November 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.

Diets high in ultra-processed foods may increase the risk of developing hypertension over time by more than 20%, according to a subanalysis of the REGARDS study. Comparisons of 9-year risk differed by race, with Black individuals showing greater risk over time for some metrics associated with a high ultra-processed diet versus a diet low in ultra-processed food. Writing in Hypertension, the researchers say future research in this area is needed to uncover potential differences in the intakes of ultra-processed food subgroups that may underpin racial disparities in hypertension risk.             

In a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA), a multidisciplinary committee reviews the importance of partnering with primary care colleagues to help patients optimize the key measures of Life’s Essential 8: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep, body mass index, blood lipid level, blood glucose level, and blood pressure. The paper is published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

People who talk in their sleep may be at greater risk of stroke, according to a study of 8,001 Chinese adults. The risk was found to be independent of traditional risk factors, with longer duration of sleep talking being associated with higher risk, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

A combination of high-speed video and an artificial intelligence-powered algorithm shows promise as a no-contact screening method for both blood pressure and diabetes, according to an abstract presented at the recent American Heart Association 2024 Scientific Sessions. The investigators say the system, which is being clinically tested in Japan, “also represents a significant leap towards inclusive, accessible healthcare prevention and management strategies” and could one day be used for monitoring at home.

Liberal use of follow-up transesophageal echocardiography at 6 months may hold the key to improving patient outcomes after mitral valve repair by detecting complications that might otherwise not be seen on standard imaging, according to a study published in EuroIntervention.

A multistate model that enables real-time risk recalculations may help improve risk stratification for prediction of impending adverse events in ambulatory patients who have a left ventricular assist device, a secondary analysis of the MOMENTUM 3 trial published in JACC: Heart Failure indicates.

In women with a history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) during pregnancy or shortly after delivery, risk factors for recurrence include interrupted pregnancies, lower limb deep vein thrombosis, and AB blood group, a French study of more than 580 women suggests. Writing in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, the researchers note that about one-third of women studied had a recurrence over a 30-year follow-up period.

An hourglass-shaped stent (Shockwave Reducer; Shockwave Medical) designed to narrow the coronary sinus and improve blood flow shows promise for improving angina, quality of life, and coronary microvascular function in patients with angina with no obstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA). In a paper published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, investigators say the small trial also suggests that the stent improves endothelium-dependent and -independent microvascular function.

Published 3-year outcomes from the SURMOUNT-1 trial provide insight into the long-term efficacy of the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist tirzepatide (Mounjaro; Eli Lilly) in patients with obesity and prediabetes. In addition to a sustained mean reduction in body weight of about 20%, only 10 of 762 patients in the study progressed to type 2 diabetes, the researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A comparison of outcomes after PCI, CABG, TAVI, and SAVR in patients with severe CAD and aortic stenosis treated between 2018 and 2021 suggests that a CABG and SAVR approach was associated with a higher rate of death and stroke at 30 days compared with PCI and TAVI. Reporting the results in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, the investigators say while the findings mainly apply to those at low-intermediate risk, they point to the need for randomized studies in patients with CAD and aortic stenosis.

News Highlights From TCTMD:

Talking Sex: CVD Patients Want to Hear More From Clinicians

Audits and Feedback Aid Pharmacist-Driven HF Care: PHARM-HF A&F

Lipid Fluctuations Over Time May Portend Dementia: ASPREE

SUMMIT: Tirzepatide a ‘Huge Win’ for HFpEF Patients With Obesity

Advocates Urge Heat Maps and Grassroots Campaigns to Improve PAD Care