Cardiology

Indapamide prevents death, cardiac events in at-risk patients

Stephen Padilla, Yesterday

Long-term treatment with indapamide with or without perindopril-based therapy results in a significant reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, fatal stroke, and total stroke among patients with medium to high cardiovascular risk, according to a pooled analysis of four trials.

Indapamide shows low incidence of severe hypokalaemia in patients with hypertension

Sarah Cheung, 2 days ago

In a territory-wide, 12-year follow-up retrospective study by the University of Hong Kong, indapamide has demonstrated a low incidence of hospitalization for severe hypokalaemia in patients with hypertension. Use of sustained-release (SR) indapamide appears to lower the risk of severe hypokalaemia vs the immediate-release (IR) formulation.

Regular virgin olive oil intake lowers mortality risk

Stephen Padilla, 3 days ago

Moderate consumption of virgin olive oil (VOO) daily appears to help reduce the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, reports a study. However, such effects are not found in common olive oil.

HK data: SGLT2 inhibitors cut risks of respiratory and renal diseases in T2DM

Kanas Chan, 3 days ago

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risks of respiratory and renal diseases vs dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have reported.

No drawback to immediate complete revascularization in ACS

Elvira Manzano, 4 days ago

Doing an immediate complete revascularization of coronary artery lesions is as safe as a staged complete revascularization approach in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and multivessel disease in the BIOVASC trial presented at ACC.23/WCC.

EMPULSE trial confirms the efficacy and safety profile of empagliflozin in patients stabilized in hospital following acute heart failure

21 Mar 2023

Empagliflozin is the first SGLT-2i to significantly improve outcomes for patients with HF in any setting (in-hospital/outpatient), across the full spectrum of HF. Results from the EMPULSE trial showed that patients hospitalized for acute HF who were treated with empagliflozin following stabilization had 36% clinical benefit on the composite of mortality, HF events, and KCCQ-TSS improvement. The EMPULSE trial also provides a reassuring safety profile for empagliflozin that is consistent with previous trials.

NCDs in Focus Act Now! Summit 2022

16 Mar 2023

Viatris, a global healthcare company, collaborated with the Thai Hypertension Society and the Thai NCD Collaboration Group to organize the NCDs in Focus Act Now! Summit 2022 in Bangkok on October 29^th and 30^th. This summit brought together nearly 300 multidisciplinary experts from Southeast Asia and India to address the unmet needs in managing two critical noncommunicable diseases (NCDs): cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mental health disorders (MHDs) in the region.

The summit had several key objectives. Firstly, it highlighted the effectiveness of clinical data in addressing gaps and unmet needs in clinical practice. Secondly, it emphasized the importance of sharing expertise and best practices through a platform that can optimize patient care. Additionally, it discussed the challenges of cardiovascular disease and mental health disorder care in a post COVID-19 world, and the need to re-examine them.

The summit also offered valuable insights into policy and practice changes, as well as innovative digital solutions that can lead to better outcomes. Lastly, it emphasized the significance of gaining a deeper understanding of the gaps in the patient journey to enhance patient care further.

Overall, the NCDs in Focus Act Now! Summit 2022 was a highly informative and productive event, with experts collaborating to improve the management of CVDs and MHDs in Southeast Asia and India.

Dapagliflozin DELIVERs across full HF spectrum regardless of LVEF

Elvira Manzano, 04 Oct 2022

The selective, oral sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor dapagliflozin reduces the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death or worsening heart failure (HF) in patients with HF and mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFmrEF or HFpEF) in the phase III DELIVER* trial, touted as the largest and most inclusive thus far in this patient group.

$Empagliflozin: A new dawn for heart failure treatment across the ejection fraction spectrum$

Empagliflozin: A new dawn for heart failure treatment across the ejection fraction spectrum

06 Jun 2022

Initially approved to improve glycaemic control and reduce cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the SGLT-2* inhibitor empagliflozin reduced hospitalization for heart failure (HFH) or cardiovascular death and delayed renal function decline when added to recommended therapy in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in the EMPEROR-Reduced** trial. The EMPEROR-Preserved** trial has now shown that the benefits of empagliflozin extend to patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Early and consistent: Breakthrough results in HFpEF similar to HFrEF

14 Jan 2022

HFpEF represents a significant unmet need in CV medicine due to its prevalence, poor prognosis, and the absence of clinically proven therapeutic options. The EMPEROR-Preserved trial demonstrated the continuous clinical benefits in cardiorenal outcomes of empagliflozin in adults with HFpEF, which were consistent with the observations in adults with HFmrEF/ HFpEF in the EMPEROR-reduced trial. The combined results of the EMPEROR trials establish empagliflozin’s efficacy in heart failure regardless of ejection fraction – and if approved, empagliflozin would become the first and only clinically proven therapy to improve outcomes for the full spectrum of the disease. Therefore, empagliflozin offers a new hope for people living with heart failure.

EMPEROR-Preserved: The first successful trial to improve outcomes in HFpEF

18 Nov 2021

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represents a significant unmet medical need. The EMPEROR-Preserved trial aimed to assess the impact of empagliflozin on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HFpEF. On 27 August 2021, during the hotline session of the 2021 ESC Virtual Congress, the main results of the EMPEROR-Preserved trial were presented by Professor Stefan Anker, principal investigator of the study, and heart failure specialist at Charité Berlin, Germany.

NOACs in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation with multimorbidity: Where does apixaban stand?

02 Nov 2021

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, affecting millions of people globally. Stroke is one of its devastating complications, with the risk steeply increasing with advancing age. Additionally, AF is associated with more than a tripling of the risk of systemic embolic (SE) events. [J Am Heart Assoc 2020;9:e016724]

No drawback to immediate complete revascularization in ACS

Elvira Manzano, 29 Mar 2023

Atorvastatin cardioprotective in lymphoma patients receiving anthracycline?

Elaine Soliven, 25 Mar 2023

Among patients with lymphoma receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy, those who received atorvastatin for 12 months were significantly less likely to experience a cardiac dysfunction than those on placebo, according to the STOP-CA* trial presented at ACC.23/WCC.

Less salt may be fatally counterproductive for people with heart failure

Jairia Dela Cruz, 24 Mar 2023

Too little salt is not necessarily better for individuals with heart failure, with the results of a recent meta-analysis suggesting that sodium restriction in this population increases the risk of death.

Low-carb, high-fat diet: Friend or foe?

Audrey Abella, 24 Mar 2023

Revered by diet enthusiasts as a godsend in the weight loss arena, a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF*) diet appears to take the opposite pole from a cardiovascular (CV) standpoint, as researchers from Canada found high levels of bad cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (apoB) in individuals who adhered to this dietary pattern.

Coordinated care improves use of CVD-preventive therapies in T2D

Stephen Padilla, 23 Mar 2023

A coordinated, multifaceted intervention of assessment, education, and feedback has resulted in an increase in the prescription of recommended, evidence-based therapies in adult patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), reveals a study presented at ACC 2023.

Wrist-worn sensor predicts elevated hs-cTnI in ACS patients

Stephen Padilla, 22 Mar 2023

A novel transdermal infrared spectrophotometric sensor (transdermal-ISS) worn on the wrist may be used for quick and noninvasive prediction of elevated high-sensitivity cardiac Troponin-I (hs-cTnI) in real world settings, according to a study presented at ACC 2023.

Bempedoic acid cuts CV events in statin-intolerant patients

Elaine Soliven, 21 Mar 2023

The use of bempedoic acid significantly reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with high cholesterol who are intolerant to statins in the phase III CLEAR* Outcomes trial presented at ACC.23/WCC.