July 2024 News Roundup

Every month, Section Editor L.A. McKeown curates a roundup of recent news tidbits from journals and medical meetings around the globe.

A review article in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology summarizes what’s known about the prevalence and management of ACS in cancer patients from different backgrounds. Compared with those who are white and/or affluent, patients who belong to racial/ethnic minority groups and/or are socioeconomically deprived have higher CV risk burden, have less access to primary care, receive less guideline-recommended therapy according to affordability, and have lower rates and delayed times to revascularization.

In patients with advanced chronic kidney disease, starting ACE inhibitors or ARB therapy may protect against kidney failure and need for dialysis, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Use of the medical therapies did not impact on risk of death, however.

A diverse expert panel has published their ideas for transforming shared decision-making from “an unfunded, poorly implemented mandate” into an efficient and streamlined process that brings clinicians and patients together for lifetime management of CV conditions. In their paper published in JACC: Advances, the panel outlines discussion tools, multidisciplinary needs, competencies, and the importance of well-defined care goals that allow patients to make their preferences and needs regarding treatment known so that it aligns with the care decisions their clinicians make.

The July/August issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing features the topic of maternal-child CV health. Among the articles is a study on the influence of COVID-19 pandemic-related distress and maternal mental health on postpartum lifestyle behaviors in people who had a prior hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.

An analysis of patients in the ARISE-HF trial suggests significant racial and ethnic differences in baseline characteristics of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Overall, Black patients had poorer health status, more reduced physical activity, and a greater impairment in exercise capacity during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Hispanic patients also showed compromised cardiopulmonary exercise testing functional capacity, the authors report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Compared with men, women who survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are at greater risk of developing anxiety and depression. In the first year, there was a 50% rise in antidepressant prescription in women that was not mirrored in men, the researchers note in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. This tapered off to around a 20% increase in prescriptions after 5 years.

A reexamination of race-based practices in sports cardiology is necessary to understand disparities in sudden cardiac death risk, false-positive cardiac screening rates, and the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy given the limited evidence base that currently exists in diverse athletic populations, a review article published in JAMA Cardiology asserts. “Understanding background risks and the negative potential of biased prior data for normative standards, along with transitioning to a race-conscious approach in the clinical care of athletes, are essential steps to ensuring healthy and equitable outcomes for diverse athletic populations,” the authors write.

Helping children understand hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the goal of a new book out next month called “Lindsay's Big Heart.” Written by a cardiologist, the book follows two kids as they learn about blood tests, ECGs, and echocardiograms, explaining HCM in a fear-free way to help them see that with specialized treatment they can keep doing all the things they love.

A new resource for patients with popliteal artery aneurysms can be accessed—for free—in the latest issue of Vascular Medicine. The page walks patients and clinicians through symptoms, diagnosis, and management options.

A state-of-the-art review paper provides a comprehensive guide for redo transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) procedures. Published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, the paper details the design characteristics of TAV devices, device compatibility, standardized terminology, and a structured approach for CT analysis. “It aims to facilitate decision-making, risk identification, and achieving optimal outcomes in redo TAV procedures,” the authors write.

News Highlights From TCTMD:

For Pragmatic RCTs, Patient-Reported ‘Hard’ Events Fall Short

Improved Lipids With Gastric Bypass Linked to Surgery Itself, Not Weight Loss

FDA to Add New Diversity Requirements for Certain Clinical Studies

Ideal Aspirin Dose in Secondary Prevention Doesn’t Differ Much by Sex