Adding noninvasive imaging to current risk-assessment protocols may identify more people who are at risk of developing heart disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

Researchers have mapped out a region on human chromosome 1 that contributes to genetically elevated blood triglyceride levels, a major risk factor for heart disease.

Most Western countries face high and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease. Each year, heart disease kills more Americans than cancer. Diseases of the heart alone caused 30% of all deaths, with other diseases of the cardiovascular system causing substantial further death and disability. Up until the year 2005, it was the number 1 cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries. Women are not less vulnerable than men.

A new study shows that more women under 45 are dying of heart disease due to clogged arteries, and the death rate for men that age has leveled off.

The lipid measure apolipoprotein (apo) B: apo A-I ratio is not a better predictor of coronary heart disease risk than traditional lipid ratios that include total cholesterol and HDL-C, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA.

A new study in mice raises a tantalizing possibility - that humans may one day be able to eat any kind of fat they want without raising their risk of heart disease.