Prioritizing Health | ACC.26 Science Making Consumer Headlines

ACC.26 findings aren’t just resonating within the cardiology community – they’re reaching patients and the wider public too. Here’s a look at some of the standout studies making headlines in major consumer news outlets.

More Screen Time, More CV Risk: Young adults who reported spending six or more hours a day on screens outside of school or work had higher levels of systolic blood pressure (+18 mm Hg), LDL-C (+28 mg/dL) and BMI than those with more limited time – suggesting screen time as an emerging risk factor for heart disease. The finding was independent of physical activity and remained after adjusting for age, sex and baseline clinical characteristics. Additionally, high screen time plus low physical activity had an even greater adverse impact. Based on questionnaires completed by 382 adults about 35 years old living in Pakistan, researchers found higher screen time was also associated with a higher rate of smoking and vaping.

Alcohol and CV Risk: A study of some 340,000 British adults found that high alcohol intake increased the risk of death from any cause and heart disease, by 24% and 14%, compared to never or occasional drinkers. But, at low and moderate levels of intake, differences in risk emerged by type of alcohol, with a 9% higher risk of cardiovascular death with spirits, beer and cider while the same level of wine consumption was associated with a 21% lower risk of death. Researchers said the study provides a more comprehensive and nuanced picture of the health impacts of alcohol intake.

Shingles Vaccine Reduces Cardiac Events: Adults over age 50 with ASCVD who had a shingles vaccine, vs. no vaccine, were 46% less likely to suffer any major adverse cardiac event and 66% less likely to die from any cause. Their risk of a heart attack was 32% lower and risk of a stroke or heart failure was 25% lower. Noting the study of 246,822 U.S. adults focused on the first year after vaccination, researchers said the lifetime impacts may differ, with a previous study suggesting cardioprotective effects may last up to eight years.

Sharp Rise in HBP-Related Deaths in Women: A fourfold increase in hypertension-related deaths, from 1.1 to 4.8/100,000 deaths, was found over the last two decades among women aged 25 to 44 years; some 29,000 died. Non-Hispanic Black women had the highest rate vs. non-Hispanic White women (8.6 vs. 2.3/100,000). Rates differed by region, highest in the South, followed by the Midwest, Northeast and West (3.8, 2.8, 2.2 and 1.9/100,000, respectively).

Vascular Aging and Dementia: Measures of vascular health derived from routine blood pressure readings may help identify adults at increased risk for dementia. Two analyses from SPRINT showed that pulse pressure-heart rate index independently predicted risk of dementia among adults >50 years, with each unit increase associated with a 76% higher risk, and that persistently elevated or rapidly increasing estimated pulse wave velocity was associated with a greater likelihood of developing dementia.

Clinical Topics:
Prevention, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea

Keywords:
Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications, CM-Apr-2026, ACC Annual Scientific Session, ACC26, Screen Time, Alcohol Drinking, Dementia, Herpes Zoster, Hypertension, Heart Disease Risk Factors, Risk Factors, Aging