CARDIOPROGRESS
Foundation for the advancement of cardiology

Prenatal Exercise Cuts Common Pregnancy Complications Moderate-intensity physical activity during pregnancy is known to be safe for the mother and foetus, but does it reduce the risk for medical complications? A new up-to-date review summarises the data, including seven meta-analyses, which establishes that prenatal exercise prevents hypertension disorders in pregnancy (HDP), including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). These are the most common medical complications of pregnancy, affecting up to 15% of pregnant women.

Heart Failure, Not Stroke, Most Common Complication of A-Fib The lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) increased from 2000 to 2022 from one in four to one in three, a Danish population-based study of temporal trends found.

Incremental value of machine learning for risk prediction in tetralogy of Fallot Machine learning (ML) can facilitate prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). We sought to determine the incremental value of ML above expert clinical judgement for risk prediction in rTOF.

Can Treating Depression Mitigate CVD Risk? Depression is linked to a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in women, new data from a large retrospective cohort study show. Researchers suggest that screening and treating patients for depression may lead to a decreased incidence of CVD.

Gout Increases the Risk for a Wide Range of Cardiovascular Diseases People with gout are 58% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new analysis. This increased risk was observed across 12 different cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure, arrhythmias, and valve diseases.

Artificially Sweetened Drinks Linked to Increased AF Risk Drinking 2 L or more of artificially sweetened drinks per week was associated with a 20% increased risk for atrial fibrillation (AF) in a new observational study.

Spinal Cord Injury Tied to Greater Risk for Heart Disease Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a significantly greater risk for heart disease than the general non-SCI population, especially among those with severe disability, new observational data suggested.

Good Performance for Universal CVD Risk Prediction Model A universal cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction tool performs well in patients with and without atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), a new study showed, suggesting this model could facilitate transition from primary to secondary prevention by streamlining risk classification.

Long-term cardiac follow-up of athletes infected with SARS-CoV-2 after resumption of elite-level sports Longitudinal consequences and potential interactions of COVID-19 and elite-level sports and exercise are unclear. Therefore, scientists determined the long-term detrimental cardiac effects of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the highest level of sports and exercise.

Deaths Linked to Substance Use, CVD on the Rise Deaths caused by both substance use (SU) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased substantially in the United States between 1999 and 2019, with the most pronounced rise among women, American Indians, younger people, rural residents, and users of cannabis and psychostimulants, results of new research suggest.

Novel PCSK9 Inhibitor Reduced LDL by 50% Lerodalcibep, a novel, third-generation proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by more than 50% after 1 year in patients with or at a high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), new phase 3 results showed.

ACC/AHA Issue Updated Atrial Fibrillation Guideline The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have issued an updated guideline for preventing and optimally managing atrial fibrillation (AF).

AHA Flags Barriers to Women in Interventional Specialties A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) addresses barriers to entry and retention of women in interventional vascular fields, including interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, and vascular surgery, and proposes potential solutions.

New Marker of Cardiovascular Risk Discovered in T2D A significant quantity of dysfunctional monocytes appears to indicate poor cardiovascular prognosis in patients with type 2 diabetes.

New Score Predicts Risk for Death on Heart Transplant List Allocation score, called the US candidate risk score (US-CRS), outperformed the current therapy-based 6-status system in rank ordering heart transplant candidates by medical urgency.

Near-Death Experiences During CPR: An Impetus for Better Care If someone has been in cardiac arrest for 10 minutes, the brain is permanently damaged and there's nothing to do, right? Not so according to emerging evidence that suggests that the brain shows signs of electrical recovery for as long as an hour into ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This time between cardiac arrest and awakening can be a period of vivid experiences for the dying patient before they return to life — a phenomenon known as "recalled death."

Novel Biomarkers for Aortic Stenosis Identified A new analysis that used plasma proteomics, cardiac imaging, and event surveillance of participants in a longitudinal cohort study identified 52 circulating proteins with significant links to aortic valve (AV) hemodynamics and the risk for AV-related hospitalizations. Two of these biomarkers had particularly robust associations.

Recommendations for magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices Over the last several decades, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has become the diagnostic modality of choice for several conditions, cardiac and non-cardiac. However, MR uses a static magnetic field, gradient magnetic fields and pulsed radiofrequency energy, all of which may interact with metallic and electronic components within the field. As such, patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) have traditionally been precluded from MR imaging given the potential harm from mechanical force and torque, heating and tissue damage, unwanted myocardial stimulation or electrical reset.

Cancer Identified as a New Cardiovascular Risk Factor A history of cancer is an independent predictor of major cardiovascular events in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Cancer should be considered a new cardiovascular risk factor in primary and secondary prevention.

Management of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a disease characterised by fibrofatty replacement of the ventricular myocardium due to specific mutations, leading to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Treating this condition can be challenging due to progressive fibrosis, phenotypic variations and small patient cohorts limiting the feasibility of conducting meaningful clinical trials.