TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for May 2022

Many of our top stories for the month of May came from (in-person!) cardiovascular congresses taking place around the globe, including EuroPCR and Heart Rhythm 2022. Rounding out the list were stories about the top-line results of the DELIVER trial in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes, smartwatch accuracy for the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, and two feature stories—one on the evolution of the heart team as TAVI turns 20, and the other on the impact on cardiology if abortion access is limited in the United States.

1. DELIVER Trial Scores a Win for Dapagliflozin in HFpEF

Top-line results released today show the trial met its primary endpoint of lowering CV death or worsening HF.

2. FDA Proposes Ban on Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars

The ban will curb the appeal of smoking to young people and help promote greater health equity, says the FDA’s Robert Califf.

3. EuroPCR Better Durability With Self-Expanding TAVI? Clues From UK TAVI

While the analysis considered patients treated with early devices, the findings have implications for lifetime planning, experts say.

4. EuroPCR Intravascular Imaging Boosts Outcomes in Left Main PCI: ROLEX

Guidelines recommend IVUS to improve left main stenting. Based on these data, to not do so is “unacceptable,” one expert says.

5. FEATURE As TAVI Turns 20, How Has the Heart Team Evolved?

A new “aspirational” document sets out some goals for multidisciplinary discussions, but its global relevance is unclear.

6. FEATURE As US Abortion Protections Hang in the Balance, Cardiologists Brace for Impact

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, decisions for pregnant women with high-risk cardiac conditions could become even more fraught.

7. EuroPCR JenaValve Trilogy Meets the Challenge of AR in Early Real-World Use

Results with the TAVI device, the first approved for use in aortic regurgitation, now need to be replicated on a larger scale.

8. EuroPCR Shorter DAPT Sufficient Even in Complex HBR Patients: MASTER DAPT

Complex HBR patients had the most to gain from longer DAPT, but even here, the shorter regimen seemed to hold up.

9. KardiaBand More Accurate Than Apple Watch 4 in Diagnosing AF

The difference likely lies in how software interprets the ECG tracings. How busy clinicians act on the information is unclear.

10. HRS Fewer Lead-Related Complications With Subcutaneous ICD: ATLAS S-ICD

This strongly supports “going extravascular for defibrillators as opposed to transvenous systems,” one expert says.

Check out all TCTMD’s coverage of Heart Rhythm 2022, EuroPCR, and the SCAI, ESC Heart Failure, and EAS congresses on our conference page.