Dog ownership may be associated with longer life and better cardiovascular outcomes, especially for heart attack and stroke survivors who live alone, according to a new study and a separate meta-analysis published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.

With obesity among children and adolescents in the U.S. nearly tripling since the 1970s, many of those affected are dealing with health problems that previously weren't seen until adulthood. These include: High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. There are psychological effects as well.

Taking one daily pill that combined medications to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol lowered heart disease risk among underserved patients is better than taking several separate medications to treat these risk factors, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the American Heart Association (AHA).

A health problem that has plagued astronauts returning from space – and some earthbound people as well – is lessened by daily exercise, researchers have found. Orthostatic hypotension - a temporary drop in blood pressure occurring when a person stands up after sitting or lying down - has caused newly returned astronauts to faint or feel dizzy.

With nearly half of American adults having elevated blood pressure, it’s important for everyone to understand that some common habits may affect blood pressure, making the condition more difficult to control. That’s why the American Heart Association is providing quick reference tools for health care providers to guide their patients in discovering “BP raisers” that are often hiding in plain sight.

Women who spent less of their day in sedentary behaviors—sitting or reclining while awake—had a significantly decreased risk of heart disease, but there has been an increase in the incidence of younger women having acute heart attacks in the U.S., according to two studies in a special Go Red for Women issue of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) journal Circulation, published in February, American Heart Month.

Firefighters who died from cardiac arrest were much more likely than those who died of other causes to show signs of both atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease at autopsy, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Restaurant meals are notorious for sky-high sodium levels and are-you-kidding-me calories, but treating yourself to a meal out doesn’t mean settling for poor nutrition. The American Heart Association (AHA) shares three “eat smart” hacks in honor of World Hypertension Day. Outsmarting eating out has gotten easier now that many restaurants offer better-for-you items, calorie count on their menus and access to detailed nutrition information upon request. Still, availability and knowledge are only part of the equation.

How many steps people should be getting a day? “10,000, of course. Everyone knows that." But what does taking 10,000 steps do for your body? To be sure, in general walking more has positive health benefits.

Having the blood vessels of a healthy 20-year-old into one’s 70s is possible but difficult in Western culture, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) journal Hypertension. “For the most part, it’s not genetic factors that stiffen the body’s network of blood vessels during aging. Modifiable lifestyle factors – like those identified in the AHA’s Life’s Simple 7 – are the leading culprits,” said study author Teemu J. Niiranen, M.D., research fellow at Boston University School of Medicine, Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, Massachusetts.