Smokers who make the decision to quit will experience immediate health benefits, including a rapid reduction in their risk of atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. The study, conducted by Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, offers compelling evidence for smokers to quit, showing that it’s never too late to avoid the damaging effects of smoking on heart health.

Dr. Marcus, the senior author of the study, emphasized that A-Fib can be prevented even in individuals who have smoked for years. "The findings provide a compelling new reason to show current smokers that it’s not too late to quit, and that having smoked in the past doesn’t mean you’re ‘destined’ to develop A-Fib," Marcus explained. "Even for the current and longtime smoker, A-Fib can still be avoided."

What is Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)?

"There’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of A-Fib," Marcus said. "But the benefits of quitting smoking have been less certain." With this in mind, his team sought to determine whether quitting could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing A-Fib, or if the risk would remain the same.

The research team analyzed data from over 146,700 current and former smokers, tracking their smoking habits and health over a 12-year period using data from the UK Biobank database. The results were promising: former smokers had a 13% lower risk of developing A-Fib compared to current smokers, while those who quit during the study saw an 18% reduction in their risk.

"This is likely a testament to the potency of reducing atrial fibrillation risk pretty shortly after quitting," Marcus said in a statement from the American College of Cardiology.

The findings highlight the importance of quitting smoking, not only for general health but specifically for reducing the risk of serious heart conditions like A-Fib.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lower the risk of A-Fib and improve overall heart health. While it can be challenging, the benefits of quitting are clear and immediate. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking successfully:

1. Choose a specific date to quit smoking and stick to it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for this change.

2. Reach out to family, friends, or a support group to help keep you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can provide encouragement.

3. Options like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.

4. Identify situations that make you want to smoke, such as stress or social gatherings, and find healthy ways to cope with them.

5. Regular exercise can help distract you from cravings and improve your mood during the quitting process.

6. Drinking water can help flush nicotine out of your system faster, reducing cravings.

7. Activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help manage stress, a common trigger for smoking.

Quitting smoking offers immediate and significant benefits, particularly in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The latest research provides smokers with more motivation to quit, showing that it's never too late to take control of their heart health.

Amid a rise in infectious diseases, particularly measles, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that kindergarten vaccination rates declined during the 2025-26 school year.

The report also shows an increase in vaccine exemptions among children.

Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Decline

The CDC report showed that coverage for key childhood vaccines, including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP), polio and varicella, decreased in more than half of US states.

• DTaP vaccine coverage: 92%
• MMR vaccine coverage: 92.4%
• Polio vaccine coverage: 92.4%

The CDC, in a statement, said the data showed a 0.1% decline in vaccination coverage among children entering kindergarten.

Further, the data showed that about 280,000 kindergartners attended school without documentation of completing the MMR vaccine series during the 2025-26 school year.

Vaccine Exemptions Rise

Exemptions from one or more vaccines among US kindergartners increased to 4.2% during the 2025-26 school year, up from 3.6% in the previous school year, the CDC said.

Exemptions rose in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Of these, 24 states reported exemption rates exceeding 5%. The number of kindergartners exempt from one or more vaccines was about 155,000.

Measles Cases Hit 35-Year High

The decline in vaccination rates comes amid continued debate over the Donald Trump administration's vaccine policies and controversial changes to childhood vaccination recommendations.

Importantly, the period has seen measles cases reach levels not seen in more than three decades, threatening the US's measles elimination status.

With 38 new outbreaks reported in 2026, there have been 2,566 confirmed measles cases reported in the US as of August 13.

In comparison, a total of 2,289 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US during the full year of 2025. There were 48 outbreaks reported in 2025.

Children Account for Nearly Half of Measles Cases

In 2026, nearly 20% of measles cases, or 497 cases, were reported among children under 5 years of age. Of these, 10% were hospitalized due to the highly infectious disease. The highest number of cases was reported among children aged 5 to 19 years, with 1,222 cases, or 48%, followed by adults aged over 20, with 835 cases, or 33%.

In total, 93% of measles cases occurred among people without vaccination, and 7% were hospitalized.

AAP Warns About Falling Vaccination Rates

According to public health officials, overall measles vaccination rates should remain above 95% to maintain herd immunity.

"When it comes to vaccination rates, however, anything less than achieving an A+ grade is not good enough. For some diseases like measles, even a small decrease in vaccination rates can lead to more outbreaks of disease because community immunity requires over 95% of susceptible individuals to be immunized," said Dr. Andrew Racine, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in a statement.

He added, "This risk is real: The United States is experiencing a 35-year high for measles cases as federal officials continue to elevate misleading and disproven information about vaccines, inserting unnecessary fear and confusion into families’ decision-making. And we are seeing the results. More than a quarter of a million children started kindergarten last year without protection from the MMR vaccine."

Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order last week calling for fewer childhood vaccinations by limiting the inoculation schedule to 11 immunizations. The order also recommended splitting the MMR vaccine into three shots taken at separate visits.

What began as what appeared to be an ordinary influenza infection turned into a medical emergency for an otherwise healthy eight-year-old girl in Aurora, Ontario.

Leanne Gorin developed fulminant myocarditis, a rare and severe form of heart inflammation triggered by influenza B, within just 48 hours of becoming ill.

She spent five weeks at SickKids Hospital and underwent multiple major procedures, including a 10-hour open-heart operation, before dying on July 23, a day after her eighth birthday.

Her mother, Ilona, told local media that Leanne had been a perfectly healthy child and initially showed few warning signs beyond a 40°C (104°F) fever.

“I had a perfectly healthy daughter,” she said, describing the complication as extraordinarily rare.

Leanne's case highlights the severity of myocarditis - a complication of influenza that parents may rarely hear about.

What Is Myocarditis?

In many cases, myocarditis can be mild or even go unnoticed. But in severe cases, inflammation can dramatically reduce the heart's ability to pump blood.

The most serious form is called fulminant myocarditis. It can cause rapid heart failure, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms and cardiogenic shock, where the heart can no longer pump enough blood to support the body's organs.

Also read: Alzheimer’s With AFib: Study Finds Unexpected Benefit Of Blood Thinners On Brain Function

How Can The Flu Affect The Heart?

Influenza primarily infects the respiratory system, but the infection can trigger ripple effects throughout the body.

Researchers believe myocarditis may occur through a combination of direct viral injury and an excessive or abnormal immune response to the infection. The resulting inflammation can damage heart muscle cells and interfere with the heart's functions.

Why Is Fulminant Myocarditis So Dangerous?

As the heart becomes inflamed and weakened, it may no longer pump enough blood to the brain, kidneys and other organs. Patients can develop very low blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and severe heart failure. The condition can deteriorate pretty quickly.

In Leanne's case, her condition became critical within 48 hours. She eventually needed major cardiac surgery and prolonged hospitalisation.

Also read: Healthy BMI But Belly Fat? Why Your Waist May Predict Heart Risk Better

What Symptoms Should Parents Watch For?

The tricky part is that early symptoms can overlap with influenza itself. Parents should seek medical attention if a child with flu develops symptoms that suggest the heart may be struggling, including:

• Chest pain or pressure
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• A racing or irregular heartbeat
• Fainting or severe dizziness
• Extreme or unusual weakness
• Sudden difficulty exercising or walking
• Pale, greyish or bluish skin
• Swelling

A high fever alone does not mean a child has myocarditis. Influenza commonly causes high fever, particularly in children.

If new or unusually severe symptoms appear, like breathing problems, chest symptoms, fainting or a noticeably abnormal heartbeat, medical attention must be sought.

Doctors can investigate suspected myocarditis using tests such as an ECG, blood tests, echocardiogram and, in some cases, cardiac MRI. Treatment depends on how severely the heart has been affected.

A commonly prescribed class of blood-thinning medicines may do more than prevent strokes in patients with both Alzheimer’s disease and atrial fibrillation (AFib). A new Swedish study suggests newer blood thinners may also be linked with a slower rate of cognitive decline.

The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, come from a large analysis of 7,308 people with Alzheimer’s disease and AFib.

Researchers compared patients who were on newer oral anticoagulants, known as NOACs, to those taking the older drug warfarin and people who were not receiving anticoagulant treatment.

What Did The Study Find?

Patients taking NOACs experienced a slower decline in cognitive function compared to those taking warfarin or no anticoagulant.

Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a commonly used test that evaluates areas including memory, attention and orientation.

The researchers also found that NOAC treatment was associated with more favourable outcomes for stroke and death compared to no anticoagulation.

The study included patients from Sweden's national dementia registry and followed their outcomes over many years.

“This finding suggests that NOAC may offer benefits beyond their established role in preventing stroke and blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation,” said Maria Eriksdotter, professor at Karolinska Institutet and senior author of the study. She noted that the effect on cognition was modest, but even a small delay in cognitive deterioration could be meaningful over several years.

Also read: Limiting Sugar Before Age 2 May Lower Alzheimer’s Risk By 46%, Study Suggests

How Could A Blood Thinner Affect Alzheimer’s?

Researchers believe that the connection may stem from the relationship between AFib, blood clots and the brain. AFib causes the heart to beat irregularly, which can allow blood clots to form. These clots can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.

But researchers are also investigating whether smaller blockages in blood vessels, including so-called silent strokes, may contribute to cognitive damage.

Blood thinners reduce the formation of these clots, potentially protecting the brain from some additional vascular injury. Researchers have also proposed that the body's blood-clotting system could interact with biological processes involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

Also read: Alzheimer's Sleep Loss May Be Reversible; Study Sparks Hope For New Treatments

Why Did Newer Blood Thinners Prove Better Than Warfarin?

The researchers noted that differences in how consistently patients took their medicines may partly explain why NOACs appeared to perform better than warfarin. However, the study cannot determine exactly why the difference occurred.

Blood Thinners And Alzheimer’s

As this study was observational, it does not mean that blood thinners can treat Alzheimer’s successfully. Researchers analysed existing medical records rather than randomly assigning patients to receive a particular blood thinner. Therefore, it can identify an association but cannot prove that NOACs themselves caused the slower cognitive decline.

Anticoagulants are prescribed primarily to reduce the risk of stroke associated with AFib, and they can also cause serious bleeding. But this study raises the possibility that treating cardiovascular risk aggressively in people with Alzheimer’s could potentially have benefits for the brain as well.