Cardiovascular

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center and Harvard Medical School, presented the latest round of data from REDUCE-IT at the American Society of Preventive Cardiology Virtual Summit 2020 this morning

Transient ischemic attack is a common form of stroke, and 1 in 4 stroke survivors go on to experience a second stroke—most within the first month.

A finding that ertugliflozin produced a 30% drop in heart failure hospitalization risk fell outside the study’s primary and secondary end points; here, the drug performed within range of its class, the sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors.

Many in the endocrinology community still endorse using metformin first in patients with type 2 diabetes, but that isn’t really necessary any more now that sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are available, said Darren K. McGuire, MD, MHSc, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology, Dallas Heart Ball Chair for Research on Heart Disease in Women, Distinguished Teaching Professor, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Yale's Silvio Inzucchi, MD, who has been involved in groundbreaking trials with SGLT2 inhibitors for the past decade, shared data that show patients who did not have type 2 diabetes (T2D) when they started the DAPA-HF trial were 32% less likely to develop the disease if they took dapagliflozin (Farxiga) instead of placebo.

When it comes to diabetes, lead study author Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, said clinicians and payers should weigh the considerable costs of what happens when a patient suffers a heart attack or stroke when deciding on a treatment regimen.

In a debate at the American Diabetes Association 80th Scientific Sessions, Darren K. McGuire, MD, MHSc, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology, Dallas Heart Ball Chair for Research on Heart Disease in Women, Distinguished Teaching Professor, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will discuss whether sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are ready to be used for primary cardiovascular prevention.

Recently, it has been shown that the mechanism by which glucose is managed can have a substantial impact on cardiovascular outcomes. For this reason, along with increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), effective, patient-centered management of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with diabetes is imperative to optimize patient outcomes, the American Heart Association said.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was linked with cardiovascaluar issues and cardiac arrest; African Americans were shown to have higher rates of infection and death due to COVID-19; health experts call for smokers to cease use and manufacturers to halt production.

The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC® ) interviewed Martha Gulati, MD, cardiologist at Banner – University Medicine Heart Institute, on findings of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels in relation to cardiovascular outcomes and smoking cessation with e-cigarettes. These studies are part of the 2020 American College of Cardiology / World Congress of Cardiology Virtual Experience.

In VICTORIA, patients within the first 3 quartiles of peptide elevation had results more impressive than the overall findings. However, patients with the highest quartile did not seem to benefit. This raises the question whether the sickest of the sick patients will benefit from vericiguat, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi.

We need more than ever credible clinical data both on the pandemic, but also how to understand how the pandemic’s going to affect patients in the cardiovascular field, said Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC, clinical cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

Results from VICTORIA show vericiguat produced a 10% relative risk reduction in the highest-risk patients with heart failure. Study patients had about 3 times the health risk seen in recent heart failure trials, which showed higher relative risk reductions. However, VICTORIA saw a 4% absolute risk reduction, which is the same as the others, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi.

A study found potential age bias in heart care for patients on different sides of their 80th birthday; 2 passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship die of coronavirus; California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined several mental health proposals to address homelessness in the state.

The 6 finalists will pitch their innovations at Google’s campus February 27 for a chance to win up to $50,000 in in-kind services from Boston Scientific and Google.

The 2007 paper examined the elevated risks for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes for patients who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.