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ACC.25 Round Up | Winrevair Slashes PAH Risks
April 3, 2025
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Together with
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“There’s no silver bullet. I wish there was a machine gun of silver bullets.”
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Dr. Leandro Boer, MD, PhD, VP, U.S. General Medicines, Amgen on the LDL care gap.
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The Cardiac Wire Show captured key insights into the latest cardiovascular breakthroughs at this year’s ACC.25 in interviews with…
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The ACC 2025 meeting is all wrapped up after matching the attendance and excitement of last year’s expo, with a clear trend toward better diagnostics and even better pharmaceuticals. Among dozens of highlights, here are Cardiac Wire’s seven biggest trends from ACC.25.
- Diverse Pharma – ACC.25 saw a deluge of pharmaceutical solutions across the spectrum of heart disease, from HCM all the way to LDL (detection and treatment just have to catch up).
- Cardiac CT’s Rise – It’s clear the cardiology industry is warming up to cardiac imaging as imaging OEMs released cheaper specialized cardiac CTs to meet growing demand as a result of encouraging reimbursement changes.
- Better Understanding TAVR – While TAVR has earned its reputation for safety and efficacy, several late breaking trials helped clarify ways to improve it and even complicate it.
- GLP-1s Are Dominating – From the banners flown to the booths presented, ACC.25 was brimming with GLP-1 research and marketing, speaking to the strong CV benefits we’re seeing from the drugs, even if the research isn’t clear on where these benefits come from.
- Reimbursement is Key – A common question asked at ACC.25 was “How do I get reimbursed?” That’s an important one to answer for clinicians, researchers, and businessmen alike whether it’s for imaging, drugs, or devices.
- AI Adoption Stays Strong – While there weren’t many AI-centered studies, many vendors incorporated AI into their products and marketing propositions, which suggests widespread adoption isn’t too far away.
- The Elephant in the Expo Center – While all of the new tech and drugs unveiled were undoubtedly exciting, they’re expensive, which could be a hurdle for the patients and providers who need them.
The Takeaway
From software and hardware innovations in the exhibit hall to strong pharma results in the late-breaking sessions, cardiac professionals have never had more technology and treatments at their disposal, but access for many breakthroughs still remains uncertain.
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A Single Cardiac Service Line Platform
Transitioning across multiple imaging platforms is a daily reality for many cardiologists, but it doesn’t have to be. See how three leading cardiac imagers are leveraging Circle CVI’s unified multi-modal software across their diverse caseloads, without switching to other platforms.
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The CardioMEMS HF System is Now Covered by Medicare Advantage
Find reimbursement resources and more information about the expanded coverage for your heart failure patients if coverage criteria is met.
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Innovating AFib Care
The first manifestation of AFib is often stroke, but many hospitals aren’t set up to coordinate these patients’ post-stroke care. See how UCSD is leveraging Viz.ai’s Viz Connect solution to simplify neuro and EP collaboration in this HRX 2024 interview.
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- Winrevair Asserts PAH Benefit: ACC.25 was big for Merck’s PAH drug, Winrevair (sotatercept-csrk), thanks to the unveiling of new results from the ZENITH trial. We’ve heard a lot about the loss of clinical equipoise leading to the discontinuation of HYPERION but we hadn’t yet seen hard data. Now with results from ZENITH, Winrevair’s PAH benefits are even clearer, showing that the drug led to a 76% reduction in the risk of all-cause death, lung transplantation, and hospitalization when added to maximum background therapy.
- CEP Doesn’t Help TAVR: Pumping the brakes on routine cerebral embolic protection during TAVR, late-breaking results from the BHF PROTECT-TAVI trial failed to support CEP devices for reducing stroke risk. Researchers examined over 7.6k AS patients randomized to undergo TAVR either with or without CEP and found that stroke rates within 72 hours after discharge were nearly identical in the two groups (2.1% for CEP vs 2.2%). Severe stroke occurred in 0.5% of patients in both groups and disabling stroke rates were similar as well (1.2% with CEP vs. 1.4%).
- GE Announces Revolution Vibe: GE unveiled the Revolution Vibe CT with the intent to offer CCTA at a more competitive price point and earn it a spot within cardiologists’ offices. The “all in one” Revolution Vibe system features GE’s Unlimited One-Beat Cardiac imaging to deliver consistent, high-quality images, even in challenging cases like AFib and heavily calcified coronaries. The scanner also comes loaded with GE’s ECG-less Cardiac, TrueFidelity DL, SnapShot Freeze 2, and AI-powered solutions to increase imaging ease and efficiency.
- TAVR for AR Succeeds: Updated data from the ALIGN-AR trial suggests TAVR using JenaValve Trilogy system to treat aortic regurgitation could lead to better outcomes in patients at high risk for surgery. The new data is based on 500 patients and demonstrated an overall mortality rate of 8.1%, much lower than the 25% set as the study’s noninferiority cutoff. Edwards acquired JenaValve last summer and might seek FDA approval for AR this year.
- SOUL’s Strong GLP-1 Support: Results from the late-breaking SOUL trial added to the mounting evidence that semaglutide surpasses the standard of care for high-risk patients with T2D, ASCVD, and CKD. Over SOUL’s four year follow-up, patients on oral semaglutide (Novo Nordisk’s Rybelsus) faced a 14% lower risk of CV mortality, nonfatal MI, or nonfatal stroke compared to placebo. While the CV benefits of oral GLP-1s were reinforced by this study, Rybelsus’ $1,000 monthly price tag is still a hurdle for providers and patients.
- GLP-1s for PAD: Continuing on with the CV benefits of GLP-1s, results from the STRIDE trial suggest the drug could be used to treat patients with diabetes and symptomatic PAD. STRIDE randomized 792 PAD patients to receive either injectable semaglutide (Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy) or placebo and found that the treatment group experienced a 13% improvement in mean walking distance, an 11% improvement in pain-free walking ability, and greater QoL benefits after one year.
- WARRIOR’s Weak Results: While late-breakers are exciting, results from the long-awaited WARRIOR trial suggest intensive medical therapy fails to reduce the risk of CV events in women with INOCA. One hurdle was that the study achieved only 55% enrollment due to COVID, making it underpowered to test its hypothesis that IMT could reduce MACE by 20% in five years. As a result, the study found no significant difference in the composite risk of all-cause death, MI, stroke, or hospitalization versus standard of care.
- Dapagliflozin for AS TAVR: Patients with AS were previously excluded from dapagliflozin trials, but new results from DapaTAVI suggest they can benefit from the drug as well. Researchers randomized 1.2k AS patients to receive either 10 mg of dapagliflozin once daily or standard care prior to TAVR and found that the SGLT2i led to reduced all-cause mortality and worsening HF risk compared to standard care (15.0% vs 20.1%). However, genital infection and hypotension were significantly more common in the dapagliflozin group.
- Two Years of TEER for TR: ACC.25 also saw the two-year outcomes of the TRILUMINATE trial further highlight the benefits of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) for treating severe tricuspid regurgitation. TRILUMINATE’s two year results showed that the annualized rate of recurrent HF hospitalizations was significantly lower with tricuspid TEER compared to the control (0.19 vs 0.26 events/patient-year). Freedom from all-cause mortality, tricuspid valve surgery, and tricuspid valve intervention was significantly higher in the TEER group (77.6% vs 29.3%).
- Clopidogrel vs. Aspirin After PCI: In another pharma late-breaker, clopidogrel monotherapy proved more effective than aspirin monotherapy for lowering MACCE in patients with high ischemia risk who completed DAPT following PCI. The study followed 5.5k randomized patients and found that the clopidogrel group had a 29% lower chance of all-cause death, MI, or stroke. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in stroke rates (both 1.3%), major bleeding events (both 3.0%), or adverse events.
- IV Iron for HFrEF: IV iron supplementation using ferric carboxymaltose could improve quality of life in iron deficient HFrEF patients even if it doesn’t significantly reduce HF hospitalization or CV death. Among 1.1k randomized patients those who received ferric carboxymaltose experienced a statistically nonsignificant reduction in CV death or hospitalization risk (-21%) as well as a significant improvement in QoL. Researchers say “that intravenous iron for patients with HFrEF is useful” when taken in the broader context of HF symptoms and burden.
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The Benefits of Outsourced Post-Processing
Using an outsourced cardiac image post-processing solution doesn’t have to mean sacrificing control of the results. Discover how PIA’s customizable post-processing workflow can help you get the most out of your images.
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Vista.ai’s Cardiac MRI Results
Are your patients waiting too long for cardiac MRIs? See Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s real-world results showing how Vista.ai’s AI-driven image acquisition software improves image quality, shortens scan times, and increases patient throughput.
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Automate Your Echo Reporting
It’s a good feeling when your echo report is already 83% complete before you even sit down to work on it. See how Centricity Cardio Enterprise’s echo automation features make this “good feeling” an everyday occurrence in this quick GE HealthCare demo video.
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- Experience the future of learning: Medtronic Academy 2.0 is here! Unlock your ultimate destination for structural heart medical education with the newly redesigned Medtronic Academy 2.0. Gain access to expert-led courses, webinars, and a wealth of resources to stay ahead in cardiovascular care. Visit now!
- Optum’s CV Imaging Pearls: As populations age, the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease means that health care providers and systems face ongoing pressure. Watch Optum Insight enterprise imaging CEO Tracy Byers and Chief Product Officer Omer Shalit-Cohen discuss the role enterprise imaging plays in cardiovascular imaging.
- Redefining Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Learn about the AGENT™ Drug-Coated Balloon from Boston Scientific and how this technology is expanding the treatment options for patients with in-stent restenosis in the U.S. Rx only. (Sponsored by Boston Scientific)
- From CPACS to CVIS: Cardiovascular imaging has come a long way from CPACS. Explore the evolution of cardiology image and data management in this Merge by Merative executive brief, and see what makes CVIS such a significant advancement.
- The Efficiency of the Kinetic Rhythms ECG Algorithm: See how you can interpret up to twenty-nine distinct rhythms by embedding the Kinetic Rhythms ECG Algorithm on your device or software suite. Ensure precise ECG interpretations regardless of whether they’re taken at the bedside or in an ambulatory setting.
- Patient Attitudes Towards Us2.ai’s AI-Echo: The medical imaging field is rapidly accepting AI, but how are patients feeling about the shift? Get the scoop on patients’ positive opinions toward Us2.ai’s software that supports task shifting from conventional echo to AI-echo.
- Heartflow Roadmap Analysis For Efficient Care: As Coronary CT scan volumes increase, your entire reading team needs to deliver efficient and consistent reads. Good thing Heartflow’s Roadmap Analysis can help you maintain accuracy and increase CCTA read speeds by up to 25%, with even level 3 readers seeing real efficiency benefits.
- Explore Vitrea Advanced Visualization: Discover Canon Medical Healthcare IT’s suite of advanced imaging workflows designed to increase efficiency in cardiovascular imaging, and facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. These cutting-edge tools support the delivery of faster, more accurate care while integrating seamlessly into clinical workflow
- Cardiology AI: From Research to Clinical Practice: Explore how AI algorithms are reshaping cardiology with insights from Tempus’ recent webinar, featuring Dr. David Ouyang of UCLA and Cedars-Sinai, alongside Tempus’ Dr. John Pfeifer and Dr. Brandon Fornwalt. This expert panel dives into how AI can bridge diagnostic gaps, enhance patient outcomes, and streamline workflows for conditions like AFib and pulmonary hypertension. Read the full recap to glimpse the future of AI-driven cardiology.
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