Meetings

Patients who took an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor while undergoing cancer treatment with high-dose anthracycline chemotherapy did not show any difference in troponin T levels, a biomarker associated with heart damage, at one month after their last chemotherapy dose compared with those who did not take an ACE inhibitor, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

People with high blood pressure saw their systolic blood pressure drop by 7 mmHg, on average, and experienced improvements in other markers of blood vessel health after receiving daily smartphone messages designed to cultivate spirituality for 12 weeks, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

People with a small aortic annulus, a part of the heart’s anatomy where the left ventricle meets the aorta, who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a supra-annular self-expanding valve saw similar clinical outcomes and superior valve performance at one year compared with those who underwent TAVR with a balloon-expandable valve, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

People with diabetes who had suffered a heart attack derived no clinical benefit from edetate disodium-based chelation, a therapy that draws lead and other toxic metals linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke out of the body, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

Implantation of the Impella CP micro-axial flow pump in the hours after a heart attack significantly increased the rate of survival at six months among people suffering cardiogenic shock, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

People who have had a heart attack or who are at risk for a heart attack and who stopped taking aspirin alongside the P2Y₁₂ inhibitor ticagrelor one month after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) saw a significantly reduced risk of clinically meaningful bleeding with no increased risk of clotting-related adverse events at 12 months compared with patients who continued taking aspirin and ticagrelor for a full year, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

Taking beta blockers after a heart attack did not significantly reduce the risk of death or a second heart attack among people with normal heart pumping ability, as indicated by an ejection fraction of 50% or higher, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

A new investigational drug called olezarsen holds promise for substantially reducing triglyceride levels without significant adverse effects, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

In patients with severely elevated triglyceride levels at risk for developing acute pancreatitis, the investigational drug plozasiran reduced triglyceride levels by an average of 74% after 24 weeks of use without causing any significant safety concerns, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

 Among patients at high or very high risk for a heart attack or stroke, the addition of the investigational drug lerodalcibep to standard cholesterol-lowering medication for one year reduced LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, levels by more than half on average, compared with a placebo. In addition, 90% of patients treated with lerodalcibep, versus 16% of those on placebo, attained the newer, more stringent guideline-recommended LDL targets set by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and other expert organizations. The research was presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session. 

Strategies such as earning points or small amounts of money encouraged people at high risk for heart disease or stroke to increase their daily walking by about 10% and sustain the increase for a year, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.