#circulatory-system

#circulatory-system

"I didn't even know I had high blood pressure," one Redditor wrote in a thread. Compared to a healthy blood pressure reading that maxes out at 120/80 mm Hg, this poster came in at 218/124, which is well above the threshold for a medical emergency.

According to a growing body of research, the circumference of your neck could be an indicator of a higher likelihood of serious metabolic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and sleep disorders. Another troubling fact is that even if your body mass index (BMI) index is healthy, just how large your neck is could still be a determining factor in your predisposition to developing these conditions.

By directly recording brain activity, our study shows, for the first time in humans, that even a single bout of exercise can rapidly alter the neural rhythms and brain networks involved in memory and cognitive function.

Some 1 million patients in the U.S. live with a type of heart disease called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, caused by a stiffening of a chamber of the heart that makes it much more challenging to distribute blood throughout the body. The condition has few approved therapies and high mortality rates.

Adults who sleep fewer than seven hours each night are more likely to experience health problems.

As you age, inactivity can lead to a variety of cardiovascular problems, one of which involves stiffening of the heart's left ventricle. That's the chamber responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. According to Dr. Benjamin Levine , Director of the Institute and Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW), "When the muscle stiffens, you get high pressure and the heart chamber doesn't fill as well with blood."

I hate to admit it, but Steve was right. Years ago, I directed a hospital-based weight-loss program. In addition to the nutritional advice from the hospital dietitian and the psychology groups and individual counseling sessions I provided, the program included a beginning aerobic class for the participants. Steve, a personal trainer at the hospital-owned gym, was tasked with leading the twice-weekly "aerobics for beginners" class.

Apple has steadily expanded the Apple Watch's health monitoring features over the years, moving beyond fitness tracking into areas that can offer early insight into potential medical concerns. One of the most recent additions is hypertension alerts, which are designed to notify users when their blood pressure trends are elevated over time. While Apple Watches cannot directly measure blood pressure, this feature can still play a useful role in highlighting patterns that may be worth discussing with your doctor.

For decades, we've divided health into neat categories: mental health on one side, physical health on the other. The brain over here. The heart over there. Different specialists. Different appointments. Different silos. But biology doesn't respect those boundaries-and neither does depression. A growing body of research now makes something unmistakably clear: Depression is not only a disorder of mood and motivation; it is also a condition that affects the heart, blood vessels, and our long-term cardiovascular risk.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to exercise - doing a variety of different physical activities every week is the key to boosting your health and living longer, a study suggests. After tracking the weekly exercise habits of 110,000 men and women in the US for 30 years, researchers found active people who did the greatest variety of exercise were 19% less likely to die during that time than those who focused on one activity. That effect was greater than for individual sports like walking, tennis, rowing and jogging. The total amount of exercise you do is still key, experts say, but doing a range of activities you enjoy can bring lots of benefits.

"As we get older, the immune system is shifting away from good inflammation," which is the body's short-term, acute response to fend off injury or infection and promote healing, explains Dr. Thomas Marron, one of the researchers leading the new study. Marron directs early phase clinical trials at The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

These strategies work best for people without existing heart disease, and under the guidance of a healthcare provider. High cholesterol may not cause noticeable symptoms, but it quietly raises the risk of heart attack and stroke over time. Statins are the gold standard treatment in Western medicine, but they come with side effects and long-term risks. Fortunately, many people can improve their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol levels through diet, movement, and targeted supplements.

Lifepro: FlexCycle Plus Exercise Bike Work out anytime you're seated with this compact under-desk bike. Its smooth, quiet ride lets you pedal while watching TV or during a meeting, making it easy to multitask. It comes with resistance bands and arm pedals for an upper-body workout, plus eight resistance levels for all skill levels. Track your progress on the built-in monitor or sync with the free app to see your miles, minutes, and calories. Free shipping included.

Many other higher-income countries are grappling with rising obesity and diabetes, but the U.S. stands out for how consistently those risks translate into worse cardiovascular outcomes, and how wide the gaps are by income, race, ethnicity, and geography.

Since 1990, the incidence of hypertension has increased globally, with up to one in three adults worldwide affected by it. Most of those people have no idea they have it. If people could diagnose and monitor hypertension at home, the World Health Organization estimates that up to 76 million lives could be saved with easy fixes, like stopping smoking or adjusting diet.

As he got older, the symptoms like irregular heartbeat worsened. Balmes worked construction in Orlando, Florida, and assumed his job was partly to blame for his exhaustion. By the time he hit 30, Balmes noticed he was often short of breath when he tried to keep up with his young daughter. He had also gained weight and felt bloated. When the symptoms became too severe to ignore, he wound up in the emergency room.

It got me thinking. While everyone's obsessing over the latest fitness trends and biohacking protocols, these folks have been consistently moving their bodies for decades. No fancy equipment, no Instagram-worthy routines, just simple habits they picked up long before movement became a multibillion-dollar industry. So I started asking around, digging into research, and talking to people who've stayed active well into their golden years. What I found wasn't revolutionary or complicated. It was refreshingly simple.

Quick Take: The "simple" part isn't magic - it's math. Ride your bike most days, track what you eat, and weigh yourself daily. Keep a small, steady calorie deficit and let the miles do their work. People ask how I lost weight and expect a secret. Here it is: I ride my bike, I track what I eat, and I don't lie to myself about the numbers.

After 10 years of jogging, I officially ran out of steam. As much fun as I had finishing my first marathon in 2024, the training burned me out. In the months that followed, I had no desire to hit the track near my home, let alone sign up for another race. Plus, my go-to running buddies and I all moved, making running a more solitary and, frankly, boring activity. While I could join a new local run club, I resisted.

You get sick from staying inside, breathing the same germ-filled air. Open your windows, even for five minutes, to circulate the old air out and let in fresh air. Also, if you're taking your child to the doctor, don't wait to treat their fever because you want 'the provider to see the fever.' Your child might wait two hours to be seen, meanwhile their temperature goes up, and they might have a seizure. If you say they've been having fevers, we believe you.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans aim to translate the most up-to-date nutrition science into practical advice for the public as well as to guide federal policy for programs such as school lunches. But the newest version of the guidelines, released on Jan. 7, 2026, seems to be spurring more confusion than clarity about what people should be eating. The latest dietary guidelines, published on Jan. 7, 2026, have received mixed reviews from nutrition experts.

I think this is a fairly recognized phenomenon,