passed, will require hospitals to screen all uninsured patients for charity care eligibility and assist them during the application process, the Post Bulletin reported March 16.

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Pennsylvania lawmakers want 6 months' notice before a hospital closes

A pair of Pennsylvania state representatives have drafted legislation designed to prevent abrupt hospital closures by doubling the time in which a health system must notify state and local agencies of a planned closure.

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