TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for March 2025

Our top 10 stories this month capture the diversity of the topics we cover on TCTMD. In the top slot is news that the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has denied the application for a new cardiology board. Also on the list are the Food and Drug Administration’s signoff on tenecteplase for acute ischemic stroke—the first medication approved for the condition in nearly 30 years. News from the American College of Cardiology, CRT, and THT meetings, as well as registry data on devices for valvular heart disease, drew readers as well.

1. New Cardiology Board Shot Down by ABMS

Jeffrey Kuvin, chair of the proposed board, said “we are deeply disappointed” with the decision.

2. FDA Approves Tenecteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke

The approval is based on results of the AcT trial, where tenecteplase was comparable to alteplase for safety and efficacy.

3. Fasting Not Needed Before Cath Lab Procedures: Meta-analysis

It’s “time to get rid of this age-old practice,” said Sripal Bangalore, who noted that patients are happier when not fasting.

4. ACC WARRIOR: No Clear Answers on How to Best Treat INOCA

The “neutral” trial, troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic, found that intensive medical therapy didn’t lower events in INOCA.

5. Take Heed of Sex Differences in Peripheral Vascular Disease: AHA

For many of these conditions, women present later and sicker, and are less likely to be treated appropriately.

6. THT Positive Results With Carillon Mitral Device Seen in Real-world Registries

The device has evolved from one aimed at just functional MR to a broader HF therapy. EMPOWER will provide more insights.

7. ACC Strike Two: BHF PROTECT-TAVI Throws Cold Water on Embolic Protection

Experts are dismayed, disappointed, and confused, but many say this isn’t the end of cerebral embolic protection for TAVI.

8. CRT Need for Rethink of Discharge Medications After LAA Closure? EMERGE

With no differences between single or dual antiplatelet therapy or anticoagulants at 6 months, an RCT is warranted for clarity.

9. Reinterventions Rare Yet Predictable After TAVI, French Registries Show

Procedural planning and attention to detail can help, but heart teams should be realistic about what lies ahead, experts say.

10. Some Mitral TEER Patients Slipping Through the Cracks in the First Month

Out-of-hospital mortality before 30 days was 1.2%, with roughly two-thirds of these patients dying from cardiovascular causes.

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For all recent news and slides from 2025 meetings, turn to the TCTMD conference pages. You can also hear our own favorite moments for March in the latest Heart Sounds podcast, now with the TCTMD team: myself plus Mike O’Riordan, Yael Maxwell, Laura McKeown, and Todd Neale. Be sure to check out Yael’s feature article exploring the long history behind TAVI versus TAVR, and keep your eyes open for new installments of our On Record videos in the coming weeks.