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Post-Op AFib “Not Benign”: Mayo Clinic research suggests that AFib after noncardiac surgery is “not benign” and just as likely to cause stroke as AFib developed outside the surgical setting. In an analysis of 4,231 patients with AFib over a mean follow-up of 6.3 years, researchers found no difference in stroke risk between those whose AFib appeared after surgery and those with non-operative AFib (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.01). The authors underscore that postoperative AFib “should not be considered a transient, benign phenomenon.”
South Asian Heart Health: The US House of Representatives passed the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act which, if signed into law, would authorize $10M toward researching heart disease among South Asian Americans. Cardiology societies have shared their support of the legislation, pointing to WHO statistics that say South Asian Americans are four times more likely to develop heart disease than the country’s general population.
Early TAVR Improvement & Survival: A study published in JAMA found that patients who improve quickly after TAVR have lower long-term all-cause and cardiac mortality rates. Of 659 high- or intermediate- risk patients with baseline LVEF below 50% undergoing transfemoral TAVR, 1 in 3 experienced early LVEF improvement (defined as ≥10 percentage points increase in LVEF at 30 days). At five years, early recoverers experienced lower all-cause death (50% vs. 58%) and cardiac death (29% vs. 38%).
Cleerly Closes Series C (Again): Even though we called Cleerly’s $192M Series C “colossal” last week, the heart attack prediction startup wasn’t done yet and has now officially closed the funding round after bumping the total raise to $223M. Cleerly plans to use the investment to expand the commercial reach of its AI software that evaluates noninvasive CT angiograms for plaque build-up to enable earlier detection of heart disease and calculate the likelihood of a patient having a heart attack.
Gut Microbes & Heart Disease: New research found that metabolites produced by gut microbes may be partly responsible for the elevated heart disease risk associated with red meat consumption. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 4,000 participants over the age of 65 (12.5-year median follow-up), finding that every daily serving of meat increased atherosclerotic CVD risk by 22%, with red meat-associated metabolites responsible for one-tenth of the elevated risk.
NE Scientific Earns FDA 510(k): Northeast Scientific, a company that reprocesses single-use peripheral vascular catheters, earned FDA 510(k) clearance for reprocessing the Philips Spectranetics 0.9mm OTW Turbo-Elite laser atherectomy catheter. This is the first time the FDA has granted 510(k) approval for reprocessing an atherectomy catheter that treats peripheral arterial disease by emitting UV light to vaporize blockages.
Genetic Risk Score’s “Minimal Utility”: New research published in Circulation found that genetics are far less predictive of coronary heart disease than lifestyle risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. An analysis of 9.8k patients compared the predictive utility of more than 6.6M genetic variants against a traditional 30-year risk factor score, demonstrating that the polygenic risk score did not significantly improve discrimination beyond the lifestyle components.
AstraZeneca Drops CVD Drug: AstraZeneca axed a Moderna-partnered CVD candidate, AZD8601, from its phase 2 pipeline months after reporting positive clinical trial results. The mRNA drug contains the precursor to vascular endothelial growth factor, a protein that supports heart repair and regeneration. Despite positive phase 2a trial results, in which investigators injected the drug into the myocardium of coronary bypass surgery patients, the company’s quarterly update shows that the candidate has been removed from its phase 2 pipeline.
World’s First HIV+ to HIV+ Heart Transplant: Montefiore hospital performed the world’s first successful heart transplant between an HIV+ donor and an HIV+ recipient. The patient, a woman in her 60s, suffered from advanced HF and received the donation in early spring. The procedure took place nearly a decade after the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act allowed people living with the condition to donate their organs to HIV+ recipients.
The Toll of Methamphetamines: New research indicates that people who use methamphetamine face a much greater risk for CVD, mirroring trends associated with alcohol use and cocaine. Medical records of 20.2M California residents (66k meth users) with no history of CVD revealed that meth users were 53% more likely to develop heart failure and 42% more likely to develop pulmonary hypertension than non-users. Men who used were 73% more likely to have heart attacks than women who used.
Hospital Margin Loss Streak: Patient volume and expense improvements haven’t been enough to offset the hospital industry’s growing cost of care, as US hospitals’ median operating margin is now officially in the red through the first six months of the year (-0.09%). Kaufman Hall’s latest National Hospital Flash Report showed positive month-over-month trends for both outpatient revenue (up 2.6%) and operating room minutes (up 2.4%), but margins are still “nowhere near pre-pandemic levels” and “will likely end up with historically low margins for the remainder of the year.”
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