March 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.

Following a stroke, non-Hispanic Black patients are less likely to be treated for complications like arousal/fatigue, spasticity, and mood disorders than Hispanic or non-Hispanic white patients, a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds. The racial and ethnic differences were greatest at 14 days and persisted for at least 1 year, which the researchers say outlines the importance of early identification and management.

Remote monitoring devices including defibrillators with sophisticated algorithms, implantable pulmonary artery pressure sensors, and wearable trackers that measure thoracic impedance hold promise for reducing heart failure hospitalizations. In a review published in Current Opinion in Cardiology, investigators synthesize what is known so far and how ongoing trials are expected to shed more light on these technologies.

Social determinants and lifestyle factors contribute to variations in cardiovascular risk factors and diseases across Asian subpopulations, researchers report in a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology. Filipino adults had the highest burden, while Chinese adults had the lowest burden. According to the authors, the findings show the importance of disaggregating health data for Asian adults “to inform targeted public health strategies to address cardiovascular health inequities in this population.”

In an historic move, President Biden this month signed an executive order aimed at expanding research on an extensive range of women’s health issues across the lifespan. The order directs the National Institutes of Health to spend $200 million to fund new, interdisciplinary women’s health research, including deep dives into the impact of perimenopause and menopause on heart, brain, and bone health.

Standard calculators are likely to underestimate cardiovascular risk in people with HIV, particularly among women and Black or African-American adults, an analysis from the REPRIEVE trial suggests. According to the researchers, who presented the data recently at the 2024 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), the findings suggest the need for updated tools to facilitate precision, high-quality care of diverse population living with HIV and underscore the importance of  representative inclusion in clinical trials. 

In patients requiring stem cell transplants, cardiovascular risk should be evaluated before the procedure and long-term monitoring for cardiovascular complications should be implemented after surgery, according to a study published in JACC: CardioOncology. In the contemporary cohort, allogeneic recipients and those with preexisting CV comorbidities were at increased risk for posttransplant heart failure.

Nonphysician patient care providers can improve the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral disease by incorporating PAD screening for their at-risk patients, investigators say. In a review article published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, the authors encourage pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to be vigilant about PAD “to improve access for appropriate earlier diagnosis, initiation of guideline directed therapy, and risk factor modification in order to reduce both major adverse CV and limb outcomes.”

New data from the largest study of CV health outcomes and risk factors in American Indian adults indicate that more than 70% of those aged 20-39 and 50% of teens have abnormal or elevated cholesterol. Writing in the Journal of the American Heart Association, investigators say “this population is likely to benefit from a variety of evidence‐based interventions including screening, educational, lifestyle, and guideline‐directed medical therapy at an early age.”

Having depression is associated with an increased risk of CVD events in both men and women, with a more pronounced link seen in women, a study in JACC: Asia suggests. “Healthcare providers should incorporate routine screening and treatment for depression into standard clinical practice for all patients, regardless of gender as the results of this study show that depression has an adverse effect on the development of CVD in both men and women,” the authors write.

In patients with newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism, surgery was associated with a 24% lower risk of MACE than antithyroid medical therapy and radioactive iodine (RAI) was associated with a 55% lower risk of MACE. Writing in JAMA Network Open, the investigators say the study of more than 114,000 people suggests that “surgery or RAI may be better options than long-term [medical therapy] in patients with hyperthyroidism who are at risk of MACE.”

News Highlights From TCTMD:

Cognitive Impairment a Real Concern in HF Patients: HFSA

SAFE-MCS: Monitoring System Intercepts Bleeding in High-risk PCI

Occupational Hazard? CTO Cases Drive Up Operators’ BP, Heart Rates

ACC Updates HFrEF Decision Pathway, Reinforcing the Four Pillars of Therapy

Plastic Debris Found in Carotid Plaque Linked to More Adverse CV Events