Heart & Circulation, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 14, 2019

Here's Why a Perfect Heart Shape Showed Up on a Girl's X-Ray

It looks like someone drew a heart over a child's X-ray. But this cartoonish heart — which seemingly floats in the child's throat — is real, the result of a heart-shaped pendant that got stuck in the girl's esophagus. The X-ray was taken when a 3-year-old girl was brought to...

Feb 16, 2019

Why Men Who Can Do 40 Pushups May Have Better Heart Health

The ability to do a lot of pushups may be a sign not only of strength, but also of good heart health, a new study suggests. The study tested the stamina of middle-aged male firefighters. It found that those who could do more than 40 pushups in a row had...

Feb 25, 2019

Why This Man's Blood Turned 'Milky' Colored

A man's blood was so thick with fat, his doctors needed to manually draw blood — a practice known as bloodletting — to help save his life, according to a new report of the unusual case. The 39-year-old man had gone to the emergency room after experiencing nausea, vomiting, headaches...

Mar 5, 2019

Broken-Heart Syndrome May Stem from the Brain

The origins of a broken heart may be found in the brain. Or, more specifically, the origins of a condition called broken-heart syndrome. Broken-heart syndrome, or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, occurs when the heart muscles suddenly weaken, causing the heart to change shape. The condition is typically brought on by extreme emotion...

Mar 7, 2019

Why Are More Young People Having Heart Attacks?

The rates of heart attacks are declining overall in the U.S. — but not among all groups of Americans. According to a new study, heart attack rates are increasing in what may seem like an unlikely group: adults in their 20s and 30s. What's more, despite their relatively young age,...

Mar 15, 2019

What the New Egg Study Means for the Beloved Breakfast Food

Eggs are back in the news, with a new study concluding that regular consumption of the beloved breakfast food may increase the risk of heart disease after all. The large, long-running study — published today (March 15) in the journal JAMA — found that eating three to four eggs per...

Apr 8, 2019

Med School Cadaver's Heart Was In the Right Place (But Her Other Organs Weren't)

A woman's body that was recently donated to a medical school in Oregon provided an anatomy lesson that was much stranger than instructors expected. When students at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland dissected the cadaver of the 99-year-old woman, they found that her liver and abdominal...

Apr 17, 2019

How Scientists 3D Printed a Tiny Heart from Human Cells

It has four chambers, blood vessels and it beats — sort of. In a first, scientists have 3D printed a heart using human tissue. Though the heart is much smaller than a human's (it's only the size of a rabbit's), and there's still a long way to go until it...

May 1, 2019

Erectile Dysfunction Drug May Help Treat Heart Failure

A drug for erectile dysfunction may also help treat heart failure, a preliminary study in animals suggests. In the study, published today (May 1) in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers gave the drug tadalafil (brand name Cialis) to sheep that had advanced heart failure. The researchers found that the...

May 6, 2019

Chemicals from Sunscreen Get into Your Blood. Here's What That Means.

When people slather on sunscreen, chemicals in the products are absorbed into the bloodstream, and the health effects are still unknown, a new government study reports. The study, conducted by researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), found that sunscreen chemicals leach into people's blood rather quickly and...

May 10, 2019

An Herbal Sex Supplement Sent a Man's Blood Pressure Through the Roof

A man's blood pressure skyrocketed to dangerous levels after he took an herbal supplement touted for sexual enhancement, according to a new report of the man's case. The 49-year-old man had been moving furniture in his office when he felt a fluttering sensation in his chest, along with lightheadedness and...

May 27, 2019

Man Ends Up in the ER After 'Overdosing' on Licorice Tea

A man in Canada overdosed on licorice by drinking too much licorice tea, which caused his blood pressure to soar to dangerous levels, according to a new report of the case. The 84-year-old man went to the emergency room (ER) after he took his blood pressure at home and noticed...

May 29, 2019

Could Squeezing Your Arms and Legs Help Prevent Strokes?

A simple squeeze to your arms and legs might benefit your brain — turns out, the added pressure may improve the regulation of blood flow to your brain as well as levels of stroke-protective molecules, a new study suggests. The study found that people who wore an inflated blood pressure...

Jun 3, 2019

Rare 'Flash Fire' Ignites in Man's Chest Cavity During Surgery

Scalpel. Check. Sponge. Check. Fire extinguisher...check? When you think about the risks of surgery, fire usually doesn't come to mind. But that's what happened to a man in Australia who experienced a flash fire in his chest cavity during emergency heart surgery, according to a new report of the case....

Jun 13, 2019

Man Had a Nearly 5-Foot Wire Left in His Body After Heart Procedure, Lawsuit Claims

See more A Nevada man is suing his doctor for allegedly leaving several feet of wire in his body for more than a decade, according to news reports. The man, 70-year-old German OT Ortiz, of Las Vegas, said the 57-inch (144 centimeters) wire was left in his body in 2005...