Heart health and blood vessels – articles and advice
Blood pressure
Features and advice on heart health, circulation and vascular conditions. For in-depth reference, see our Patient Information Leaflets on heart health.
Blood pressure
High or low blood pressure can affect your health. Learn how it’s measured, what causes abnormal readings, and how to manage it with lifestyle or medication.
In this topic:Blood pressureHigh blood pressure
- DASH diet - healthy eating that helps lower blood pressure
- Blood pressure: understanding your readings
- Are UK blood pressure levels on the rise?
High blood pressure
- Plant-based proteins could help prevent high blood pressure
- On the rise: what causes high blood pressure in young adults
- Is your job putting your health at risk?
- High blood pressure in mid-30s could shrink your brain
- How to lower your blood pressure without medication
- The best exercise if you have high blood pressure
- Why is high blood pressure a big problem?
- Video: How to reduce blood pressure
Blood vessels
Blood vessels carry nutrients and oxygen around your body. Learn how they work, what can go wrong, and how to keep your circulatory system healthy.
- UpdatedHow to deal with Raynaud's in the winter months
- What is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?
- What's causing your cold hands and feet?
- 8 simple steps to boost your circulation
- How to prevent varicose veins
- Spider veins: why is winter leg care so important?
- Cheese could protect blood vessels from damage caused by high-salt diet
Heart attack
A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart is blocked. Learn to recognise the warning signs and understand what treatments improve survival and recovery.
- UpdatedAm I having a heart attack?
- When the heat rises, so do heart risks: What you need to know
- Can stress cause heart attacks?
- The importance of learning CPR: Emma tells her story
- The importance of learning CPR
- Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack?
- How to minimise the risk of a second heart attack
- What should you do if someone goes into cardiac arrest?
- How diet can reduce your risk of stroke and heart attack
- The warning signs of a heart attack in women
- Video: What happens during a heart attack?
- Having a heart attack when you're young
- Recovering after a heart attack
- Is it indigestion or a heart attack?
- What does a doctor do when they have a heart attack?
Heart disease
Heart disease includes conditions affecting the heart’s structure and function. Discover the symptoms, risks, and lifestyle changes that can protect your heart.
- Can you die from a broken heart?
- Why the heart disease gender gap is costing women their lives
- Drug trials of new hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treatment brings hope to patients
- What is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death?
- Dilated cardiomyopathy causes: what are the risk factors?
- How to manage stress when living with cardiomyopathy
- Is cardiomyopathy genetically inherited?
- What is alcoholic cardiomyopathy?
- What's the link between mental health and heart disease?
- What does smoking do to your heart?
- This is what cold weather does to your heart
- Four-in-one pill could prevent heart problems
- Insomnia linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke
- Diabetes increases heart failure risk, particularly in women
- Being 'pear-shaped' may lower risk of heart disease in women
- New blood test could diagnose heart failure earlier
- Who should take aspirin every day?
- Celebrities and their heart problems
Heart health
Heart health involves understanding your risk, making healthy choices, and taking steps to reduce your chances of getting heart disease.
- UpdatedHow to protect your heart during the winter
- How healthy is your heart?
- 6 workday habits that keep your heart healthy
- Heart and blood videos
- Eat your way to a healthy heart: tasty recipe ideas for every meal
- What is the TLC diet and can it improve your heart health?
- Healthy Hanukkah food for your weight, heart and diabetes
- A vegan diet improves heart health, according to a study of identical twins
- Good heart health in middle age may lower risk of dementia
- Anatomy of the heart and blood vessels
Heart palpitations
Palpitations feel like a racing or fluttering heart. Discover common causes, when to seek help, and how doctors check your heart rhythm.
High cholesterol
Too much cholesterol in your blood increases heart disease risk. Learn how it’s diagnosed and treated, and how diet and exercise can help lower it.
- How to lower your cholesterol
- How can I avoid statin side effects?
- Can red yeast rice lower your cholesterol?
- Understanding your cholesterol levels
- How to shop for a low cholesterol diet
- What's the link between menopause and cholesterol?
- Why you need to check your cholesterol
- Can you lower cholesterol through diet alone?
- Twice-yearly cholesterol jab could replace daily statins
- Stopping statins after 75 increases heart attack risk
- The pros and cons of statins
- How to lower cholesterol without statins
- How your diet affects your heart
- Review: Home cholesterol testing kits
- Have TV chefs given us high cholesterol?
- Eating out with high cholesterol
- Do light beers have any health benefits?
- Does your wedding menu cater for low cholesterol diets?
Stroke
A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is blocked. Discover the signs, urgent response steps, and treatments that help with recovery.
- UpdatedYour guide to stroke prevention
- How to spot a mini-stroke: early signs and symptoms
- How to reduce your risk of stroke?
- What is the link between stroke recovery and gut health?
- How diet can reduce your risk of stroke and heart attack
- How does having a stroke affect your sex life?
- How to cope with isolation after a stroke
- Insomnia linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke
- How to support a loved one after a stroke