This year’s top 5 most-read articles on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) explored expert opinions on treatment approaches, data on newly emerging therapies, the impacts of alcohol, and more.
The top 5 most-read pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) pieces on AJMC.com this year included insights into health care professionals’ opinions on right heart (RH) imaging, the approval of new treatments, treatment outcomes in subpopulations, as well as the influence of alcohol consumption on blood pressure.
These are the top 5 most-read PAH articles of 2023.
5. GERD Treatment May Yield More Favorable PH Outcomes for Patients With Codiagnoses
Current treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) involve medications such as proton pump inhibitors that can reduce the acidity of aspirations in these patients. After observing that patients with pulmonary hypertension also indicated with GERD experience better outcomes, researchers hypothesized that these treatments could have a protective effect for patients enduring lung disease.
4. More Evidence Needed to Clarify the Role of Right Heart Imaging in PAH
A total of 17 experts from the field of pulmonology and cardiology completed 3 assessments on how right heart imaging (RH) influences treatment decisions in PAH. As many agreed on the long-term benefits RH imaging can provide for disease monitoring, survey results expressed a wide degree of variability in RH imaging implementation, stressing the need for improved risk-assessment algorithms and parameters in this area.
3. ICER to Review Sotatercept for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
In the late spring of 2023, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review said it would assess the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of sotatercept as a therapy for PAH. Sotatercept counteracts the underlying mechanism of PAH that consequently constricts pulmonary vessels, making it the first treatment to directly act on the cause of disease. Upon acceptance by the FDA, sotatercept could be available in the US market in 2024.
2. Data for Therapies to Treat Cholesterol, PAH Highlight ACC Scientific Sessions
This year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Session accepted over 4000 abstracts across 84 countries and took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Among the highlighted presentations ahead of the event were those covering value-based care, the development of new treatments for PAH and cholesterol, special topics in cardiology, and more.
Check out all the coverage from ACC 2023.
1. Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure Linked to Alcohol Consumption
Meta-analyses on the relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure increases are lacking, especially regarding more minimal alcohol consumption. To investigate and elucidate this relationship further, investigators conducted systemic search of studies reporting on these associations. Researchers’ findings suggest that elevated systolic blood pressure and alcohol consumption have a direct and linear relationship and, alarming, no threshold seems to exist here.
Diagnostic Oversights Limit Luspatercept Benefits in MDS
May 8th 2024Investigators of a retrospective study encourage colleagues to utilize molecular testing for patients with an established diagnosis of lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), to be sure they don’t miss out on treatments, like luspatercept, for which they qualify.
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CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
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Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Joint Commission is launching the Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program to standardize staff training and patient care practices at rural health clinics nationwide; the American Cancer Society recently launched the largest-ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women; the HHS COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved $732 billion by preventing illness and related costs.
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