Decades of medical wisdom are being called into question after a new study suggests some people with heart disease might be undergoing surgery they don't need. CBC - Health Common heart procedures such as stents and bypass surgery don't prevent heart attacks or deathsmore often than cholesterol-lowering drugs and lifestyle changesfor millions of Americans with stable heart disease, a new, federally funded study shows Continue reading →

This interview was recorded on November 16, 2019, at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and is a collaboration between MDedge and Medscape. It is published on both websites. This transcript has been edited for clarity. Continue reading →

MONDAY, Nov. Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA New randomized trial results show early aortic valve replacement (AVR) resulted in a lower risk for operative mortality or death from cardiovascular causes compared with conservative care in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. Secondary analysis also showed a reduced risk for all-cause mortality, the researchers report Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA Treatment with empagliflozin, a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, was associated with reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure when compared with use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists, according to interim analysis of the EMPRISE study. Findings were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2019 in Philadelphia, PA. The EMPRISE trial was designed to evaluate the first 5 years of empagliflozin use in the US (2014-2019) Continue reading →

A new study, Comparative Effectiveness and Costs of Impella vs. Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump in the United States, was presented by Amit Amin, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, at AHA 2019 on Sunday morning late-breaking session. The study illustrated apparent risks associated with different types of devices used in percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI). Continue reading →

Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D. The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $12 million to Cleveland Clinic researchers to study the critical link between gut microbial pathways and the development of cardiometabolic diseases. The team is led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D, director of Cleveland Clinics Center for Microbiome & Human Health Continue reading →

New results from a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the TWILIGHT trial showed that BRILINTA (ticagrelor) monotherapy reduced the risk of clinically relevant bleeding compared to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) over 12 months in high-risk patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). The pre-specified subgroup analysis included 5,739 patients (64% of the overall TWILIGHT trial cohort of 9,006 patients) who had undergone successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with at least one drug eluting stent (DES) for NSTE-ACS Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Emergency room visits for high blood pressure surged following last year's recall of the popular heart drug valsartan, Canadian researchers report. Within the first month of the recall, there was a 55% increase of people coming to Ontario-area emergency departments complaining of high blood pressure, said lead researcher Cynthia Jackevicius Continue reading →