CARDIOPROGRESS
Foundation for the advancement of cardiology

Ventilatory Efficiency Impaired in Hypertension Patients with hypertension have elevated VE/VCO2 slope compared with age-matched normotensive controls, indicating ventilatory inefficiency during exercise. VE/VCO2 slopes may help identify increased cardiac risk in patients with hypertension.

Support for Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair: Mini Mitral Published The UK Mini Mitral trial, showing that mitral valve repair with the less invasive minithoracotomy approach achieved similar outcomes compared with sternotomy, has now been published.

Frailty Linked to Lower Use of Guideline Treatments in HFrEF Physical frailty is significantly associated with reduced prescribing of guideline-recommended drugs in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.

More Rehospitalizations for Younger Women 1-Year Post-MI Younger women (those aged 18-55) have more adverse outcomes than men in the year after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and are at greater risk for both cardiac and noncardiac rehospitalizations, a new analysis of the VIRGO study suggests.

LAA Closure Outcomes Improve With CCTA: Swiss-Apero Subanalysis The largest multicenter randomized trial to date of CT angiography before left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) to treat atrial fibrillation has added to the evidence that the imaging technique on top of transesophageal echocardiography achieves a higher degree of short- and long-term success than TEE alone.

Up to 60% of stroke survivors may develop cognitive decline within a year Up to 60% of all stroke survivors develop memory and thinking problems within a year, and one-third go on to develop dementia within five years.

Risk of rehospitalization in younger women after heart attack nearly double that of men Women aged 55 years and younger have nearly double the risk of rehospitalization in the year immediately after a heart attack compared to men of similar age, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Cancer and heart disease services put at risk by coronavirus response UK Biobank study suggests heart scans could help identify early damage and guide post-treatment care.

Recognizing efforts to reduce the burden of cardiovascular and kidney disease in type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes of premature cardiovascular death and significantly contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and kidney disease.

Statin Primary Prevention Trial in HIV Halted for Efficacy An international clinical trial testing statin therapy for primary cardiovascular prevention in people living with HIV has been stopped early due to strong evidence of efficacy and safety in this population.

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.

AHA Issues Advice on Incidentally Identified CVD Gene Variants The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued guidance on how to handle genetic tests that unexpectedly find gene variants associated with inherited cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Does New Heart Transplant Method Challenge Definition of Death? The relatively recent innovation of heart transplantation after circulatory death of the donor is increasing the number of donor hearts available and leading to many more lives on the heart transplant waiting list being saved. Experts agree it's a major and very welcome advance in medicine.

Spanish company closes a financing round of one million euros Spanish Company a spin-off from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the UPC and the University of Barcelona (UB), has successfully closed a funding round led by Grow Ventures together with Namarel Ventures and Inveniam Group where they have secured more than one million euros.

Insomnia, Short Sleep Linked to Greater Risk for MI Insomnia — difficulty falling or staying asleep — was associated with a 69% greater risk of having a myocardial infarction (MI) than among adults without insomnia, according to new research.

New ACC, AHA, SCAI Interventional Cardiology Training Guidance The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) have jointly issued new guidance outlining competency-based advanced training requirements for interventional cardiology trainees.

Guidance for PCI Without Onsite Surgical Backup Updated The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions has issued an updated expert consensus statement to provide clearer guidance on what percutaneous coronary angioplasty cases can be done in outpatient settings such as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and office-based laboratories and which are best left to more traditional settings, such as hospitals with full cardiac support.

3 challenges to watch in global health in 2023 For the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, people working in the infectious diseases and global health spheres were largely focused on the new disease. In 2022, however, gears shifted. Covid didn’t go away, but diseases like flu that had been held in abeyance by the new virus and the measures we used to slow its spread — well, they’re baaack. From late summer onward in the United States, hospitals have been packed with people sick with one respiratory illness or another.

ADA Advises New BP, Lipid Targets for People With Diabetes New more aggressive targets for blood pressure and lipids are among the changes to the annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care in Diabetes — 2023. The document, long considered the gold standard for care of the more than 100 million Americans living with diabetes and prediabetes, was published December 12 as a supplement in Diabetes Care. The guidelines are also accessible to doctors via an app; last year's standards were accessed more than 4 million times.