Cardiology conference season is coming to a close, and what better way to end the year than with the AHA 2025 Scientific Sessions meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. From major pharma studies to smaller companies solving big problems and every cardiac subspeciality in between, here are Cardiac Wire’s top takeaways from AHA 2025.
AHA 2025 Research Favored Post-Procedure: Many of the late-breaking studies presented on the stage at AHA evaluated post-procedural therapies with anticoagulants and antithrombotics like rivaroxaban, aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors, and clopidogrel, signaling that many procedures like PCI and AFib ablation are maturing, but their post management is still being dialed in.
AFib Studies Were Abundant: Speaking of AFib, several of the late-breakers were centered around managing patients post ablation and preventing recurrence. Major studies like ADAPT AF-DES, OCEAN, and OPTIMA-AF focused on preventing future complications, while DECAF alluded to coffee’s potential AFib protection.
Cardiology Access Needs Expanding: From cardiology deserts, to the cost of proper imaging, and the lack of patient education on the different cardiovascular risks, the conversations and studies at AHA underscore just how important proper care access is for the heart.
No Truly New Drugs: Aside from Bayer’s Kerendia earning an HF indication earlier this year, no new cardiovascular drugs were approved in 2025, and the researchers as well as booths at this year’s AHA reflected this, with a strong focus on future drugs or meds with new CV indications.
Warming Up to Prevention – One of the biggest takeaways from the research and conversations at AHA is that cardiology in general is shifting to earlier detection (with the help of AI) and earlier treatment, but many physicians now agree that taking care of your heart health is better than trying to fix it after a major cardiovascular event.
How AHA Sees the Heart – Many cardiology conferences either focus on a sub-specialty of the heart, or on specific technologies and modalities that practitioners rely on, but AHA is more about the heart as a system than an organ. It was clear from this year’s research and the AHA’s continued focus on the spectrum of cardio-kidney-metabolic disease that treating the heart goes beyond the atria, ventricles, and vasculature (even if not all cardiologists agree).
