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H1’s Top 6 Cardiology Trends and More
July 10, 2025
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Together with
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“Over 50% of patients under 60 in California are getting TAVR. This is absurd! Huge shoutout to Jo Chikwe, MD, and team for exposing the alarming truth: TAVR has a 250% higher risk of death in 5 years compared to SAVR.”
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Jordan Bloom, MD
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The first half of 2025 is now over, and the world of cardiology keeps expanding. As we do every year, we’ve compiled a list of the top six stories of H1 – one for each month – to recap the big changes and innovations happening in cardiology.
AI-ECG’s Hot Start and Fast Expansion
2025 kicked off with plenty of buzz about AI applications for one of cardiology’s oldest diagnostic modalities, ECG. From AccurKardia’s ECG-based AI-powered AK+ Guard hyperkalemia detection software, to Anumana’s ECG-AI integration with AliveCor’s Kardia ECGs, the trend is clear – ECGs can be used as a broad biomarker with AI’s help.
Cardiovascular Disease and Deaths are On the Rise
Despite numerous improvements in treatments and procedures, cardiologists cannot combat America’s CVD problem alone. As highlighted by the AHA’s 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke report in February, preventing CVD on the population level could have a greater impact than any drug, device, or treatment.
The ABMS Rejects an Independent CV Board
In what is shaping up to be a battle for cardiology’s independence from internal medicine, the American Board of Medical Specialties denied the joint ACC/AHA/HRS/SCAI/HFSA request to launch a new American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine back in March. Though a setback, ABCVM’s supporters have since petitioned the AMA for help.
We’re Getting Better at Treating AFib
Right before all of the amazing AFib research at HRS 2025 in April, the SINGLE SHOT CHAMPION study supported the notion that pulsed field ablation is better than cryoballoon ablation for patients with paroxysmal AFib. This laid out the red carpet for further PFA studies in 2025 that are finding it to be the superior method for treating AFib.
GLP-1s Keep Coming to Cardiology
While we’ve known GLP-1s have CV benefits for a while now, May was the month where the full results of the SURMOUNT-5 trial crowned Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide superior to Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide. That said, a week later, another study found semaglutide rapidly lowers MACE risk, independent of weight loss.
Cardiology Pharma in Full Bloom
As the May GLP-1 showers went away, the June pharma flowers came to stay, with several major developments like a new triple BP polypill and new evidence about the encouraging safety profile of Anthos’ abelacimab. Yet, the most exciting pharma news in June was Eli Lilly’s decision to join the CV gene editing race by acquiring Verve Therapeutics for a cool $1.3B.
The Takeaway
The midpoint of the year is a great time to reflect on the rapidly changing world of cardiology, and while the field as a whole is growing, two things are clear in 2025 so far – preventing CVD is better than trying to cure it, even though there’s no shortage of drugs and procedures trying to do so anyway.
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Configure Your PCI Study
See for yourself how cardiac imagers use GE HealthCare’s Centricity Cardio Enterprise Universal Viewer to do their PCI studies, including configurable viewport setup and side-by-side comparisons.
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Vista AI Reduces Patient Backlog
Cardiac MRI is infamous for its complexity and backlogs, but it doesn’t need to be that way. See how Vista Cardiac delivered a 50% reduction in scan time variability, enabling shorter scheduling blocks and eliminating a one-month backlog.
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LVAD therapy receives 1A Recommendation for inotrope-dependent patients
The U.S. joint societies of the AHA/ACC/HFSA have given LVAD therapy a 1A Recommendation for heart failure patients dependent on intravenous inotropes or who cannot be weaned from temporary mechanical circulatory support. As both the strongest class of recommendation and highest level of evidence, a 1A Recommendation indicates LVAD therapy is supported by strong data and the benefits far outweigh the risks.
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- Field Medical’s Series B: Field Medical completed a $35M Series B round, bringing total funding to $75M for its FieldForce pulsed field ablation technology. The FieldForce Ablation System targets ventricular tachycardia through transmural lesion creation, which could help address an underserved portion of the electrophysiology market. The fresh funding will help advance the pivotal VERITAS trial and accelerate Field Medical’s regulatory progression as it aims to improve VT treatment protocols for high-risk cardiac patients.
- CardioOne + CardioNow: CardioOne announced its partnership with CardioNow, a newly established independent cardiology practice in Lynnwood, Washington that focuses on comprehensive cardiovascular services including prevention, diagnostics, and minimally invasive treatments. Through the partnership, CardioOne provided essential technology infrastructure, operational support, and administrative expertise to accelerate CardioNow’s independent launch. Like all CardioOne partnerships, the collaboration enables physician-led independence while maintaining operational efficiency.
- Us2.ai’s CA Clearances: Us2.ai’s AI Echo Copilot just landed both U.S. FDA clearance and a European CE mark for automated cardiac amyloidosis detection. With the moves, Us2.ai becomes the first echo AI platform to combine both AI pattern recognition and guideline-based measurement reporting into a single echo solution, while helping echo teams identify more cardiac amyloidosis patients. That’s welcomed news among providers and CA patients, noting the importance of early detection for this serious and widely underdiagnosed disease.
- The Undertreatment of High Cholesterol: New analysis of NHANES data from over 131M U.S. adults revealed substantial undertreatment of hypercholesterolemia, with only a quarter of candidates receiving appropriate lipid-lowering therapy. Current treatment rates significantly lag behind guideline recommendations, with U.S. and European guidelines suggesting 47% and 87% of people qualify for treatment, respectively. Treatment gaps also span all therapeutic categories, including statins (66% utilization vs. 100% eligibility), ezetimibe (4% vs. 31-74% eligibility), and PCSK9 inhibitors (0% vs. 11-53% eligibility).
- AI Can’t Predict Crashes Post-ICD: While AI models might be good at predicting CVD risk, they’re not good at predicting car crashes after patients get ICDs implanted. Researchers analyzed 22 years of administrative data from 7k patients who received ICDs and found that within one year post-implantation, car crash rates reached 9.6% for primary prevention and 7.9% for secondary prevention recipients. The study then tested predictive models that incorporated patient baseline health and driving history, finding that they showed poor discrimination (0.60) despite calibration.
- Rocket’s Cardiomyopathy Therapy: Rocket Pharmaceuticals received FDA IND clearance for its gene therapy, RP-A701, that targets BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy. BAG3-DCM affects approximately 30k Americans, causing early-onset HF through protein accumulation and impaired cardiac contractility and currently has no approved treatments. The IND clearance paves the way for Rocket’s first-in-human Phase 1 trial to evaluate safety and efficacy in high-risk adults with ICDs through dose-escalation methodology.
- SCAI’s New Venous Guidelines: The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions released comprehensive practice guidelines for chronic venous disease, addressing a condition affecting millions that causes over $15B in healthcare burdens. The new evidence-based recommendations cover multiple treatment modalities and were jointly developed by interventional cardiologists and vascular surgeons. The guidelines also feature treatment algorithms for real-world clinical decision-making and emphasize lifestyle modifications alongside interventional approaches.
- TagGen Enhances CMR: Researchers at the University of Missouri developed an AI model called TagGen that is capable of restoring low-quality cardiac MRI scans to diagnostic standards. Trained on over 2,000 images, TagGen enhances visualization by producing sharper taglines that capture critical muscle movements, enabling accurate cardiological diagnoses from previously inadequate imaging data. The technology significantly reduces patient breath-holding requirements from 20+ heartbeats to just three, improving patient comfort while accelerating scan workflows.
- Cook Recalls Angio Catheters: Interventional device maker Cook is recalling some of its Beacon Tip 5.0 French angiography catheters after discovering that the device’s tip may separate during use. Patient harms can include catheter fragmentation and embolization, and could result in sepsis, vessel perforation, thrombosis, embolism, and possibly death. The company has reported three serious injuries but no deaths from the problem. Cook customers can check the FDA’s website to see if they are affected by the recall.
- Hospital Cyberattacks Double: The number of hospital cyberattacks and compromised patient records has risen sharply in the last five years. In a new review article, researchers documented 742 cyberattacks in 2023, double the 369 attacks in 2018. Meanwhile, the number of monthly compromised health records tripled in April 2024 compared to April 2023 (15.3M vs. 5.3M). The cost of healthcare data breaches has also increased 53% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Cardiac MRI Shows Air Pollution Effects: Exposure to air pollution causes heart damage visible on cardiac MRI. University of Toronto researchers scanned 694 people with native T1 mapping and late gadolinium enhancement cardiac MRI protocols to quantify myocardial fibrosis caused by inhalable PM2.5 particulate matter. Scans were correlated to each individual’s PM2.5 exposure based on Canadian government data. In people with dilated cardiomyopathy, greater long-term exposure led to higher MRI scores of diffuse myocardial fibrosis.
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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.
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Monebo’s Customers Lead the Way
Monebo’s customers span across the globe, and range from local cardiac monitoring companies to major ECG OEMs. See what they all have in common, and how the Monebo monitoring advantage might help your business.
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Siemens Healthineers ACUSON Origin Ultrasound System is Redefining CVUS
ACUSON Origin meets the demands of today’s cardiovascular care with AI-powered efficiency across adult and pediatric echo, vascular, structural heart, and EP. Streamlined workflows, intuitive walk-up usability, and advanced ergonomics empower clinicians to deliver confident, high-quality care—supporting a wide range of complex cases and clinical applications.
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- Identify and Treat Cardiovascular Disease: Complex care pathways make getting patients to the next step a challenge. See how Tempus Next, an AI enabled care pathway platform, helps providers identify and reduce under treatment in cardiovascular disease by adding an intelligent layer onto their routinely generated EHR data.
- 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
- 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.
- An All-in-One Coronary Care Solution: See how HeartFlow ONE is transforming precision heart care as the first all-in-one CCTA pathway, combining FFRCT, stenosis, and plaque analysis in a single workflow.
- Revolutionize Your Cardiac CT Workflow — See It LIVE at SCCT 2025! Be among the first to experience next-gen CV imaging at Booth #315 during SCCT 2025. Sign up now to find out how Circle CVI’s software enables lightning-fast LAAC, TAVR, and TMVR workflows while providing more accurate heart function insights, and clinician-controlled plaque quantification.
- 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.
- 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)
- Making the Leap to Outsource Post-Processing: Interested in how to outsource cardiac image post-processing, but not sure where to start? PIA walks you through how to assess and compare vendors, understand pricing models and payment options, and outline your requirements to identify vendors who meet your clinical needs.
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