JACC This Week

Michelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhD, FACC, JACC Associate Editor and John A. Spertus, MD, MPH, FACC discuss the evaluation of the cardiac myosin inhibitor, aficamten, on patient-reported health status in patients with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) as part of the SEQUOIA trial. The study utilized the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) Overall Summary Score (OSS)...

In this September 10th, 2024 issue of Jack, Dr. Michael Ogburn's study highlights a troubling association between high postnatal opioid exposure and poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants who have undergone cardiac surgery. Despite careful adjustments for confounding factors, increased opioid use was linked to significant deficits in cognitive, language, and motor skills, emphasizing the ne...

In the September 10, 2024, issue of JACC, the study by Dr. Doron Seeker and colleagues investigates alirocumab's impact on cardiovascular outcomes related to triglyceride levels. Despite effectively lowering LDL cholesterol, alirocumab did not show significant clinical benefit through triglyceride reduction, suggesting that its efficacy may be limited in addressing cardiovascular risk associated w...

In the September 10, 2024, JACC issue, Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses a pivotal study on cardiogenic shock, revealing that early and frequent reassessment within the first 24 hours is crucial for predicting patient outcomes. The study underscores the critical nature of early intervention and highlights the rapid progression seen in many patients, emphasizing the need for timely and continuous monit...

In the September 10, 2024, JACC issue, Dr. Valentin Fuster highlights a pivotal study showing that a single cholesterol measurement in young adults can predict future cardiovascular risk with remarkable accuracy. He underscores the need for early lipid screening and novel long-acting treatments to improve long-term cardiovascular health, stressing that early intervention is crucial for preventing...

In the September 10, 2024, issue of JACC, Dr. Valentin Fuster highlights groundbreaking research on lipid exposure in early adulthood and its link to later cardiovascular events, the importance of early and serial assessments in cardiogenic shock, and the impact of triglyceride levels on cardiovascular outcomes with alirocumab. He also discusses the association between postnatal opioid exposure an...

Rasha K. Al-Lamee, MD, PhD, JACC Deputy Editor and Navin K. Kapur MD discuss the work from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group, which is an academic research consortium comprising ~40 hospitals in the U.S. and internationally.

Aakriti Gupta, MD, FACC, JACC Executive Associate Editor, and Stefan D. Anker, MD, discuss the insights from the RESHAPE-HF2 trial - an eight-year study on the efficacy of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair for mitral valve regurgitation in patients with heart failure.

Khurram Nasir, MBBS, FACC, JACC Associate Editor and Tor Biering-Sorenson, MD, MPH, PhD, discuss the importance of influenza vaccines for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly in the context of the DANFLU-1 study.

Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, FACC, JACC Associate Editor and Subodh Verma MD, PhD explore a secondary analysis of the SELECT trial, a landmark study investigating the cardiovascular benefits of semaglutide in people with obesity or overweight without diabetes.

Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, FACC, JACC Associate Editor and Mikhail Kosiborod, MD, FACC discuss an exciting secondary analysis of the STEP-HFpEF program, shedding light on the groundbreaking findings related to heart failure and obesity.

Harlan Krumholz, MD, FACC, JACC Editor-in-Chief, and Benjamin M. Scirica, MD, MPH, FACC, discuss the surprising benefits of semaglutide beyond weight loss and cardiovascular health from the SELECT trial, which investigated the effects of semaglutide on COVID-19 outcomes and non-cardiovascular deaths in patients with obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Neha J. Pagidipati, MD, FACC, JACC Associate Editor, and Richard Pratley, MD, discuss insights from the FLOW trial – revealing that semaglutide reduced heart failure events and cardiovascular death by approximately 27%, both in patients with and without prior heart failure.

In the September 3rd, 2024 issue of JACC, a new scientific statement delves into antithrombotic strategies for peripheral artery disease (PAD), highlighting the challenges and advancements in treatment. The review emphasizes that while traditional therapies like aspirin and clopidogrel remain crucial, combining aspirin with low-dose rivaroxaban offers a promising approach for reducing major advers...

In the September 3, 2024, issue of JACC, Dr. Valentin Fuster introduces a pivotal study on Brugada syndrome in children and adolescents. This research, led by Dr. Marco Berganti and colleagues, demonstrates how continuous monitoring with implanted loop recorders provides critical insights into arrhythmias and syncope in young patients, highlighting the potential for future AI-driven personalized c...

In the September 3, 2024, JACC issue, a major study evaluates the cardiovascular outcomes of second-line antihyperglycemic agents in type 2 diabetes, comparing SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, and sulfonylureas. The research reveals that SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists offer superior cardiovascular protection over the other agents, highlighting their import...

In the September 3, 2024, issue of JACC, Dr. Samuel Reinhart and team find that using direct oral anticoagulants alone is associated with fewer adverse events compared to combining them with aspirin after left atrial appendage occlusion. Their large-scale study suggests this streamlined approach might be optimal, though further randomized trials are needed to address limitations and refine long-te...

Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses the Augustus trial's groundbreaking findings on antithrombotic strategies for atrial fibrillation patients post-acute coronary syndrome or PCI. The study reveals that a regimen of apixaban and a P2Y12 inhibitor—without aspirin—offers superior safety and efficacy, challenging traditional triple therapy approaches.

In this episode, Dr. Valentin Fuster reviews five pivotal studies from September 2024, focusing on antithrombotic strategies and diabetes treatments. Key insights include the efficacy of dual antithrombotic therapy over triple therapy, the benefits of anticoagulation alone post-left atrial appendage occlusion, and the superior cardiovascular outcomes of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists...

Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses the treatment and diagnosis of transcatheter aortic valve thrombosis, focusing on its manifestations, diagnostic techniques using multi-slice computed tomography, and a proposed treatment algorithm. It highlights the difference between subclinical and clinical thrombosis and provides a detailed approach to managing both, including antiplatelet and anticoagulant therap...

In this episode, Dr. Valentin Fuster provides an overview of a scientific statement on structural cardiac interventions in heart failure. It details advances in percutaneous therapies for ventricular reshaping, valvular heart disease interventions, and tricuspid valve issues, while also highlighting gaps in current treatments and areas for future research.

Dr. Valentin Fuster evaluates a deep learning model designed to predict left and right ventricular dysfunction and dilation in congenital heart disease patients using ECG and CMR data. The research demonstrated that AI ECG can reliably identify significant cardiovascular issues, though future work should focus on refining thresholds and validating the model across diverse populations and healthcar...

Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses a study on the effects of low-dose rivaroxaban combined with aspirin in fragile patients after lower extremity revascularization, focusing on the balance between efficacy and safety. It highlights that while frailty increases the risk of adverse outcomes, rivaroxaban reduces ischemic events but also raises bleeding risks, regardless of frailty status. The editorial em...

In this episode, Dr. Valentin Fuster explores findings from the Phase 2 OCEAN-LDO trial assessing the off-treatment effects of the RNA-based drug alpcisiran on lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels. The study found that high doses of alpcisiran reduced Lp(a) levels by up to 95% during treatment, with a sustained reduction of 27-76% persisting up to 96 weeks after discontinuation, and no new safety concern...

Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses a study on the efficacy of semaglutide for treating obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, highlighting that the drug significantly reduced body weight and improved heart failure symptoms in both men and women. Notably, women experienced greater weight loss than men, but this did not translate into better improvement in heart failure-related s...