All-Cause Mortality Is Not Always the Best Standard for Preventive Medicine

Every day on social media I get asked, "But what about all-cause mortality?". These Medfluencers and Healthfluencers seem to think that unless a study shows a reduction in All-Cause Mortality (ACM), then it is not a good st...

Treat Cholesterol, Earlier, Sooner, More Aggressively

For decades, we've accepted heart disease as an inevitable part of aging. Your grandfather had a heart attack at 60. Your father needed a stent at 55. Now you're wondering if you're next. But what if I told you that heart disease isn't actually ...

The 60 mg/dL Threshold: What the Science Really Says About LDL Cholesterol and Plaque Formation

For decades, the medical community has debated what constitutes an "optimal" LDL cholesterol level. While current guidelines recommend targets below 100 mg/dL for most people and below 70 mg/dL for high-...

The US and UK Diabetes Treatment Guidelines 2026 Update

Two major diabetes guideline updates landed within weeks of each other at the start of 2026: the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026 and the UK’s NICE guideline NG28, updated in February 2026. Together, they ...

Reverse Heart Disease? Is Plaque Regression Possible?

People ask me this all the time. "Dr. Alo, if I already have plaque in my arteries, is there any way to reverse it?"

For most of cardiology's history, the honest answer was: not really. We thought plaque was a one-way street. You build it up, y...

Are Heart Attacks Caused by Triglycerides, LDL, or Non-HDL? What the Latest Research Shows

When people search for the causes of heart disease or heart attacks, they often come across terms like triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol. All three matter, but they do not appear to cont...

Cholesterol-Years: How Lifetime Cholesterol Exposure Affects Your Heart

What Are Cholesterol-Years?

Just like doctors measure smoking exposure in "pack-years," researchers have discovered that your lifetime exposure to cholesterol can be measured in "cholesterol-years." This number is calculated b...

2026 Cholesterol Guidelines, Explained in Plain English: What Changed, Who Needs Treatment, and What It Means for Real People

If you have ever been told your cholesterol is “a little high,” this new guideline matters to you.

They just released the new guidelines, and while it's a huge improvement,...

Understanding Heart Failure: A Guide for Patients

Heart failure is a condition where your heart cannot pump blood as well as it should. Forward flow of blood has decreased. This doesn't mean your heart has stopped working, it means your heart muscle has become weaker or stiffer and can't keep up wi...

Understanding Heart Palpitations: A Guide for Patients

Palpitations are the uncomfortable feeling that you're aware of your own heartbeat. People describe them in different ways, a racing or fluttering heart, a pounding in your chest, feeling like your heart skipped a beat, or even a pounding sensa...