TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for July 2021

Top news this month was a refreshing mix of primary and secondary prevention, structural heart disease, acute MI pharma and interventions, new drug indications/approvals, and a lone COVID-19 story relating to vaccine-associated myocarditis. The TCTMD team has also been busy this month covering the HRS, TVT, SCCT, and ESC HF meetings. Find all of our meeting news on our conference coverage page.

1. Latest Statin Risk-Benefit Analysis: More Harm Than Good?

A study sought to quantify benefits and harms but in so doing may serve only to reopen old grievances, one critic insists.

2. More Evidence Links Myocarditis to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

The benefits are thought to outweigh the risks, but the data still “emphasize the need for us to be vigilant,” one expert says.

3. Traditional Cath Lab Practices Scrutinized, Some Debunked, in AHA Statement

“I think this is going to be somewhat practice-changing,” says Sripal Bangalore, who led the effort. It may also cut costs.

4. Empagliflozin Succeeds in HFpEF: EMPEROR-Preserved Top-line Results

The trial met its primary endpoint showing the SGLT2 inhibitor cuts CV death/hospitalization in this hard-to-treat subset.

5. FDA Approves Finerenone for Adults With CKD and Type 2 Diabetes

The approval was based on FIDELIO-DKD, which showed less CKD progression and fewer CV events versus placebo.

6. Predictors of Device-Related Thrombus Following LAA Occlusion

Thrombus formation has emerged as the Achilles’ heel of this intervention—a new score may help with risk prediction.

7. Fivefold Increase in Impella Use for Cardiogenic Shock in Acute MI: US Data

The observational data also hint at higher in-hospital mortality compared with IABP, but only an RCT can rule out confounders.

8. NOTION at 8 Years: TAVI Still Comparable to Surgery

The results stirred a debate about the necessity of preprocedural surgical evaluation in all patients with severe aortic stenosis.

9. Studies Explore Post-MI Use of Beta-blockers, Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists

“We need to not forget about the old therapies” as newer drugs and interventions are introduced, one researcher says.

10. Statin Decisions Gain From Scoring of Coronary Artery Calcium: MESA

CAC should be checked like lipid values to help guide patient-specific decision-making, said Jaideep Patel.

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Also this month:

OFF SCRIPT Behind Every Tweet, a Person: Firsthand Lessons in Twitter Decorum

When a casual tweet is misconstrued, a physician initially second-guesses her online reputation, then resolves to learn.