You may not spend much time worrying about your heart but for almost half of the adults in the United States, cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, is a real threat, putting us at risk for heart attacks, heart failure or stroke. And along with cardiac disease, it’s not just your heart that’s at risk- it’s also your head. Turns out that good brain health, including lessening your risk of dementia, coincides with maintaining a healthy heart lifestyle. The two are interconnected, as it’s hypothesized that keeping your arteries unclogged and undamaged will allow for better brain blood flow, which can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. So to keep your heart pumping and brain working, read more here.

But as much as we know about the value of good heart health, there’s still much we don’t know. Which is why we all need to learn from Dr. Haider Warraich, who has a new book, State of the Heart: Exploring The History, Science and Future of Cardiac Disease, just published by Macmillan Publishers. Warraich, whom you may remember was profiled in agebuzz for his 2017 book, Modern Death, is a cardiologist, soon to join Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. His book travels the path of our earliest understanding of the heart through modern treatment advances, all while highlighting our evolving understanding of the role of the heart, and heart disease, in both men and women. For insights into Dr. Warraich’s own education and understanding of the heart, as well as the state of modern cardiology, listen to this recent conversation he had with NPR Fresh Air host Terry Gross.

And for one simple step you can take to improve your own heart health, grab that pint of blueberries in your fridge and read about the new research study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that reports the benefit of a cup a day of blueberries to lessen your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if you’re overweight and already at risk.