A research group from the University of Eastern Finland has published a series of studies demonstrating regular sauna bathing may be associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The group’s latest work, published Dec. 21 in the Journal of Human Hypertension, highlights the physiological mechanisms through which sauna use may provide these benefits.

Physicians commonly grapple with the question of whether to prescribe statins to patients older than 75 who don’t have heart disease, according to a Jan. 5 New York Times story.

A developing anti-obesity drug out of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has been proven to shrink fat cells and reduce blood cholesterol levels without suppressing appetite, a study published in Biochemical Pharmacology reports.

A company that launched in 2017 is trying to enter the crowded diet-plan marketplace by offering consumers something new: personalized recommendations based on blood tests and DNA.

Last year’s fad diets fell to the bottom of the pack in the U.S. News and World Report’s annual heart-healthy "Best Diet" rankings for 2018, the magazine announced this month, while clinician-recommended staples like the DASH and Mediterranean diets topped the list for the eighth year in a row.

A combination of team-based care, non-physician guidance and clinical treatment could be an important means of diminishing global rates of uncontrolled hypertension, research out of Tulane University suggests.

A team of Japanese researchers has developed a cuffless blood pressure-measuring device that requires only a small sensor on the index finger. They believe the device could lead to a “paradigm shift” in how blood pressure (BP) is monitored, potentially replacing the cuff-based techniques that have been the gold standard for the last 120 years.

A longform story in Vox followed Jewel Francis-Aburime, an 18-year-old who opted for bariatric surgery after repeated attempts at dieting and exercising failed to curb her obesity.