TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for November 2024

News from the American Heart Association’s 2024 Scientific Sessions dominated our top 10 this month, led by the SUMMIT results with tirzepatide in HFpEF patients with obesity. Nonmeeting stories that made the list included coverage of a study looking at Lp(a) versus LDL for predicting atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk, a comparison of two popular statins for reducing CVD, and a feature story on the barriers to uptake of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) offering tips for how those might be tackled.

1. AHA SUMMIT: Tirzepatide a ‘Huge Win’ for HFpEF Patients With Obesity

HF specialists agree these drugs will be key tools in fighting the obesity-related epidemic of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Hurdles and questions remain.

2. High Lp(a) Linked to ASCVD Risk Even When LDL Cholesterol Is Low

While statins can reduce LDL levels and ASCVD events, high Lp(a) poses an independent risk that will need attention, too.

3. AHA Two Lp(a)-Lowering Therapies Clear Bar in KRAKEN and ALPACAR-360

One is an siRNA biologic, the other an oral agent, but both lowered Lp(a) levels by 80% or more in ASCVD patients.

4. AHA ENBALV: Edoxaban Matches Warfarin After Bioprosthetic Valve Surgery

Low event rates and short TTRs with warfarin were notable, and questions persist as to which patients truly need oral anticoagulation.

5. AHA OPTION: LAAO Matches Up to DOACs After Ablation, but Questions Remain

Although some of the trial’s methodology was critiqued, the results for left atrial appendage occlusion provide fodder for shared decision-making discussions.

6. Rosuvastatin Bests Atorvastatin for Reducing CVD Risk: Registry Data

The results are observational and may be confounded, with experts stressing that both statins are safe and potent options.

7. AHA Talking Sex: CVD Patients Want to Hear More From Clinicians

In the Swedish survey, many patients said their sexual health was impaired, but few got the information they wanted.

8. AHA Spironolactone No Help for the Heart After Acute MI: CLEAR SYNERGY

Part 2 of this 7,000-patient trial suffered from discontinuations and low event rates: still, early MRAs did not impact CV events.

9. AHA ARNI Lessens Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity in High-Risk Patients: SARAH

In positive early data from the RCT, sacubitril/valsartan given over 24 weeks reduced signs of heart damage in cancer patients.

10. FEATURE GDMT Uptake Remains Dismal in HFrEF: What’s the Right Fix?

There’s no “silver bullet” for this problem, which is largely driven by clinical inertia, but some efforts are chipping away at it.

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Find more of our coverage of AHA 2024 by visiting our conference page, or by tuning in to this month’s Heart Sounds podcast featuring AHA President Keith Churchwell, MD.