Today is the “Great American Smokeout.” The initiative is held every year to encourage people to quit smoking. But it’s not just smoking that’s a concern; so is vaping. A recent study shows those who vape are 19% more likely to develop heart failure than those who have never done it before. “The study was looking at, with this new trend of vaping, does it actually affect the heart in such a way that it causes the heart to fail? Heart failure is an extremely dangerous condition and very prominent. So anytime that we can look for causes that are reversible, we want to look for them,” stated Dr. Nina Thakkar Rivera, Cleveland Clinic.

August 6, 2024, Press Release from the American Heart Association: TOLEDO OH, 2024 — 11 hospitals in Northwest Ohio are among the more than 3,000 nationwide that participate in the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) and other programs to improve outcomes for Americans who experience heart disease or stroke. Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in the United States, respectively. These health crises require swift and proven treatment to ensure the best outcomes for patients. The American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of work to advance health and hope for everyone, everywhere, sets the standards for high-quality, science-based care and access that all patients deserve.

In recent years, University of Michigan researchers uncovered that pulse oximeters – the devices placed on the finger and used to detect blood oxygen levels – may not provide accurate readings for black patients.