March 2025 Dispatch for the CV Team

Every month, Section Editor L.A. McKeown curates a roundup of recent news beyond our regular TCTMD coverage, with tidbits from journals and medical meetings around the globe that are of special interest to heart teams and allied cardiovascular professionals.

Compared with women whose systolic blood pressure remains low throughout pregnancy, those with subclinical elevations in the first trimester that do not drop in the second trimester may be at greater risk of developing hypertension within 5 years of giving birth, according to data from MADRES, a longitudinal study of low-income Hispanic women. In a paper published in JACC: Advances, the researchers say their findings point to the need for more targeted monitoring and intervention strategies for at-risk populations.

In patients undergoing CABG, assessing nutritional and inflammatory status with the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) may be a simple way to screen for patients at risk for poor outcomes. A multicenter study of 2,889 Chinese patients published in Heart found that higher PNI levels, both preoperatively and at discharge, were associated with lower risks of short- and long-term all-cause mortality.

Dropping pooled cohort equations (PCE) in favor of the American Heart Association’s Predicting Risk of CVD Events (PREVENT) equation to estimate 10-year risk of atherosclerotic CVD could reclassify about 1.4 million US adults, resulting in lower risk and less need to start antihypertension therapy. The findings, published as a research letter in the Journal of the American Heart Association, are similar to an analysis published last year showing lower risk estimates with the contemporary PREVENT risk calculator, which captures a spectrum of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk.

Hospitals participating in the IMPLEMENT-HF multiregional quality-improvement initiative markedly increased their use of quadruple guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in eligible patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Writing in Circulation: Heart Failure, the researchers say the improvements in prescribing patterns at discharge and at 30 days support this type of initiative for promoting adoption of evidence-based therapies. 

While there has been some progress in managing individual CVD risk factors in patients with diabetes in the United States, composite risk factor control remains poor, particularly in underrepresented and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, data from the All of Us research program show. Approximately 80% of patients studied were at target for HbA1c, with fewer than 40% at target for BP and just 10% at target for LDL cholesterol, according to the paper published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

In postmenopausal women with a history of cancer, logging more than 5,000 daily steps and engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity like brisk walking, running, bike riding, or heavy yardwork for at least 1 hour per day is associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to data from the Women’s Health Accelerometry Collaboration. The study, which was presented at the EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2025, also found that for every 102 minutes of sitting time per day, there was a 12% increased risk of all-cause mortality and a 30% increased risk of CV death.

The incidence of cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) has risen in US states that have enacted restrictive abortion laws since the 2022 court case that overturned Roe v. Wade and put abortion laws in the hands of individual states, according to a study scheduled for presentation at the American College of Cardiology 2025 Scientific Session. Since CCHD can be diagnosed early, the researchers theorize that the increase may be due to families who might have chosen to terminate the pregnancy not having the ability to do so.

Depression in the setting of elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels may foretell poorer outcomes, a study in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine suggests. “The presence of elevated NT-proBNP in depression demonstrated adverse cardiovascular outcomes and played a crucial role in predicting the clinical prognosis. Future NT-proBNP studies with predefined follow-up period[s] at different time intervals, and in clinically depressed patients, are highly recommended,” the authors write.

A novel digital stethoscope coupled with real-time artificial intelligence (AI) analytics and a single-lead ECG shows good discriminatory ability for identifying patients with reduced EF. In JACC: Advances, the researchers report results of the AI technology from a multicenter study of 2,960 adults undergoing echocardiography. “The algorithm showed good performance, with sensitivity and specificity comparable to other common medical screening tests,” they write.

News Highlights From TCTMD:

Newer Weight-Loss Drugs Not Cost-effective at Current Prices

Lower Risk of Mortality for Shock Patients Transferred to Expert Centers

ATTENUATE: Protective Drape Cuts Operator Radiation Dose Across Interventions

SMART: Small Aortic Annuli Still Fare Best With Self-Expandable Valves at 2 Years

Food Insecurity in Adulthood Signals Greater Risk of Later CVD