TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for November 2020

Late-breaking clinical trials presented at the virtual American Heart Association (AHA) 2020 Scientific Sessions dominated our most-popular list this month. Making the top five were STRENGTH using a purified fish oil, SCORED and SOLOIST-WHF testing sotagliflozin, and HARP-MINOCA using advanced imaging to look for an MI cause in the absence of coronary obstructions on angiography. A farewell to pioneering cardiologist and researcher Anthony Gershlick, the mothballing of the Lotus Edge transcatheter valve, as well as our COVID-19 Daily Dispatch also made the list.

1. Fish Oil Tanks in STRENGTH, Making Waves for REDUCE-IT

Steven Nissen argues REDUCE-IT gave a “false-positive” result. But Deepak Bhatt, that study's PI, calls the assertion “ridiculous.”

2. Anthony Gershlick, Esteemed UK Cardiologist, Dies at 69

Friends and colleagues remember a pioneering interventionalist, committed researcher, and lover of jazz.

3. COVID-19: TCTMD’s Daily Dispatch

We’re curating a list of COVID-19 research and other useful content, and updating it daily.

4. OCT and MRI Find an MI Cause in 85% of Women With MINOCA: HARP

The findings support a role for OCT on top of cardiac MRI, already urged by guidelines. How outcomes might change remains unclear.

5. Sotagliflozin Scores Wins in SCORED and SOLOIST-WHF Trials

Despite trial setbacks, sotagliflozin still showed a clinical benefit in diabetics with chronic kidney disease and decompensated heart failure, report docs.

6. Lotus Edge TAVR Device Recalled and Discontinued Worldwide

Boston Scientific is calling it quits on this iteration of its transcatheter valve, saying it will instead focus on Acurate neo.

7. Clopidogrel Should Remain Antiplatelet of Choice in Elective PCI: ALPHEUS

There was no reduction in ischemic events with ticagrelor, but its use did come with an increased cost of more nuisance bleeding.

8. When PCI Decisions Ignore FFR Results, Patients Pay a Price

Canadian registry data suggest that 5-year MACE risk grows when operators don’t heed FFR guidance in decision-making.

9. Both Statins and Placebos Produce ‘Very Real’ Side Effects: SAMSON

The n-of-1 approach to educating patients about nocebo effects raises hope that more can be successfully restarted on statins.

10. Modest Gains With Omecamtiv Mecarbil in Chronic HFrEF: GALACTIC-HF

With several established heart failure therapies available, the question is where a cardiac myosin activator might fit and how much it adds.

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Find all of TCTMD’s coverage of the virtual AHA 2020 on our conference coverage page. We also had journalists (virtually) at VIVA and the PCR Valves e-Course. Dominating the news cycle for much of the month was the presidential race in the United States. We asked cardiologists what the Biden-Harris win might mean for cardiology care, and beyond. Find out what they told us here: As US Cardiologists Mull a Biden Presidency, COVID-19 Trumps All