TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for January 2022

Most of our top stories for January related to how COVID-19, either the disease itself or vaccination to prevent it, might impact the cardiovascular system. Also hot were feature stories on inclisiran’s rollout and the world’s first genetically modified heart xenotransplantation. A comparison of direct oral anticoagulants, sex and sudden death, plus the surgeon societies’ response to new revascularization guidelines also made the list.

1. COVID-19 CDC Extends COVID-19 Boosters to Adolescents, but Myocarditis Is Top of Mind

Data from Israel, albeit based on small numbers, eased concerns about myocarditis after additional Pfizer/BioNTech shots.

2. COVID-19 TCTMD’s Dispatch

We update our Dispatch with the top research and health policy news, as well as media highlights, three times per week.

3. Pricey Inclisiran Is Rolling Out: a ‘Buy-and-Bill’ Model May Smooth Its Path

At $6,500 per year, without outcomes data, inclisiran faces hurdles. Doctors still expect it to be “transformative.”

4. COVID-19 As COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Roll Out to Younger Kids, Will Myocarditis Cases Rise?

Early numbers hint the already low risk could be even lower after boosters. Pediatric cardiologists—and parents—weigh in.

5. Apixaban Appears Safer, More Effective Than Rivaroxaban in Medicare Study

The findings “offer pretty compelling evidence that apixaban is the better drug,” a researcher says.

6. Surgeon Groups Explain Why They Didn’t Endorse New CAD Revascularization Guidelines

With three primary grievances, plus representation issues, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons are seeking changes to guideline-writing processes.

7. FEATURE Realistic Expectations Emerge After Initial Excitement Over Xenotransplant

Physicians and innovators point to cost, immunosuppression, and genetic engineering challenges, but they remain hopeful.

              SEE ALSO: With First-in-Human Porcine Heart Transplant, a New Chapter Begins

8. Cardiac Abnormalities Seen After COVID-19, but Recovery Is Quick

In people who mostly recovered at home, heart inflammation was mild and transient, which experts say is reassuring.

9. Hearts, Lungs, Kidneys: Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Leaves a Mark

Testing patients months after their disease can uncover “tiny, subclinical changes,” German data show.

10. Young People With Cardiac Conditions Rarely Die From Sex

The data should reassure young adults with a new cardiac diagnosis, who often have questions about the safety of sex.

Plus, kick off the New Year with the latest episode of On Record: What's Broken in Cardiology and How It Might Be Fixed, where Roger Blumenthal and Armin Zadeh argue for prioritizing prevention and prognostics heading into 2022. On the Heart Sounds podcast this month, professional artist and cardiologist Nazanin Moghbeli explains how art offers a refuge from, and insights into, her clinical practice.