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In the three-and-a-half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the fragmented state of abortion access has put medical professionals in a precarious position. Many states have tightened abortion restrictions, with some enacting criminal penalties up to life in prison for physicians who perform abortions. Medical schools have curtailed abortion-related curricula.

New research led in part by the University of Washington found that the new restrictions are not only affecting the current medical workforce — they may be shaping the next generation of physicians. The study, published March 2 in JAMA Network Open, found that applications to medical residency programs in states that enacted new abortion restrictions dropped sharply following the Dobbs ruling.

The decrease occurred among both male and female applicants. Applications to specialties related to reproductive health — obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, internal medicine and emergency medicine — saw the largest decreases.

The new study builds on previous research that had shown decreased application rates to residency programs in states with abortion restrictions by applying causal methodologies to understand the impact of the Supreme Court decision and isolating results from male and female applicants.

“This research provides important empirical evidence about how state-level policy changes following Dobbs may influence decisions made by medical trainees about where to pursue their graduate medical education,” said co-author Anirban Basu, a UW professor of health economics and director of the Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute.

To learn more about the research, UW News sat down the paper’s three authors: Basu; lead author Dr. Anisha Ganguly, assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and co-author Dr. Anna Morenz, assistant clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Arizona. Both Ganguly and Morenz completed their internal medicine residencies at the UW School of Medicine.

The medical residency match process is quite different from traditional higher-ed applications. Can you explain how that works, and how it relates to your study’s findings?

Dr. Anna Morenz: Applicants may apply to as many programs as they want, with some applying to dozens of programs. At the end of interviews, they’ll rank those programs based on their preferred landing spots. The programs, in turn, will rank all the applicants that they received. A computer algorithm then matches everyone with the goal of filling all the residency slots, and it’s very good at that. We know that almost all open residency slots in the U.S. are filled. So programs are still filling their residency slots even in states with restrictions.

What concerns us about these findings is that there’s an early signal of people avoiding applications to these states. That has potential implications for the quality of the applicants to restricted states, which could not be assessed in our data. There’s typically a high likelihood that people stay where they train for their residency, but if you landed in a restricted state that was low on your rank list, you may be more likely to complete your training and then leave to a non-restricted state. We aim to look at this very important question in projects to come.

Anisha and Anna, you’re both practicing primary care physicians. How big a part of a physician’s training is abortion and other pregnancy-related care? 

Dr. Anisha Ganguly: It’s not a big part of our training traditionally, though there has been a movement to integrate more abortion care into primary care residencies. That’s more the case in family medicine rather than internal medicine, because medication abortion has now become the most common means for abortion care. As internists, we commonly diagnose pregnancies and care for women with medical conditions as they consider family planning.

AM: I do think it’s important to note that a huge percentage of primary care physicians are trained in family medicine. And family medicine physicians are trained in delivery of babies, management of prenatal care, miscarriage management, contraception and abortion. Anisha and I trained in internal medicine, and there is increasing interest to include medication abortion training in internal medicine, as it is fully within our scope of practice.

The effects of the Dobbs decision have been well-documented, and previous work on this topic highlighted changes in OB/GYN residency applications. What’s new in your study specifically? 

Anirban Basu: We had a much longer pre-period than previous studies. We looked back to 2019 to see what had been happening to application rates in these two kinds of states — those that eventually restricted abortion access and those that didn’t — and we showed that these rates had been moving similarly until the ruling. That gives a little more weight to the evidence to say the change is due to the ruling. 

The second big thing is that previous studies did not distinguish whether men and women were changing their behavior similarly. I think that’s a very important finding in our study, that male applicants are changing their behavior at an even higher rate. 

AG: I agree that the gender stratification was an important contribution. The other stratified analysis that we explored was about how specialty type may be driving some of the effects that we saw. A lot of people can reason that OB/GYN applicants would be affected by this directly, and there’s a lot of literature to support that. But what we’re showing is that it’s not just the OB/GYN workforce that’s going to be impacted. It’s the primary care workforce and the emergency medicine workforce. 

We’re hoping that message spreads a little more broadly. This is not just about women’s health. It’s about the future of primary care and the person who’s going to save you from your heart attack in the future.

Let’s talk a little more about that gender stratification. You found that male applicants changed their application preferences at a greater rate than female applicants, which looks like a surprising result. What’s going on there? 

AG: When we generated our original hypotheses, we thought we were going to see increased effects among women applying to residency, but we actually ended up seeing that there were long-term disparities that existed pre-Dobbs between restricted and non-restricted states. This was likely because of the laws targeting abortion providers and other state-level laws that were affecting women’s behavior. What we’re seeing is that women had been reading the tea leaves about access to reproductive health care prior to the Dobbs decision, but the decision did unmask a wider problem that drove a lot of new behavior among men.

One of the messages that we are getting from this paper is this is an “all of us” problem. It’s not just about women physicians. It’s about men who are also making choices about their professional autonomy and also about access to reproductive health care for their families. Women have been and will be considering their personal access to care and autonomy before this decision, but perhaps these state restrictions after Dobbs may have newly increased awareness among men. 

Among all these shifts, you found one group whose application rates didn’t change significantly: people applying to highly competitive medical specialities. What do you think explains that stickiness? 

AG: Anna and I had brainstormed about this being a potential effect modifier, because people who are applying in highly competitive specialties like orthopedic surgery or dermatology apply very broadly and don’t get to exercise a lot of choice about where to go. Whereas for large specialities like internal medicine, family medicine or pediatrics, there are a lot of programs in a lot of places, so applicants have more options. In those cases, state-level policies like abortion restrictions can factor more into people’s decision-making.

At an institutional level, what changes could be made to address these trends? 

AG: Institutions can make choices to mitigate some of these effects by supporting candidates with access to reproductive care within the scope of the restrictions that exist. Other industries are building in travel benefits for women who may need to travel to access these services. 

It’s not this aspect of a decision alone that shapes a residency applicant’s choice to go to a specific place or program. But there are other things that institutions can do to make trainees, particularly women, feel supported and valued. If you’re existing in an environment where state policies make women feel a lack of autonomy, then there are workforce policies that can be in place to bolster that sense of autonomy. That could take the shape of parental leave policies, lactation policies, other things that institutions can do to make women feel like, even if this part of your voice has been taken away, we’ll help you with the rest.

AB: One policy that has a long history of literature supporting it is financial incentives. Physicians do respond to financial incentives, but in many cases those incentives need to be quite steep to get people to change their decisions. 

AM: The other option is training opportunities. A lot of programs in states that had laws or restrictions that preceded the Dobbs decision would set up partnerships with organizations in another state where they could send their trainees to learn about pregnancy termination and miscarriage management. That’s a burden on residency programs and residents both. You have to set up housing and travel agreements. But that’s another key thing that programs need to keep in mind in order to recruit applicants. 

For more information or to contact the researchers, contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.

Over five decades, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has become known as the nation’s first “food as medicine” program. Low-income families receiving WIC benefits — which provides nutritious food in designated categories, nutrition education and access to other social services — have fewer premature births and infant deaths, eat higher-quality diets, and are more likely to receive regular medical care. 

But many families who are income eligible to participate in WIC aren’t receiving those benefits. Research has found that households who don’t use the full amount of their nutrition benefits are more likely to drop from the program. 

New research by the University of Washington has found that households who redeem more of their benefits in the most popular food categories are more likely to remain in the program long-term. Better understanding these patterns could help WIC agencies identify families who might need a little extra encouragement to stay enrolled.

The study was published Dec. 3 in JAMA Network Open. 

“Finding ways to identify kids and families that are at risk of dropping out of the program is of high importance,” said Pia Chaparro, a UW assistant professor of health systems and population health and first author of the study. “That’s basically what we’ve identified — a way to flag families who may be at risk of dropping off.”

WIC provides families with food benefits in specific categories, with fruits and vegetables and eggs as the most popular. In partnership with Public Health Foundation Enterprises WIC (PHFE WIC), a Southern California WIC agency with a large research and evaluation division, researchers analyzed redemption data from 188,000 participating infants and children 0-3 years old, between the years 2019 and 2023. 

Among those children, higher redemption of fruits and vegetables, eggs, whole milk and infant formula was associated with lower risk of their household discontinuing WIC participation. 

The risk of discontinuation decreased in a somewhat linear fashion as redemption rates increased.

Chaparro hopes that local WIC agencies will build on these findings and seek new ways to engage families at risk of dropping off. All WIC providers must offer nutrition education, which could be an opportunity to target households with lower redemption rates in popular categories. 

The findings come just over a year after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees WIC, implemented significant updates to the program’s food package. Among other changes, the 2024 rule significantly increased benefits for fresh fruits and vegetables, which has proven popular.

“The expansion of fruit and vegetable benefits for WIC families has been among the most important policy changes of the last decade,” said Shannon Whaley, director of research and evaluation at PHFE WIC and co-author of the study. “Families want more fruits and vegetables, and this research demonstrates that their inclusion in the WIC food package is essential for longer-term engagement in the program.”

Christopher Anderson of the University of Tennessee and PHFE WIC is the corresponding author. This study was funded by The Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Partnership.

When uncontrolled wildfires moved from the foothills above Los Angeles into the densely populated urban areas below in January 2025, evacuation ensued and a thick layer of toxic smoke spread across the region. Air quality plummeted. Local hospitals braced for a surge, but it never came.  

Research led by the University of Washington and Kaiser Permanente Southern California sheds new light on how the Los Angeles fires affected people’s health, and how people navigated the health care system during an emergency. In the rapid study, published Nov. 26 in JAMA Health Forum, researchers analyzed the health records of 3.7 million Kaiser Permanente members of all ages living in the region. They found that health care visits did rise above normal levels, especially virtual services.  

In the week after the fires ignited, Kaiser Permanente members made 42% more virtual visits for respiratory symptoms than expected. Those living near a burn zone or within Los Angeles County also made 44% and 40% more virtual cardiovascular visits, respectively, than expected. 

In-person outpatient visits for respiratory symptoms also increased substantially. Members who lived near a burn zone or within Los Angeles County made 27% and 31% more virtual cardiovascular visits, respectively, than expected. 

Extrapolating to all insured residents of the county, the researchers estimated an excess of 15,792 cardiovascular virtual visits, 18,489 respiratory virtual visits and 27,903 respiratory outpatient visits in the first week of the fires. 

The results suggest that people may rely more heavily on virtual health care during climate-related emergencies, and that providers should better prioritize virtual and telehealth services as they prepare for future crises. 

“We saw over 6,241 excess cardiorespiratory virtual visits in the week following the fire ignition. This represents a substantial increase in care,” said Joan Casey, a UW associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and of epidemiology who led the research. “While the fires clearly impacted health, virtual care likely enhanced the ability of providers to meet the health care needs of people experiencing an ongoing climate disaster.” 

In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente Southern California, an integrated health care system with millions of members across the region, researchers analyzed health records of people who were highly or moderately exposed to wildfires. They defined high exposure as living within about 12 miles (20 kilometers) of a burn zone, and moderate exposure as living within Los Angeles County but farther than 12 miles during the time of the fires.  

Researchers looked back three years to estimate how many health care visits to expect in the weeks following Jan. 7 — the first day of the fires — under typical conditions. They then estimated how many people sought care in the first week of the fires, when smoke levels were highest, evacuations took place, and Los Angeles County public schools were closed.

In addition to the spike in cardiovascular and respiratory visits, researchers found a sharp increase in the number of visits for injuries and neuropsychiatric symptoms. On Jan. 7, outpatient injury visits were 18% higher than expected among highly exposed members, and virtual injury visits were 26% and 18% higher than expected among highly and moderately exposed groups, respectively. Among those same groups, outpatient neuropsychiatric visits rose 31% and 28% above expectations, respectively.

While both groups made significantly more visits than expected, proximity to the fires mattered. When researchers zoomed in on respiratory-related virtual visits, they found that minimally exposed members made 31% more visits, moderately exposed members made 36% more, and those living in highly exposed areas made 42% more.  

“While healthcare systems often plan to increase the number of hospital beds available or clinic staffing during an emergency, this work highlights the importance of considering virtual care capacity,” said Lauren Wilner, a UW doctoral student of epidemiology and co-author on the study. “This may be particularly true for climate disasters like wildfires, during which people are advised to stay indoors or when people must evacuate — motivating them to seek care online if at all possible. As climate disasters increase in frequency and intensity, it is essential that health care systems know how to prepare for a sudden and dramatic surge in health care utilization.” 

Other authors on this study are Yuqian Gu, Gina Lee and Sara Tartof of Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Lara Schwarz of the University of California, Berkeley; Timothy Frankland of Kaiser Permanente Hawaii; Heather McBrien and Nina Flores of Columbia University; Chen Chen and Arnab Dey of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego; and Tarik Benmarhnia of the Scripps Institution and the University of Rennes in France.

This research was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. 

For more information or to reach the research team, contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.

About 10% of American babies are born prematurely. Birth before 37 weeks can lead to a cascade of health risks, both immediate and long-term, making prevention a vital tool for improving public health over generations. 

In recent years, researchers have identified a potential link between wildfire smoke — one of the fastest-growing sources of air pollution in the United States — and preterm birth, but no study has been big or broad enough to draw definitive conclusions. A new study led by the University of Washington makes an important contribution, analyzing data from more than 20,000 births to find that pregnant people who are exposed to wildfire smoke are more likely to give birth prematurely.

“Preventing preterm birth really pays off with lasting benefits for future health,” said lead author Allison Sherris, a UW postdoctoral researcher in environmental and occupational health sciences. “It’s also something of a mystery. We don’t always understand why babies are born preterm, but we know that air pollution contributes to preterm births, and it makes sense that wildfire smoke would as well. This study underscores that wildfire smoke is inseparable from maternal and infant health.”

In the study, published Nov. 3 in The Lancet Planetary Health, researchers used data from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, a federal research project focused on how a wide range of environmental factors affect children’s health. The sample included 20,034 births from 2006-2020 across the contiguous United States.

Researchers estimated participants’ average daily exposure to fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, generated by wildfire smoke, and the total number of days they were exposed to any amount of smoke. They estimated the intensity of smoke exposure by how frequently participants were exposed to wildfire PM2.5 levels above certain thresholds.

They found that pregnant people exposed to more intense wildfire smoke were more likely to give birth prematurely. In mid-pregnancy, exposure to any smoke was associated with an elevated risk of preterm birth, with that risk peaking around the 21st week of gestation. In late pregnancy, elevated risk was most closely associated with exposure to high concentrations of wildfire PM2.5, above 10 micrograms per cubic meter.

“The second trimester is a period of pregnancy with the richest and most intense growth of the placenta, which itself is such an important part of fetal health, growth and development,” said co-author Dr. Catherine Karr, a UW professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and of pediatrics in the UW School of Medicine. “So it may be that the wildfire smoke particles are really interfering with placental health. Some of them are so tiny that after inhalation they can actually get into the bloodstream and get delivered directly into the placenta or fetus.” 

The link was strongest and most precise in the Western U.S., where people were exposed to the highest concentrations of wildfire PM2.5 and the greatest number of high-intensity smoke days. Here, the odds of preterm birth increased with each additional microgram per cubic meter of average wildfire PM2.5.

It’s possible those results were more precise simply because the West experiences more wildfire smoke on average, making the exposure model perform better, Sherris said. But there may be other factors behind the regional differences. 

The composition of wildfire smoke is different across the country. In the West, smoke tends to come from fires nearby, while in places like the Midwest, smoke has typically drifted in from faraway fires. Smoke’s toxicity changes as it ages and reacts with sunlight and airborne chemicals, which could have affected the results. Researchers also noted that external factors like co-occurring heat or housing quality may have effects that aren’t fully understood. 

Researchers hope that future studies will examine the exact mechanisms by which wildfire smoke might trigger preterm birth. But in the meantime, Sherris said, evidence for a link is now strong enough to take action. 

“There are a couple avenues for change,” Sherris said. “First, people already get a lot of public health messaging and information throughout pregnancy, so there’s an opportunity to work with clinicians to provide tools for pregnant people to protect themselves during smoke events. Public health agencies’ messaging about wildfire smoke could also be tailored to pregnant people and highlight them as a vulnerable group.”

Co-authors include Logan Dearborn, doctoral student of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW; Christine Loftus, clinical associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW; Adam Szpiro, professor of biostatistics at the UW; Joan Casey, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and of epidemiology at the UW; Sindana Ilango, postdoctoral fellow of epidemiology at the UW; and Marissa Childs, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW. A full list of co-authors is included with the paper.

This research was funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program at the National Institutes of Health under multiple awards. A full list of ECHO funding awards is included with the paper. 

For more information or to contact the researchers, email Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu.

Targeted drug delivery is a powerful and promising area of medicine. Therapies that pinpoint the exact areas of the body where they’re needed — and nowhere they’re not — can reduce the medicine dosage and avoid potentially harmful “off target” effects elsewhere in the body. A targeted immunotherapy, for example, might seek out cancerous tissues and activate immune cells to fight the disease only in those tissues.

The tricky part is making a therapy truly “smart,” where the medicine can move freely through the body and decide which areas to target.

Researchers at the University of Washington took a significant step toward that goal by designing proteins with autonomous decision-making capabilities. In a proof-of-principles study published Oct. 9 in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers demonstrated that by adding smart tail structures to therapeutic proteins, they could control the proteins’ localization based on the presence of specific environmental cues. These protein tails fold themselves into preprogrammed shapes that define how they react to different combinations of cues. In addition, the experiment showed that the smart protein tails could be attached to a carrier material for delivery to living cells.

Advances in synthetic biology also allowed the researchers to manufacture these proteins cheaply and in a matter of days instead of months.

“We’ve been thinking about these concepts for some time but have struggled with ways to increase and automate production,” said senior author Cole DeForest, a UW professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering. “We’ve now finally figured out how to produce these systems faster, at scale and with dramatically enhanced logical complexity. We are excited about how these will lead to more sophisticated and scalable disease-honing therapies.”

The concept of programmable biomaterials isn’t new. Scientists have developed numerous strategies to make systems responsive to individual cues — such as pH levels or the presence of specific enzymes — that are associated with a particular disease or area of the body. But it’s rare to find one cue, or “biomarker,” that’s unique to one spot, so a material that hones in on just one biomarker might act on a few unintended places in addition to the target.

One solution to this problem is to seek out a combination of biomarkers. There might be many areas of the body with particular enzyme or pH levels, but there are likely fewer areas with both of those factors. In theory, the more biomarkers a material can identify, the more finely targeted drug delivery can be.

In 2018, DeForest’s lab created a new class of materials that responded to multiple biomarkers using Boolean logic, a concept traditionally used in computer programming.

“We realized that we could program how therapeutics were released based simply on how they were connected to a carrier material,” DeForest said. “For example, if we linked a therapeutic cargo to a material via two degradable groups connected in series — that is, each after the other — it would be released if either group was degraded, acting as an OR gate. When the degradable groups were instead connected in parallel — that is, each on a different half of a cycle — both groups had to be degraded for cargo release, functioning as an AND gate. Excitingly, by combining these basic gates we could readily create advanced logical circuits.”

It was a big step forward, but it wasn’t scalable — the team built these large and complex logic-responsive materials manually through traditional organic chemistry.

But over the next several years, the related field of synthetic biology advanced by leaps and bounds.

“The field has developed exciting new protein-based tools that can allow researchers to form permanent bonds between proteins,” said co-first author Murial Ross, a UW doctoral student of bioengineering. “It opened doors for new protein structures that were previously unachievable, which made more complex logical operations possible.”

Additionally, it became practical to use living cells as factories to produce these complex proteins, allowing scientists to design custom DNA blueprints for new proteins, insert the DNA into bacteria or other host cells, and then collect the proteins with the desired structure directly from the cells.

With these new tools, DeForest and his team streamlined and improved many steps of the process at once. They designed and produced proteins with tails that spontaneously fold into more bespoke shapes, creating complex “circuits” that can respond to up to five different biomarkers. These new proteins can attach to various carriers — hydrogels, tiny beads or living cells — for delivery to a cell, or theoretically a disease site. The team even loaded up one carrier with three different proteins, each programmed to deliver their unique cargo based on different sets of environmental cues.

“We were so excited about the results,” DeForest said. “Using the old process, it would take months to synthesize just a few milligrams of each of these materials. Now it takes us a couple of weeks to go from construct design to product. It’s been a complete game changer for us.”

“The sky’s the limit. You can create delayed and independent delivery of many different components in one treatment,” Ross said. “And I think we could create much, much larger logical circuits that a protein can be responsive to. We’re at the point now that the technology is outpacing what we’ve seriously considered in terms of applications, which is a great place to be.”

The researchers will now continue searching for more biomarkers that proteins could target. They also hope to start collaborating with other labs at the UW and beyond to build and deploy real-world therapies.

The team outlined other uses for the technology as well. The same tools could manufacture therapies within a single cell and direct them to specific regions, a sort of microcosm of how the process works in the body. DeForest also envisions diagnostic tools like blood tests that could, say, turn a certain color when a complex set of cues within the blood sample are present.

DeForest thinks the first practical applications are likely to be cancer treatments, but with more research, the possibilities feel endless.

“The dream is to be able to pick any arbitrary location inside of the body — down to individual cells — and program a material to go and act there,” he said. “That’s a tall order, but with these technologies we’re getting closer. With the right combination of biomarkers, these materials will just get more and more precise.”

Co-authors include Annabella Li, a former UW undergraduate student of chemical engineering; Shivani Kottantharayil, a UW undergraduate student of bioengineering; and Jack Hoye, a UW doctoral student of chemical engineering.

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, contact DeForest at profcole@uw.edu. 

Research Highlights:

• A study that looked at over 3,000 women experiencing a first pregnancy determined that persistently higher stress levels were associated with high blood pressure post pregnancy, specifically in women who had faced adverse pregnancy outcomes, or complications in pregnancy, including high blood pressure, pre-term birth, having a smaller baby or stillbirth.
• Higher stress levels were detected 2-to-7 years after delivery, emphasizing a need for managing stress in women who have had adverse pregnancy outcomes, as they may be more susceptible to the negative effects of stress on their heart health.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Monday, March 9, 2026

DALLAS, March 9, 2026 — Women who experience pregnancy complications, like preeclampsia, pre-term birth, stillbirth or having a baby that is small for gestational age, may face an increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. For those who report high stress levels during and after pregnancy, there is a more elevated risk for high blood pressure, even years after they deliver, according to new research published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

“For women who were having babies for the first time and had complications, referred to as adverse pregnancy outcomes, we found that higher stress levels over time were associated with higher blood pressure levels 2-to-7 years after delivery,” said Virginia Nuckols, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Delaware’s Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology. “This suggests that women who had pregnancy complications may be more susceptible to the negative effects of stress on their heart health, and taking steps to manage and reduce stress could be important for protecting long-term heart health.”

Stressful life events and perceived stress are associated with cardiovascular issues in women over the course of their lives. Pregnancy is associated with amplified psychosocial stress, which can lead to higher cardiovascular risks and increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, or complications during pregnancy and/or delivery. According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the mother’s health and postpartum care is especially important to manage and mitigate risk of complications.

This study assessed whether psychosocial stress levels during a woman’s first pregnancy and in the years after are linked to the mother’s blood pressure levels and risk of developing hypertension. Additionally, it evaluated if certain complications during pregnancy and delivery change the relationship between stress levels and cardiovascular health.

Researchers measured the mothers’ blood pressure and stress levels during their first and third trimesters of pregnancy, and again 2-7 years after delivery.

The analysis found:

• Among women who experienced adverse pregnancy outcomes, higher stress levels over time were associated with blood pressure that was 2 mm Hg higher than that of the low stress group during the years 2-7 years after delivery; however, this was not the case among women who did not experience adverse pregnancy outcomes.
• Those who experienced moderate to high stress levels were often younger (between 25 and 27 years of age), had higher body mass index and lower educational attainment.
• Results showed that women who had adverse pregnancy outcomes may be more susceptible to the long-term negative effects of stress on their heart health.

The authors noted that it’s not clear exactly how higher stress leads to higher blood pressure in women who had pregnancy complications, and there are likely several factors involved. “Future studies should examine why women with a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes may be more susceptible to stress-driven increases in blood pressure and test whether stress reduction interventions can actually lower cardiovascular risk for these women,” said Dr. Nuckols.

High blood pressure during pregnancy can have lasting impacts on maternal health, such as preeclampsia, eclampsia, stroke or kidney problems, according to the American Heart Association’s 2025 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. Monitoring blood pressure before, during and after pregnancy is crucial to help prevent and reduce the risks of long-term complications.

“The current guideline emphasizes blood pressure monitoring after an adverse pregnancy event, and our findings suggest that assessing and addressing stress may also be an important strategy for reducing long-term cardiovascular risk for these women,” said Nuckols. “The blood pressure differences we observed in women with higher perceived stress levels were apparent in young women only 25 years of age, on average. Although these blood pressure differences were modest (about 2 mm Hg), slight increases in blood pressure can affect heart disease risk over time.”

“This study highlights the powerful connection between the mind and heart, emphasizing the importance of stress management, particularly for those who have experienced adverse pregnancy outcomes,” said Laxmi Mehta, M.D., FAHA, chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology. “For the clinical care team, it reinforces the need to proactively assess and address stress as part of the comprehensive care we provide to our patients. Future research on whether targeted interventions to reduce or manage stress has a meaningful impact on long-term cardiovascular outcomes will be important as well.” Mehta, who was not involved in the study, is also the director of preventative cardiology & women's cardiovascular health, the Sarah Ross Soter Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research and professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

The study has some limitations, including that stress levels were based on participants’ own perceptions, therefore, researchers were not able to characterize other components of the stress experience, including mood states or physical symptoms, which may have other impacts on health. Also, perceived stress scores were not collected during the participants’ second trimester, only during the first and third trimesters. Additionally, it is possible that specific individual or combinations of adverse pregnancy outcomes (for example, preeclampsia during pregnancy along with having a baby that is small for gestational age) may have distinct effects on stress trajectory or blood pressure. Further, this study group only included women during their first pregnancy. Future research is needed to understand the links between stress and cardiovascular health after an adverse pregnancy outcome.

Study details, background and design:

• Researchers analyzed records of 3,322 first-time mothers, ages 15-44 (average age of 27) who did not have high blood pressure before pregnancy, from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-be (nuMoM2b), which included a racially, ethnically and geographically diverse population. According to the author, 66% of participants self-identified as white, 14% self-identified as Hispanic women, and 11% self-identified as Black women.
• Study participants were enrolled at 17 medical centers in eight U.S. states. The women were having their first child and pregnant with only one baby.
• Researchers observed women in their first trimester and evaluated this information with adverse pregnancy outcomes, which included preeclampsia (new-onset high blood pressure during pregnancy), preterm birth, small for gestational age birthweight and stillbirth.
• All participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, a standard stress assessment questionnaire that measures how different situations affect feelings and perceived stress, using questions that rank a person’s feelings and thoughts during the last month. Participants took the assessment during the first and third trimester of pregnancy, as well as 2-7 years after pregnancy. They were asked to note how often they were in situations they perceived as uncontrollable, unpredictable or overwhelming in the previous month on a five-point frequency scale, with a higher score indicating higher levels of perceived stress.

Co-authors, disclosures and funding sources are listed in the manuscript.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers and the Association’s overall financial information are available here.

Additional Resources:

• Multimedia is available on the right column of release link.
• After Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, view the manuscript online.
• American Heart Association news release: Risk factors for cardiovascular disease negatively impact health during, after pregnancy (Oct. 2025)
• American Heart Association Guideline news release: New high blood pressure guideline emphasizes prevention, early treatment to reduce CVD risk (Aug. 2025)
• American Heart Association news release: Screening & treating maternal psychological health key to improving cardiovascular health (Feb. 2025)
• American Heart Association news release: Personalized screening early in pregnancy may improve preeclampsia detection (May 2024)
• AHA health initiative: Go Red for Women: Pregnancy and Maternal Health
• Follow AHA/ASA news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from AHA’s Hypertension journal @HyperAHA 

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

For Media Inquiries and American Heart Association Expert Perspective: 214-706-1173

Kelsey Beveridge: Kelsey.beveridge@heart.org

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

DALLAS, March 4, 2026 — Millions of people in health care, workplace safety and emergency response roles globally are required to complete credentialed resuscitation training on a recurring basis, often while balancing demanding schedules and limited access to in-person instruction. To address these challenges, the American Heart Association (Association), the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on changing the future of health for all, and Laerdal Medical (Laerdal), one of the world leaders in medical simulation, health care education and resuscitation training, today announced the nationwide launch of Self-Guided Learning™, a flexible, science-based resuscitation training delivery model that enables learners to complete HeartCode® Complete required coursework and skills verification on their own schedule.

The Association is the first and only U.S. training organization directly involved in the creation of resuscitation scientific guidelines and education, leading the development of the official guidelines used by all other CPR and First Aid training providers in the U.S., as well as by many organizations in more than 90 additional countries.  Laerdal, using immersive technologies and data-centric insights to help improve survival and health care quality, has collaborated with the Association to develop and bring resuscitation education and training to the health care market and local communities for more than 20 years.

Self-Guided Learning is an independent training delivery option, allowing learners to complete HeartCode Complete Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) courses at a time and location that fits their schedule. HeartCode Complete is comprised of a self-paced, online activity that can be completed using any compatible device and a hands-on, self-guided skills session, which is taken at a CPR Verification Station™ learning center. The station verifies skills using advanced simulation technology to provide real-time, audiovisual, objective feedback and coaching without instructor oversight.

This new Self-Guided Learning delivery model expands the Association’s global CPR training footprint, currently encompassing instructor-led, blended learning and a digital CPR training solution that verifies competence every 90 days. Each training method offers BLS, ACLS and PALS courses, with learners receiving an American Heart Association Course Completion eCard upon successful completion of all required activities and sessions.

“By expanding training options across the full spectrum, from instructor-led to self-guided learning, we are removing barriers to access while maintaining the science, skills validation and standards the American Heart Association is known for,” said John Meiners, chief of Mission Aligned Businesses for the American Heart Association. “Self-Guided Learning is an important part of that approach, helping prepare more people to act when lives are on the line and bringing us closer to our goal of doubling cardiac arrest survival by 2030.”

As of March 2026, Self-Guided Learning and CPR Verification Station learning centers are currently available in 47 states, with expansion soon to all 50, and can be easily located using CPR Finder™. Students enter their ZIP code to view available learning centers in their area and are then directed to the website of a corresponding Premier Distributor for steps and instructions to complete their course requirements.

“Self-Guided Learning provides people who need BLS, ACLS and PALS training and prefer independent learning an easily accessible, effective and ideal training option to fit their schedule,” said Alf-Christian Dybdahl, chief executive officer of Laerdal Medical. “This delivery model represents another significant milestone in our organizations’ shared mission and collaboration to transform how CPR is taught and learned.”

Self-Guided Learning is ideal for the following audiences:

• health care professionals and students seeking flexible training options and who prefer self-paced, independent learning;
• allied health care providers;
• remote and rural health care and workplace staff;
• emergency medical services’ professionals; and
• initial or renewal learners requiring an American Heart Association Course Completion eCard.

Additional Resources:

• Multimedia is available on the right column of release link.
• For additional information about Self-Guided Learning, visit CPRFinder.com.
• To learn more about the Association’s CPR Instructor-led and blended training options and find available courses, visit cpr.heart.org.
• Visit rqipartners.com, the partnership between and service provider for the Association and Laerdal, for information on digital CPR training programs.

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by millions of volunteers, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health and provide resources to save and improve lives affected by heart disease and stroke. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.   

About Laerdal Medical 

Laerdal is dedicated to our mission of helping save lives. Laerdal Medical is a world leader in healthcare education and resuscitation training that uses immersive technologies and data-centric insights to increase survival and improve healthcare quality. Improving the quality of care is part of our mission, to help save more lives. And we have established the goal to help save one million more lives. Every year. By 2030. However, we can’t do this alone. This is a shared goal of the Laerdal Group. A group of companies that develops healthcare-related solutions and programs focused on a common mission to help save lives, together with our Partners. Laerdal is a global company in 30+ countries worldwide with its head office located in Stavanger, Norway. For more information, visit www.laerdal.com.

Media Inquiries:

American Heart Association: Sarah D. Williams; 214-706-1156; sarah.d.williams@heart.org

Laerdal Medical: Inger Johanne Stenberg; 479-059-5829; inger.johanne.stenberg@laerdal.com

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

 

Research Highlights:

• In an analysis of data from 2011 to 2022, the number of deaths after first hospitalization for a severe heart attack increased significantly among men and women ages 18-54.
• At the same time, the number of deaths was higher among women than men in this age range for both a heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery and one resulting from a partial coronary artery blockage.
• After accounting for all risk factors assessed, heart attack deaths remained linked to more nontraditional risk factors—including low income, kidney disease and non-tobacco drug use—rather than traditional risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, in both men and women. Women also had a higher number of these nontraditional risk factors.
• Improving risk assessments that include nontraditional risk factors could help reduce in-hospital deaths from heart attacks among adults younger than age 55, particularly women.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2026 — A new study found that heart attack deaths were up among younger adults with women more likely than men to die after a first heart attack. According to new research published today in a Go Red for Women spotlight issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association, death rates rose by a 1.2% absolute increase among adults younger than age 55, who were hospitalized between 2011 and 2022 with a first severe heart attack.

Since 2004, the American Heart Association’s initiative, Go Red for Women, has addressed the awareness and clinical care gaps of women’s greatest health threat: cardiovascular disease. The JAHA Go Red Spotlight issue highlights nearly a dozen manuscripts underscoring cardiovascular disease in women.

In an analysis of nearly 1 million hospitalizations between 2011-2022 of U.S. adults ages 18-54, women had a higher rate of death in the hospital from a severe form of heart attack and from a less severe subtype compared to men.

The findings were surprising and concerning, said Mohan Satish, M.D., the study’s lead author.

“U.S. heart attack deaths appeared to have plateaued or decreased, based on observational studies that extended into 2010. However, that decline appears to have been driven largely by older adults and men,” said Satish, a clinical cardiovascular disease fellow and T32 postdoctoral fellow at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. “We often think heart attacks are mainly an older person’s problem; however, our findings indicate that younger adults, especially women, are at real risk.”

Researchers compared data for two heart attack subtypes: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI). ST-segment elevation refers to a segment on an electrocardiogram tracing. STEMI is a more severe form of heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery. NSTEMI is a less severe form caused by partial blockage of a coronary artery.

Key findings of the analysis include:

• Overall, after considering both hospital and patient characteristics, in-hospital deaths increased significantly among patients hospitalized with a first STEMI, with an absolute 1.2% increase. Rates for NSTEMI were unchanged.
• Women were more likely to die in the hospital from a first-time heart attack at 3.1% for those with STEMI and 1% for NSTEMI, compared to men at 2.6% for STEMI and less than 1% for NSTEMI.
• While women experienced similar rates of in-hospital complications compared to men, they received fewer cardiovascular procedures to identify and treat causes of their heart attack.
• Younger women were the most likely to have nontraditional risk factors than males of the same age.
• Regardless of sex, after considering all risk factors assessed, more nontraditional risk factors for heart attack, such as low-income, kidney disease, or non-tobacco drug use, were strongly linked to death in the hospital from a heart attack compared to traditional risk factors.

“Improving heart attack outcomes in adults younger than age 55, particularly women, will require earlier risk identification and consideration of nontraditional risk factors to improve treatment,” Satish said. “Future studies need to consider how nontraditional risk factors impart heart attack risk along with their impact on traditional risk factors.”

The authors acknowledge several limitations with this research, including reliance on administrative hospital data, which could have incorrect diagnoses and/or treatment codes. In addition, there was no long-term follow-up information after hospital discharge

Study details, background and design:

• Researchers analyzed health data of adults ages 18-54, from 2011 to 2022, from the National Inpatient Sample, a nationally representative database that includes all health insurance claims regardless of payer, including Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance.
• Among 945,977 first-time hospitalizations, nearly 40% (more than 356,000) were for patients with STEMI and more than 62% (nearly 600,000) were NSTEMI.
• Among all STEMI hospitalizations: 77.2% were in men; tobacco use was the most prevalent traditional risk factor; and low income was the most prevalent nontraditional risk factor. About 65% of women used tobacco compared to 61% of men, and nearly 35% of the women were in the lowest income level compared to nearly 29% of men.
• Among the NSTEMI group: 66.2% were men; high blood pressure was the most prevalent traditional risk factor in nearly 70% of men and 69% of women; low income was the most prevalent nontraditional risk factor for both sexes, though higher among women at about 38% compared to men at 32%.
• For both subtypes of heart attack, a higher proportion of men and women were white adults (69.6% in STEMI and 61.7% in NSTEMI) compared to people from other ethnic and racial groups.

Co-authors, disclosures and funding sources are listed in the manuscript.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations. These sources include contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of our educational materials. Corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations to the Association. The Association has strict policies to prevent any donations from influencing its science content and policy positions. Overall financial information is available here.

Additional Resources:

• Multimedia is available on the right column of release link.
• After Feb. 26, view the Satish manuscript online.
• After Feb. 26, view all the JAHA Go Red for Women Spotlight issue manuscripts
• American Heart Association health information: Warning Signs of a Heart Attack
• American Heart Association news release: Heart disease, stroke deaths down, yet still kill more in U.S. than any other cause (Jan. 2026)
• American Heart Association news release: Women who have been stalked may have a higher risk of heart disease, stroke (Aug. 2025)
• American Heart Association news release: Must-know facts for women about heart, kidney and metabolic health (May 2025)
• American Heart Association news release: More women with most common autoimmune diseases die from cardiovascular disease than men (May 2025)
• Follow American Heart Association/American Stroke Association news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from the Journal of the American Heart Association @JAHA_AHA

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

For Media Inquiries and American Heart Association Expert Perspective: 214-706-1173

Bridgette McNeill: bridgette.mcneill@heart.org

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

Research Highlights:

• Although women typically have less artery-clogging plaque than men, a study of more than 4,200 adults found that it did not shield women from cardiovascular events.
• The risk of heart attack and chest pain in women appeared to manifest with a lower amount of plaque and increased more rapidly, particularly after menopause, than they do for men.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Monday, Feb. 23, 2026

DALLAS, Feb. 23, 2026 — Less artery-clogging plaque in women’s arteries did not appear to protect them from heart disease compared to men, according to a study published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.

While heart disease is the leading cause of illness and death in the U.S. and worldwide, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, women tend to have a lower prevalence of artery plaque than men, according to previous research.

This study evaluated health data for more than 4,200 adults (more than half of whom were women) to compare how quantity of plaque influenced the risk of major heart conditions. The study included people with stable chest pain and no prior history of coronary artery disease. Participants were randomized to undergo diagnostic evaluation via coronary computed tomography angiography (X-ray images of the heart and blood vessels) and followed for about two years.

Key findings of the study:

• Fewer women had plaque in their coronary arteries than men (55% of women vs. 75% of men). Women also had a lower volume of artery plaque than men (a median of 78 mm³ among women vs. 156 mm³ in men).
• Despite less plaque, women were just as likely as men to die from any cause, have a non-fatal heart attack or be hospitalized for chest pain (2.3% of women vs. 3.4% of men).
• In addition, women faced increased heart risk at lower levels of plaque compared to men. For total plaque burden, women’s risk began to rise at 20% plaque burden, while men’s risk started at 28%. With increasing plaque levels, risk rose more sharply for women than for men.

“Our findings underscore that women are not ‘protected’ from coronary events despite having lower plaque volumes,” said senior author Borek Foldyna, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “Because women have smaller coronary arteries, a small amount of plaque can have a bigger impact. Moderate increases in plaque burden appear to have disproportionate risk in women, suggesting that standard definitions of high risk may underestimate risk in women.”

“These findings are another important example of why it is imperative to recognize that cardiovascular disease can impact men and women so differently,” said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and senior vice president of women’s health at Northwell Health in New York City. “There is an overdue recognition of fundamental, biological differences in the way health conditions manifest in women vs. men, and these differences can influence everything from risk factors to symptoms to treatment response. I’m heartened to see more research such as this emerging as we address ways to reduce cardiovascular disease burden among all people.”

According to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, cardiovascular disease was the cause of death in 433,254 females of all ages – representing 47.3% of deaths from cardiovascular disease.

Study background, design and details:

• The patients included in this study were a subset of participants from the PROMISE trial, a study of adults with stable chest pain and no prior history of coronary artery disease, treated at 193 clinical sites in the U.S. and Canada. PROMISE participants were followed for about two years.
• The analysis included 4,267 adults (average age 60; 51% women).
• The study’s lead author is Dr. Jan Brendel, M.D., research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations. These sources include contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of our educational materials. Corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations to the Association. The Association has strict policies to prevent any donations from influencing its science content and policy positions. Overall financial information is available here.

Additional Resources:

• Available multimedia is on right column of release link.
•  After Feb. 23, 2026, view the manuscript.
• American Heart Association health information: What is Atherosclerosis?
• American Heart Association health information: Heart Attack Symptoms in Women
• American Heart Association scientific statement: Acute Coronary Syndromes in Premenopausal Women
• American Heart Association Presidential Advisory: Call to Action for Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Epidemiology, Awareness, Access, and Delivery of Equitable Health Care
• Follow AHA/ASA news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from the AHA’s Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging journal @CircImaging

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

For Media Inquiries and American Heart Association Expert Perspective: 214-706-1173

Bridgette McNeill: bridgette.mcneill@heart.org

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

Aspectos destacados:

• La salud cardíaca y el riesgo de padecer enfermedades cardíacas van más allá del corazón.
• La diabetes y las enfermedades renales son los principales factores de riesgo para las enfermedades cardíacas, pero muchos casos no se diagnostican.
• La revisión periódica de los factores de salud relacionados, como la presión arterial, el colesterol, la glucemia (azúcar en sangre), el perímetro de la cintura y la función renal, así como el tratamiento adecuado cuando sea necesario, pueden ayudar a prevenir las enfermedades cardíacas.

DALLAS, 18 de febrero de 2026 — La diabetes y las enfermedades renales son los principales factores de riesgo para las enfermedades cardíacas, pero muchos casos no se diagnostican. Además, una encuesta al consumidor (sitio web en inglés) realizada el otoño pasado sugiere que la mayoría de las personas no son conscientes de que la salud cardíaca, renal y metabólica (cómo el cuerpo crea, utiliza y almacena energía) están relacionadas.

Según la nueva actualización de estadísticas de 2026 de American Heart Association (Asociación Americana del Corazón) (sitio web en inglés), casi 1 de cada 4 adultos de los EE. UU. con diabetes no saben que la padecen. Además, los datos de los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades[1] informan que hasta 9 de cada 10 adultos con enfermedad renal crónica no saben que la padecen.

Debido a que las enfermedades cardíacas, las enfermedades renales y la diabetes están estrechamente relacionadas, padecer una de ellas suele aumentar la probabilidad de desarrollar las demás. Esto se debe en gran medida a factores de riesgo compartidos, como la presión arterial alta, el colesterol alto, el azúcar en sangre alto, el sobrepeso y la reducción de la función renal. El informe estadístico de la Asociación indica que la detección de enfermedades renales en particular podría mejorarse, ya que dos tercios de los pacientes con presión arterial alta o diabetes no saben que también padecen una enfermedad renal debido a la falta de exámenes de uACR, un análisis de orina para evaluar la función renal. Para las personas con diabetes o hipertensión arterial, se recomiendan dos exámenes de detección para evaluar la salud de la función renal: el análisis de orina uACR y el análisis de sangre eGFR. Cada uno mide diferentes aspectos de la salud y la función renal.

“Alentamos a las personas a que tomen conciencia de la relación entre las distintas afecciones, de modo que, junto con su equipo de cuidados de salud, puedan pensar en su salud general más allá de las afecciones individuales”, afirmó Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, presidenta voluntaria de la American Heart Association. “Comprender la conexión ayuda a prevenir mejor las complicaciones a través de cambios en el estilo de vida y un tratamiento adecuado”.

El término médico para la conexión entre las enfermedades cardíacas, las enfermedades renales y la diabetes es síndrome cardiovascular-renal-metabólico o síndrome CRM (sitio web en inglés). Las mayores amenazas para la salud causadas por el síndrome CRM son la discapacidad y la muerte por enfermedades cardíacas y ataques o derrames cerebrales, que constituyen la parte “cardiovascular” de CRM.

La parte “metabólica” del síndrome CRM incluye la diabetes y la obesidad. Las enfermedades renales se relacionan estrechamente con las enfermedades metabólicas y cardiovasculares.

Rosen hace hincapié en que los exámenes periódicos de su salud cardiovascular, renal y metabólica pueden detectar problemas de forma temprana, ya que aproximadamente el 80% de los ataques cardíacos y los ataques o derrames cerebrales se pueden prevenir, según la American Heart Association. Además, los factores de riesgo suelen desarrollarse de forma lenta, con pocos o ningún síntoma al principio.

“Debido a las tasas actuales de los factores de riesgo, todo el mundo podría beneficiarse de someterse a este tipo de pruebas”, añade. Rosen es directora ejecutiva del Katz Institute for Women’s Health y vicepresidenta sénior de salud de la mujer en Northwell Health, en la ciudad de Nueva York.

El informe estadístico de 2026 de la Asociación muestra que alrededor de la mitad de todos los adultos de los EE. UU. padecen presión arterial alta, aproximadamente 1 de cada 3 tienen colesterol total alto, más de la mitad tiene prediabetes o diabetes, más de la mitad tiene una circunferencia de cintura grande y aproximadamente 1 de cada 7 padece enfermedades renales.

La detección del síndrome CRM puede incluir las siguientes pruebas:

• Presión arterial
• Perfil lipídico, que incluye colesterol total, colesterol LDL (conocido como colesterol “malo”), colesterol HDL (colesterol “bueno”) y triglicéridos, el tipo de grasa más común en el cuerpo
• Glucemia (azúcar en sangre), medida a corto plazo, como la glucosa en ayunas, o a largo plazo, como A1C
• Peso y tamaño corporal, medidos por el índice de masa corporal (IMC) y la circunferencia de la cintura
• Función renal, medida con un análisis de orina llamado CACu (cociente de albúmina-creatinina en orina) y un análisis de sangre llamado TFGe (tasa de filtración glomerular estimada)

Un profesional de la salud puede introducir los resultados de estas pruebas en la calculadora en línea PREVENT (sitio web en inglés) para estimar su riesgo individual de padecer enfermedades cardiovasculares durante los próximos 10 o 30 años.

El síndrome CRM se puede prevenir y tratar. Los hábitos saludables como los de Life’s Essential 8 (sitio web en inglés) y los tratamientos basados en la evidencia pueden mejorar varias afecciones juntas.

La American Heart Association, la principal organización sin fines de lucro del mundo centrada en cambiar el futuro de la salud para todos, lleva más de 100 años promoviendo una mejor salud cardíaca y cerebral. La Iniciativa de salud cardiovascular-renal-metabólica de la Asociación (sitio web en inglés) es un esfuerzo específico para concientizar sobre las conexiones entre las afecciones del síndrome CRM y para mejorar las tasas de diagnóstico, lo que ayuda a las personas a ser más conscientes de su riesgo. La iniciativa, apoyada por los patrocinadores fundadores Novo Nordisk y Boehringer Ingelheim, los patrocinadores Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation y Bayer, y el patrocinador principal DaVita, cuenta con la participación de 150 centros de atención médica en 15 regiones de los EE. UU., que aprenderán y compartirán las prácticas recomendadas para la atención interdisciplinaria del síndrome CRM. Se espera que tenga un impacto en la atención de más de un cuarto de millón de pacientes.

La Asociación recibe más de un 85% de sus ingresos de fuentes ajenas a empresas. Estas fuentes incluyen contribuciones de personas particulares, fundaciones y patrimonios, así como ganancias por inversiones e ingresos por la venta de nuestros materiales informativos. Las empresas (incluidas las farmacéuticas, los fabricantes de dispositivos y otras compañías) también realizan donaciones a la Asociación. La Asociación tiene políticas estrictas para evitar que las donaciones influyan en el contenido científico y en las posturas de sus políticas. La información financiera general está disponible aquí. (sitio web en inglés).

Recursos adicionales:

• Comunicado de prensa en inglés
• Comunicado de prensa de la American Heart Association: Se han seleccionado 15 regiones para llevar a cabo una iniciativa pionera destinada a reducir las enfermedades cardiovasculares (sitio web en inglés) (julio de 2025)
•  Guía de implementación de salud CRM de la American Heart Association (sitio web en inglés)
• Siga las noticias de la American Heart Association/American Stroke Association en X en @HeartNews (sitio web en inglés)

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Acerca de la American Heart Association

La American Heart Association es una fuerza incansable para un mundo de vidas más largas y saludables. La organización ha sido una fuente líder de información sobre salud durante más de cien años y su objetivo es garantizar la equidad en la salud en todas las comunidades. Con el apoyo de más de 35 millones de voluntarios en todo el mundo, financiamos investigaciones vanguardistas, defendemos la salud pública y proporcionamos recursos fundamentales para salvar y mejorar vidas afectadas por enfermedades cardiovasculares y ataques o derrames cerebrales. Trabajamos incansablemente para hacer avanzar la salud y transformar vidas cada día mediante el impulso de avances y la implementación de soluciones comprobadas en las áreas de ciencia, políticas y cuidados. Comuníquese con nosotros mediante heart.org (sitio web en inglés), Facebook o X, o llame al 1-800-AHA-USA1.

Para consultas de los medios de comunicación o el punto de vista experto de la AHA/ASA:214-706-1173

Maggie Francis: Maggie.Francis@heart.org

Para consultas públicas: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org (sitio web en inglés) y derramecerebral.org