Heart disease continues to claim a life in the United States every 34 seconds, but many of those deaths can be prevented, doctors say.

For the first time since 2018, medical guidelines on how doctors help heart patients have been updated.

The overall framework of care has remained the same, but the update focuses on identifying who is likely to develop heart disease or experience a cardiac event before it happens.

Doctors are now using a new tool known as a Prevent Calculator.

“It’s a much more modern risk calculator that incorporates more modern information,” said Dr. Jim Liu, a cardiologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “It also looks at a much bigger population.”

The updated guidance reflects advances in treatment and screening.

“There’s been a lot of new updates in terms of how we treat high cholesterol, new medications, and new tests that we can run,” Liu said. “So this is kind of a much‑needed update.”

Doctors say the guidelines place a stronger emphasis on early intervention.

For patients categorized as very high risk, the recommendations include regular exercise, not smoking and prioritizing healthy sleep habits.

Medical experts say identifying risk earlier gives patients and doctors a better chance to prevent serious heart problems before symptoms begin.