Leading voices in health provide their perspectives on new research, guidelines, metrics, and data sets.
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New Cholesterol Guideline Recommends More Personalized Risk Assessment, Active Patient Involvement in Treatment DecisionsNovember 10, 2018Author: Scott M. Grundy, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA; Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center and VA Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Chair, 2018 Cholesterol Guideline writing committee
Preview: Shared decision-making to help health care providers and patients manage cholesterol across the lifespan is a focus of new guidelines that provide recommendations related to several patient conditions and scenarios.
Have Faith: Community-Based Interventions Can Reduce Blood Pressure in African-AmericansOctober 9, 2018Author: Ivor J. Benjamin, M.D., FAHA, FACC, President, American Heart Association, 2017-18; Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Center at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin
Preview: A new study confirms that lay health educators are dependable partners in implementing community-based hypertension control programs.
Cardiovascular-Related Deaths Higher for U.S. Hispanics Who Live in Counties with Higher Hispanic PopulationsSeptember 19, 2018Author: Fatima Rodriguez, M.D., M.P.H., FACC, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University
Preview: Video interview with Dr. Fatima Rodriguez, the lead author of a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association about county-level Hispanic ethnic density and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Neighborhood Life Expectancy Estimates Are a Powerful New Tool to Help Improve Community HealthSeptember 10, 2018Author: Kim Stitzel, M.S., R.D., Senior Vice President, Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Preview: Now we can drill down to understand how life expectancy varies neighborhood by neighborhood, thanks to an effort that calculates life expectancy at birth for nearly every U.S. census tract.
For Rural U.S. Residents, More Is Often Less When It Comes to HealthJune 28, 2018Getting all Americans healthy — regardless of their race/ethnicity, income, education or geography — is a lofty goal. But our attention, our resources and, most importantly, our actions are needed now more than ever. Although obesity has historically hit upper socioeconomic classes obesity harder, […]
Four Principles to Help Control the High Cost of High Blood PressureMay 22, 2018Author: Joey Granger, Ph.D., FAHA; Billy S. Guyton Distinguished Professor, Professor of Physiology and Medicine and Director, Cardiovascular-Renal Research Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Chair, American Heart Association Council on Hypertension
Preview: Four Principles to Help Control the High Cost of High Blood Pressure
Ideal Heart Health Over Long Term Is the Best MedicineMay 15, 2018Author: Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association
Preview: A study examined long-term heart health in nearly 3,500 middle-age to older adults in the Framingham Offspring Study, part of a long-running project to monitor heart disease risk factors. [...]
Want to Live Longer? Give Lifestyle a Chance!April 26, 2018Author:Jean-Pierre Després, Ph.D., FAHA, FIAS; Professor and Scientific Director, International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk; Director of Research, Cardiology, Québec Heart and Lung Institute, Université Laval (Québec, Canada); Chair, American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health
Preview: A new study shows just how much healthy lifestyle habits are critical not only to extend your life but also to lower your chances of dying from heart disease or cancer. [...]- New Data on State-Level Disparities in Heart Disease Raise Caution, But Can Be Used For GoodApril 12, 2018Author: Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association
Preview: New data on state-level disparities in heart disease raise caution, but can be used for good [...] 
New Evidence Quantifies Sexual Orientation Disparities in Heart-Health Risk FactorsMarch 20, 2018Author: Wayne Rosamond, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chair, American Heart Association Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health 2018 Scientific Sessions
Preview: Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults are less likely to have ideal cardiovascular health [...]
Improving Access to Stroke Treatment: Six Key Points the Wall Street Journal MissedFebruary 16, 2018Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., FAHA, FANA, Executive Vice Chairman, Neurology Department, and Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center and Center for TeleHealth, Massachusetts General Hospital; Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School A February 6 article in the Wall Street Journal, “A Breakthrough […]
Where Heart Disease and Breast Cancer Intersect: Promoting Positive Outcomes For BothFebruary 6, 2018Laxmi Mehta, M.D., FACC, FAHA, Section Director of Preventative Cardiology and Women’s Cardiovascular Health, Sarah Ross Soter Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Associate Professor of Medicine, The Ohio State University; Chair, Writing Group, AHA Scientific Statement on […]- Prevention Is Worth ItFebruary 1, 2018Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association A better headline would have been “Preventive Care; Sometimes Good Things Cost Money.” Examples in the January 29, 2018 New York Times column, […]
In Light of New Guidelines, Here Are Three Things Everyone Should Know About StrokeJanuary 24, 2018William J. Powers, M.D., FAHA, H. Houston Merritt Distinguished Professor and Department Chair, Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chair, Writing Group, AHA/ASA 2018 Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Just a few years ago, […]- Adversity In Childhood and Adolescence Sets Stage for Cardiometabolic OutcomesDecember 18, 2017Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association The phrase, “So, tell me about your childhood,” may sound cliché, but it might help us better understand cardiometabolic diseases in adults. […]
- Supporting the Complex Health Needs of Americans With Multiple Chronic ConditionsDecember 11, 2017Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association It is challenging enough to live with a chronic disease like hypertension, but having multiple chronic conditions is even more difficult. Yet […]
Equitable Access to Life-Saving Treatments is Threatened by the Cost of Drugs to PatientsNovember 14, 2017Elliott M. Antman, M.D., FAHA; Senior Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Harvard Medical School; Past President, American Heart Association As healthcare costs continue rising, escalating spending on pharmaceuticals warrants serious […]
New Hypertension Guideline Updates How We Measure and Treat High Blood PressureNovember 13, 2017John Warner, M.D., MBA; President, American Heart Association, 2017-18 A growing health crisis has a grip on our nation. It’s not a new epidemic or disease — it’s high blood pressure, the “silent killer.” Many more people than previously believed are at risk for this far too common condition that […]- Closing the Gap in African-American Cardiovascular Health Disparities Helps Open Up Health EquityOctober 23, 2017Ivor J. Benjamin, M.D., FAHA, FACC, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Center at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin; President-Elect, American Heart Association, 2017-18 The latest statistics paint an unsettling picture. White Americans survive an average […]
- CDC Weighs In With New Obesity Data; What’s Next?October 13, 2017Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer for Prevention and Chief of the Center for Health Metrics and Evaluation, American Heart Association Obesity in adults 20 and older and youth 12 to 19 is at an all-time high — nearly 40 percent and 20 percent, respectively, according to the Centers […]