The HCPLive conference coverage page features articles, videos, and expert-led live coverage from major medical meetings throughout the year.
SAPIEN 3 Improves Outcomes in Intermediate-risk Patients
Compared with earlier generation devices, the SAPIEN 3 heart valve exhibited lower death, stroke, and paravalvular leak rates in high-risk surgery patients and demonstrated encouraging results in intermediate-risk patients.
Bendavia Trial Shows No Benefit in Angioplasty
Researchers had high hopes for the potential tissue-damage mediation capabilities of Bendavia, an experimental drug that targets the mitochondria. But a trial of Bendavia in patients undergoing angioplasty failed to show any significant benefit.
Self-expanding TAVR Preferred Over Surgery
Self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in high-risk aortic stenosis patients produces a more consistent survival rate compared with standard surgery, according to 2-year data presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in San Diego, CA.
PCSK9 Inhibitors: Good News on Evolocumab
A new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs is emerging, known as PCSK9 inhibitors. Reporting on results of a safety and efficacy trial of Amgen's entry in this race, evolocumab, showed it did better than standard therapy when it came to adverse events and cholesterol lowering, and showed promise for reducing cardiac events.
Antidote for Ticagrelor Coming
AstraZeneca researchers report that a new drug call MED12452 is being developed as an antidote for patients who need to reverse the effects of ticagrelor (Brilinta/AstraZeneca) on an emergency basis. That could be important for patients taking ticagrelor who need emergency surgery or are bleeding from an accident.
Heart Screening for Pilots "Not Efficacious"
The time and money involved in screening echocardiography of stress testing in asymptomatic individuals with no cardiac risk factors is likely not worth it, an analysis of the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine's database found
Aged Garlic Extract: Slows CV Risk Factors
Previous studies have revealed Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) retards multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, platelet aggregation, and adhesion, while triggering nitric oxide generation within endothelial cells.
PROMISE Trial: CTA or Stress Test?
The PROMISE Trial (PROspective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of chest pain) showed no improvement in clinical outcomes when using Anatomic CT over functional testing for screening for coronary artery disease, however it did find an overall increase in radiation exposure.
Verghese: Patients Have Two Hearts
Medicine is far more than a science. Physicians should never forget that their patients are more than collections of data and that care is not measured in mouse clicks, physician-author, educator and bedside manner expert extraordinaire Abraham Verghese, MD, told a standing room crowd. His talk "I Carry Your Heart" kicked off the American College of Cardiology's meeting in San Diego, CA.
Dobutamine and Pulmonary Artery Function Studied
In patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) pulmonary artery hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction are common and associated with mortality. A Duke team looked at ways to improve pulmonary vascular tone.
BMI Matters: Predicting Cardiovascular Event Risk
While various epidemiological studies have shown obesity to be linked with inflammation and with increased cardiovascular risk, the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) takes it a step further, strongly predicting the incidence of cardiovascular events.
Obese Patients and Acute Systolic Heart Failure, Latest Findings
Research has consistently identified obesity as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Investigators have also reported on the obesity paradox concept suggesting improved prognosis in patients with obesity presenting with acute coronary syndromes.
Lay Off the Energy Drinks to Maintain Blood Pressure Levels
With a steady rise in energy drink consumption, especially among young adults, several medical studies have connected it to accentuated blood pressure response among caffeine-naïve adults, compared to regular caffeine users.
Comprehensive Health Model Provides Prediabetes Reversal
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study revealed 86 million Americans suffer from prediabetes, a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and nearly half of prediabetic patients were reported to develop frank diabetes.