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 […]
Cardiac Imaging January 13, 2025
AI-CCTA Beats SPECT, Again January 13, 2025
A recent study out of UCLA seemed to add to the body of evidence supporting AI-assisted CCTA as an alternative to SPECT for diagnosing obstructive coronary artery disease, although holes in the study suggest that CCTA AI has more to prove To determine if AI-CCTA could hold its own, researchers analyzed CCTA images from 175 […]
Artificial Intelligence January 9, 2025
AI-ECG’s 2025 Kickoff January 9, 2025
The buzz around artificial intelligence’s impact on cardiology keeps growing louder, and that’s proving to be particularly true in the AI-ECG segment, with 2025 already off to a strong start from ECG startups and researchers alike. One pertinent example is AccurKardia’s recent FDA breakthrough designation for its ECG-based, AI-powered AK+ Guard hyperkalemia detection software. Tackling […]
Controversies January 6, 2025
Cardiologists Busted for Overbilling Nationwide January 6, 2025
Adding to a relentless trend of Medicare schemes, 16 cardiology practices agreed to pay more than $17.7M to resolve allegations that they overbilled for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals and violated the False Claims Act. The DOJ accused these practices of reporting “inflated acquisition costs” to Medicare for materials needed to perform cardiovascular imaging. The three largest settlements […]
Controversies December 19, 2024
Challenging the CHAGASICS Trial December 19, 2024
Exposing the failures of peer review, Dr. Anis Rassi Jr. MD, PhD, recently published his letter to JAMA Cardiology in Sensible Medicine about glaring issues with the CHAGASICS trial. The story began with Dr. Rassi expressing his concerns to the study’s editor at JAMA who advised him to submit a formal letter to JAMA’s Editor-in-Chief […]
Structural Heart December 16, 2024
Capstan’s Robotic MR/TR Frontier Funding December 16, 2024
Capstan Medical took a key step towards its vision of launching the first robotic cardiac valve surgery system, landing $110M in Series C funding. Focusing on mitral and tricuspid valve diseases, Capstan’s treatment combines transcatheter implantation of a folded valve replacement with its X-ray and ultrasound-guided robot to align the low-profile implant with the beating […]
Cholesterol Reduction December 12, 2024
NewAmsterdam’s BROADWAY Show December 12, 2024
Topline results from NewAmsterdam’s Phase 3 BROADWAY trial provided the strongest evidence yet of obicetrapib’s potential for patients with ASCVD and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) who can’t lower their LDL-C with statins. The BROADWAY trial randomized ~2.5k patients to take obicetrapib or placebo (2:1 ratio) and monitored them over a 52-week follow up period. BROADWAY […]
Pharmaceuticals December 9, 2024
Tirzepatide Triumphant Over Semaglutide December 9, 2024
Topline results from the SURMOUNT-5 trial found Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide led to far greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, giving Lilly a boost in the race to become America’s go-to GLP-1. Over SURMOUNT-5’s 72 week duration, 751 participants across the U.S. and Puerto Rico were randomized to receive the maximum tolerated dose of tirzepatide […]
Pharmaceuticals December 5, 2024
MariTide’s Weight Loss Milestone December 5, 2024
The red hot weight loss segment just got even hotter, as the Phase 2 trial of Amgen’s maridebart cafraglutide (MariTide) yielded exceptional body mass reductions among people with obesity and T2D, propelling the pharma giant closer to FDA approval. Building on this earlier success, Amgen’s new Phase 2 trial lasted 52 weeks and enrolled patients […]
Pharmaceuticals December 2, 2024
Winrevair’s Big PAH Win December 2, 2024
Stunning topline results from Merck Winrevair’s Phase 3 ZENITH trial found that the drug significantly reduced morbidity and mortality risks in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, paving the way for stronger commercialization and further functional trials. The ZENITH trial randomized 172 patients to either receive Winrevair and background PAH therapy, or placebo and PAH therapy. […]
Cholesterol Reduction November 25, 2024
Muvalaplin Aces Phase 2 Lp(a) Test November 25, 2024
Impressive results from the Phase 2 KRAKEN trial presented at the AHA 2024 Scientific Sessions showed that Eli Lilly’s muvalaplin greatly reduces Lp(a) blood levels, adding an attractive oral option to its Lp(a) pipeline. By the study’s 12-week endpoint, patients experienced significant reductions in blood Lp(a) when taking oral muvalaplin across three different doses, compared […]
Cardiology November 21, 2024
Ablation or Antiarrhythmics for Ventricular Tachycardia? November 21, 2024
Late-breaking results from the VANISH2 trial presented at AHA 2024 showed that catheter ablation might be a better first-line treatment than antiarrhythmic drugs for ventricular tachycardia patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. To address this uncertainty, the VANISH2 trial recruited 416 patients with clinically significant VT, ischemic cardiomyopathy, previous MI, and an ICD, randomizing them to receive […]
Pharmaceuticals November 18, 2024
Tirzepatide’s Prediabetes Triumph November 18, 2024
Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 tirzepatide has triumphed yet again, as the full SURMOUNT-1 trial showed that the drug kept nearly 99% of prediabetic patients diabetes-free over 3 years, while improving cardiometabolic metrics. In the final results from the three-year SURMOUNT-1 trial, tirzepatide lowered the risk of progression to Type 2 diabetes by 94% versus placebo in […]
Surgeries & Interventions November 14, 2024
Forgotten IVC Filters Aren’t SAFE November 14, 2024
Troubling results from the SAFE-IVC study revealed that just one in six patients gets their inferior vena cava filters removed, despite clear guidelines calling for IVC filter removal as early as possible. Out of SAFE-IVC’s roughly 270k Medicare beneficiaries, only 15% had their IVC filters retrieved within 1.2 years of insertion. Patients who didn’t have […]
Surgeries & Interventions November 11, 2024
LimFlow Limits Limb-Threatening Ischemia November 11, 2024
Late-breaking second year results from the PROMISE II trial showed that the LimFlow system achieved strong outcomes for avoiding amputations and promoting limb salvage among “no-option” patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). LimFlow remained effective at two years, with a 65% limb salvage rate that was just 4% below the PROMISE II trial’s one year […]
Atrial Fibrillation November 7, 2024
Boston Scientific Bolsters AFib Mapping with Cortex Acquisition November 7, 2024
Boston Scientific made what could become a major addition to its electrophysiology portfolio, acquiring AFib mapping startup Cortex, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Cortex gives Boston Scientific a new mapping technology that detects AFib signs and triggers outside of the pulmonary veins, and can help EP teams develop ablation strategies for more complex AFib cases. […]
Surgeries & Interventions November 4, 2024
TCT 2024’s Top TAVR Studies November 4, 2024
This year’s TCT conference saw a deluge of TAVR studies examining everything from the efficacy of valve designs to TAVR’s impact on aortic and tricuspid regurgitation. Out of all these TAVR studies, the four that could have the greatest clinical impact focused on interventional timing and the risk of comorbidities and procedural complications. The EARLY […]
Cardiology October 31, 2024
The 40 Best Cardiology Newsletters, Websites, and Influencers to Follow in 2024 October 31, 2024
We’re dedicating today’s top story to the people and publications that we rely on to find the most interesting cardiology stories from across the web. Assuming that you already subscribe to Cardiac Wire, these are the 40 other newsletters, websites, and social media stars to follow if you want to keep up with the latest […]
Cardiovascular Disease October 28, 2024
America’s Growing CVD Problem October 28, 2024
It’s well known that heart disease is the U.S.’s top cause of death, and our rising CVD rates have been widely covered, but a look back on some of the biggest stories of 2024 suggests that cardiovascular disease is about to become a much bigger problem. The Takeaway These truly frightening statistics suggest that the […]
