News Briefs – JULY/AUGUST 2025
by INELDA
Heart Attacks Less Deadly Today
Heart disease among adults in the United States has plummeted by two thirds in the past 50 years, according to a large-scale study published in Journal of the American Heart Association. Heart attacks in particular have become less deadly: By analyzing government data on heart disease deaths from 1970 to 2022, researchers found that heart attacks went from being responsible for 54% of all cardiac-related deaths in 1970 to 29% in 2022.
That’s not to say that heart attack risk, and cardiac health overall, is in the clear. “These days, the likelihood of dying from a heart attack is relatively low compared to where it’s been, but the likelihood of significant disability from the heart attack is still high,” Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, told CNN. (Dr. Freeman was not involved in the study.)
The study also found that deaths from other types of heart disease, including heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, and arrhythmia, increased by 81% in the United States during that time. Heart disease overall remains the top cause of death globally.
Megabill’s Impact on US Health
Tens of millions of Americans will face greater risks to their physical and financial health as a result of the domestic policy megabill that was passed in early July. Framed as a tax savings plan by the Trump administration, the bill will reduce federal support for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act initiatives. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this will trigger more than 12 million people to be uninsured by 2034.
This is also expected to impact institutions that rely on insurance payments, such as nursing homes, which may be forced to cut services or close operations as a result of heightened costs. According to a report in KFF Health News, the bill ends “provider taxes,” which most states use to increase Medicaid payments to nursing homes, hospitals, managed care companies, and other health care providers. In turn, those institutions report using these additional funds to improve care for all patients. The lack of provider taxes is expected to hit rural communities particularly hard, at a time when the rural-urban life expectancy gap has grown.
KFF Health News reports that the megabill is also expected to result in a work requirement for Medicaid, a higher barrier for getting and retaining ACA marketplace coverage, higher out-of-pocket cost for Medicaid holders to see providers, and an imbalance in ACA coverage pools after losing hundreds of thousands of lawfully present immigrants in the marketplace, who skew toward being younger and healthier than the overall population.
Physicians Want a Peaceful End to Their Own Lives
Physicians are an integral part of end-of-life care for many people who are dying—and they, too, are going to die. Research published in Palliative Care and Social Practice finds that doctors are likely to have considered their own EOL preferences, and that physicians lean toward avoiding aggressive treatment at end of life and prioritize a peaceful environment for dying.
The study builds on previous research indicating that doctors’ own attitudes toward EOL care can affect their recommendations for patients. That survey-based research found that personal preference influenced whether doctors were likely to recommend life-sustaining treatment, concluding that physicians had a responsibility to be aware of their own biases.
The new research stemmed from 45 qualitative in-depth interviews of doctors in Belgium, Italy, and the United States. The research team found that physicians’ attitudes toward EOL care are influenced by culture, religion, positioning of palliative care, and legal status of medical aid in dying. Personal experiences with the death of loved ones and patients emerged as the most salient factors determining doctors’ attitudes toward EOL care.
“Physicians emphasized that death and dying become more comfortable and normalized the more they are reflected upon and discussed and feel this process can also provide personal growth and help them provide better care to patients and families,” the authors write
