TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for March 2022

COVID-19 again held the spotlight this month, with TCTMD’s Dispatch taking the lead. But the rest of the top 10 stories for March cover a wide mix: the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)’s response to the war in Ukraine, data on skipping stents in STEMI, an advance for CT angiography, pregnancy’s high price tag for women cardiologists, as well as sad news about the world’s first pig heart transplant. And, the US approval of empagliflozin in HFpEF continued to draw readers. Yet another story honored the life of stent pioneer Dr. José Eduardo Sousa. Two TCTMD feature articles also made the cut: one explored whether cardiologists should treat their own family members, while the other envisioned aortic valves of the future.

1. COVID-19 TCTMD’s COVID-19 Dispatch

2. ESC Bars Russian and Belarusian Cardiologists, Sparking Mixed Reactions

Some say it’s necessary. Others say it unfairly isolates colleagues in no way involved with the conflict in Ukraine.

              SEE ALSO: Russian, Belarusian Societies Respond to ESC Decision

3. No Stents in STEMI? With Careful Selection, Maybe

Data from DANAMI3-DEFER hint that it can be safe in some patients who have adequate flow and minimal residual stenosis.

4. FEATURE Bloodlines: How Far Should Cardiologists Go in Treating Family?

One interventional cardiologist put five stents in her father. Many others said this risks objectivity, ethics, and potentially outcomes.

5. FEATURE Aortic Valve Replacement: What’s on the Wish List for Future Devices?

Innovators are probing new materials and delivery systems, but the hunt for ways to curb or reverse calcification is wide open.

6. Stent Pioneer José Eduardo Sousa Dies, Age 88

Sousa was the first cardiologist to deploy a Palmaz-Schatz stent, in 1987, and the first to implant a drug-eluting stent, in 1999.

7. David Bennett, First Transplant Recipient of a Pig Heart, Dies

Bennett survived 2 months after the transplantation and doctors praised his role for moving the science forward.

8. FDA Approves Empagliflozin for Treatment of HFpEF

Empagliflozin is the first approved SGLT2 inhibitor in the US for reducing hard outcomes in HF patients with preserved EF.

9. DISCHARGE Hailed as a Big Step Forward for CTA in Stable Chest Pain

While not superior to invasive coronary angiography, workup based on CT angiography was linked to a similar risk of long-term MACE, but with fewer complications.

10. Women Cardiologists Pay a Steep Price for Childbearing

More than an inconvenience—job difficulties faced during pregnancy may well be illegal, not to mention unsafe.

This weekend, the TCTMD team descends on Washington, DC, to attend the American College of Cardiology 2022 Scientific Session. You can find all our news coverage here. And if you’re there on-site, do come say hello! Also, check out our top blogs and videos, all of which highlight Ukraine: the latest Fellow Talk, Off Script, and Beyond the Data.