Articles related to Cardiology, Interventional

Enhancing Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction: Comparing Coronary Artery Calcium and Polygenic Risk Scores A Northwestern University study revealed that both coronary artery calcium and polygenic risk scores significantly influence 10-year risk prediction for coronary heart disease. However, coronary artery calcium score demonstrated superior predictive power, reinforcing the integration of these novel tools in risk prediction models. “What this study says is that in white participants enrolled in 2 observational studies, identifying coronary calcium predicted future cardiac events better than our currently available polygenic risk scores.” Dr. Karol E. Watson, PhD, professor of medicine and cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles

Unraveling Patient Perspectives on DOAC Safety: Key Findings and Implications for Healthcare Practice A recent study that delves into the complex interactions of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) usage offers insightful information about patient experiences and suggests ways to increase patients’ safety and adherence.

Dive into how the FDA-approved Farxiga is changing the heart failure treatment landscape. Colleagues, let’s dive into a remarkable milestone. Farxiga, known as dapagliflozin, now has FDA approval. This is groundbreaking for heart failure treatment. It applies to all patients, regardless of their left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) status. The approval didn’t happen overnight. Let’s talk about the DELIVER trial, a vital part of the process. It involved over 6,000 patients, all over 40. Each had heart failure, LVEF above 40%, and may or may not have had type 2 diabetes. They took either dapagliflozin or a placebo daily, plus their usual therapy. The trial had a clear goal: time to the first composite event. This included CV death, heart failure hospitalization, or an urgent heart failure visit. The goal applied to everyone, including patients with LVEF less than 60%. Fast forward about 2.3 years, the results were significant. Dapagliflozin cut the composite outcome by 18% versus the placebo. Both worsening heart failure and CV death rates dropped in the dapagliflozin group. The best part? These findings were consistent, even in patients with lower LVEF or diabetes. Expanding the picture, let’s consider two trials together: DELIVER and DAPA-HF. Over 22 […]

Diving into intensive systolic BP treatment unveils intriguing cognitive benefits according to a secondary analysis of the SPRINT trial. The SPRINT trial has shed fresh light on the impact of intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) treatment on cognitive health. Out of 7,918 participants, a significant majority with higher baseline risk of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) revealed marked cognitive improvements with intensive SBP treatment. This marks a leap forward in understanding SBP treatment’s role in cognitive function preservation. In the comprehensive secondary analysis, patients were meticulously followed up over a median of four years. To streamline the study, two SBP treatment targets were identified: intensive, set at less than 120 mm Hg, and standard, at less than 140 mm Hg. The data collected showcased 765 and 828 primary outcome events in intensive and standard treatment groups, respectively. Consequently, it confirmed intensive SBP treatment’s potential in reducing the risk of MCI or dementia. Digging deeper into the data, certain trends emerged. Older age, Medicare enrollment, and higher baseline serum creatinine levels correlated with a higher risk of the primary outcome. Conversely, enhanced baseline cognitive functioning and active employment status signified lower risk. Interestingly, higher baseline risk connected directly with greater […]

The study in question presents a prospective randomized trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of percutaneous tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation. Conducted across 65 centers in North America and Europe, 350 patients were randomized into two equal groups, with one group undergoing TEER and the other receiving conventional medical therapy. The primary composite endpoint encompassed factors such as all-cause mortality or tricuspid valve surgery, heart failure hospitalization, and improvement in quality of life as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). Also evaluated were the severity of tricuspid regurgitation and the safety profile of TEER. The trial concluded with results favoring the TEER group (win ratio, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.06-2.13; P=0.02), although rates of death, tricuspid-valve surgery, and heart failure hospitalization showed no significant difference between the two groups. The TEER group exhibited a marked improvement in KCCQ scores compared to the control group (mean change 12.3±1.8 vs. 0.6±1.8; P<0.001) and a significant reduction in the severity of tricuspid regurgitation at the 30-day mark (87.0% TEER group vs. 4.8% control group with tricuspid regurgitation of no greater than moderate severity; P<0.001). The safety profile for TEER was reassuring, with 98.3% of patients […]

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in preventing major adverse cardiac events (MACE) for individuals without preexisting cardiovascular disease. The study included US veterans aged 18 or older who were receiving care from the Veterans Health Administration. The cohort consisted of patients who added either GLP1RA, SGLT2i, or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) to their existing diabetes treatments. The outcomes measured were MACE and heart failure hospitalization. The results showed that the addition of GLP1RA was associated with a lower incidence of MACE and heart failure compared to DPP4i. However, the addition of SGLT2i did not show a significant association with primary prevention of MACE.