Cardiology Pharmaceuticals
February 24, 2025
The Coming ATTR-CM Competition February 24, 2025
Competition breeds innovation, and that’s good news for ATTR-CM patients who could have three different drugs to choose from: Vyndaqel (Pfizer), Attruby/Beyonttra (BridgeBio), and Amvuttra (Alnylam). The reigning ATTR-CM drug is Pfizer’s Vyndaqel (tafamidis), which entered the scene unchallenged in 2019, and although it was first, new research has suggested it might not be the […]
Heart Failure
February 24, 2025
Shifting Perceptions of Hyperkalemia in Care of Patients with Heart Failure February 24, 2025
By Ravi Dhingra, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHASponsored By AstraZeneca Despite improving outcomes in patients with heart failure[1], renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor (RAASi) therapy is underutilized due to hyperkalemia (HK), often to the detriment of patients.[2] An observational study[2] utilizing Optum’s de-identified Market Clarity Data from July 2019 to September 2021, evaluated the risk of progression to […]
Heart Failure
February 20, 2025
ALT-FLOW and the HF Shunt Alternative February 20, 2025
Although heart failure prognosis is grim, the ALT-FLOW trial’s two year results suggest that diverting blood from the left atrium to the coronary sinus using a shunt could have lasting benefits for patients with HFmrEF/HFpEF. Taking a different approach to HF therapy, researchers gave 95 patients the Edwards APTURE Transcatheter Shunt System and found that […]
Cardiology Business
February 18, 2025
Atria’s Independent Cardiology Play February 18, 2025
With 85% of cardiologists now employed by health systems, it may seem like the days of independent cardiology practice are long gone, but Atria Health is looking to reverse this trend with the help of a unique private equity model. This is the niche Atria aims to fill, with their new business model seeking out […]
Cardiology Business
February 13, 2025
Novartis Reclaims Anthos, Reenters Factor XI Race February 13, 2025
Just a couple weeks after the full trial results of AZALEA TIMI 71 were released, Novartis agreed to acquire Anthos Therapeutics for $925M upfront and another $2.15B in milestone payments, signaling that the pharma titan may have renewed confidence in abelacimab and the Factor XI inhibition segment. Abelacimab already demonstrated an edge over the incumbents, […]
Surgeries & Interventions
February 10, 2025
The Weekend Effect Touches TAVR Too February 10, 2025
It seems even interventional cardiologists aren’t immune to the “Weekend Effect” as a recent study suggests patients admitted on weekends for TAVR procedures face significantly higher risks. To uncover the weekend effect’s impact on TAVR, researchers analyzed over 82k TAVR hospitalizations between 2013 and 2021 and revealed that weekend patients faced a 45% higher risk […]
Cardiology Pharmaceuticals
February 6, 2025
PCSK9 Inhibitors: Sooner or Later? February 6, 2025
Sooner certainly seems to be better than later when it comes to treating LDL-C levels with the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab, and according to a recent JACC study, that’s especially true for older patients. Putting age before beauty, researchers conducted a prespecified analysis of the FOURIER-OLE study and found that among roughly 6.6k patients, evolocumab reduced […]
Cardiovascular Disease
February 3, 2025
Cardiovascular Disease and Deaths On the Rise February 3, 2025
Another year, another AHA report reasserting heart disease’s dominance as the number one killer in the United States, and the latest data shows that this trend is still gaining momentum. Four years after that goal’s due date, the burden of CVD in the U.S. is at an all time high, with 942k cardiovascular disease-related deaths […]
Structural Heart
January 30, 2025
Why Mechanical AVR Valves Still Matter January 30, 2025
A presentation at this year’s Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) conference suggests mechanical valves might lead to better survival compared to bioprosthetic valves in patients aged 60 or younger undergoing SAVR even though it seems like they’re going out of style. Researchers examined STS registry data on ~109k patients ages 40 to 75 years who […]
Pharmaceuticals
January 27, 2025
Abelacimab Stops Bleeding, But Stroke Impact Uncertain January 27, 2025
Anthos Therapeutics published the full results of its Phase 2 AZALEA-TIMI 71 trial for its novel Factor XI inhibitor, abelacimab, confirming the drug’s lower bleeding risks, but leaving researchers uncertain about its ability to prevent stroke in AFib patients. To see if abelacimab was a safer alternative, researchers randomized 1,287 AFib patients at risk of […]
Obesity Care
January 23, 2025
The Potential Risks of GLP-1s January 23, 2025
Although GLP-1s have proven to significantly help with weight loss and cardiometabolic disorders, a new Nature Medicine study shed light on the drugs’ potential side-effects. To tackle this problem, researchers compared Veteran’s Affairs data on 2 million T2D patients (2017-2023) taking either GLP-1s, DPP4is, SGLT2is, or usual care antihyperglycemics over a 3.68 year follow-up. Starting […]
Heart Failure
January 16, 2025
The Finer Points of FINEARTS-HF January 16, 2025
Bayer’s FINEARTS-HF study revealed that finerenone could be poised to become the next big heart failure treatment at ESC 2024, and a new series of JACC sub-studies just further strengthened its case. The first of the featured studies revealed that patients treated soon after experiencing a worsening heart failure (WHF) event saw greater benefits. The […]