Consuming a lot of alcohol has long been associated with heart problems, but a new study offers an uncharted perspective on “wet” counties versus “dry” counties and how living in either can affect cardiovascular health.

Having a higher-than-normal body mass index (BMI) as a teenager could be an indicator that men will experience heart failure in middle age. 

Patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease could be in worse shape than doctors previously thought, say the authors of a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care. 

A study published by Heart found that loneliness and social isolation are linked to a 30 percent increased risk of having a stroke or developing coronary artery disease, the two leading causes of death for men and women.

Vericel Corp. announced on March 10 that its experimental drug to treat advanced heart failure due to ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy met the primary endpoint in a phase 2b clinical trial.

Patients with chronic heart failure and high scores on a global self-care scale had similar rates of long-term, all-cause mortality compared with those with low scores, according to a secondary analysis from two observational prospective studies. 

A model-based study found that patients with chronic heart failure who used the CardioMEMS device had reductions in hospitalizations and increases in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs.

Novartis has entered into a pay-for-performance agreement with Cigna to cover sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto), a twice-daily oral medication to treat patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Aetna also signed a value-based agreement with Novartis based on the drug having similar results as shown in clinical trials, according to a Reuters report.