Trauma early in life could have a detrimental effect on a child’s biological makeup, possibly paving the way for heart disease and other chronic illnesses, NPR reported this week.

Previous studies have supported the presence of a J-curve regarding the relationship between cardiovascular risk and alcohol intake—light to moderate consumption may have a protective effect, but excessive drinking is associated with progressively higher risk. But when it comes to developing high blood pressure, any amount of alcohol increases risk, researchers reported in PLOS One.

Heart disease in adults could be a result of fetal infection and inflammation before birth, especially if a baby is born prematurely, researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine reported this week.

Birth weight is an important factor in whether a child becomes obese or develops insulin resistance at an early age. But as the child becomes older, current size and childhood weight gain become increasingly important—lessening the effect of birth size—new research in Hypertension suggests.

Regardless of a patient’s age or level of coronary artery calcification (CAC), each incremental improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) contributes to a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events, researchers reported in Circulation.

Nonstatin use has skyrocketed in the past decade, rising by 124 percent and causing a 364 percent increase in nonstatin-related expenditures, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Heart Association this month.

Men are more prone to develop heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) than women but both sexes are equally likely to have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), according to research published Jan. 19 in Circulation.

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)—a commonality among heart patients and those with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB)—could be an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events and repeat myocardial infarction (MI), researchers reported this month in the Journal of the American Heart Association.