Mark Cuban

The recent increases in both CCTA and plaque analysis reimbursement have set the stage for a new kind of imaging-guided cardiology. Hear from Michael G. Coords, MD at this year’s RSNA 2025 about how he and his colleagues at RadNet are using Heartflow’s Plaque Analysis software to improve their diagnostic workflows.

Obesity Care

Childhood Obesity CHD Risks Might Be Reversible

Childhood obesity’s cardiovascular consequences might be reversible with timely intervention, after a Swedish study demonstrated that children who were overweight but achieved normal weight by young adulthood had similar coronary heart disease risk to their “never-overweight” peers.

• Childhood obesity is often tied to adult CHD, but whether these risks were permanent remained unclear.
• So it’s important to understand when the critical windows for intervention are and whether or not obesity timing affects long-term cardiovascular outcomes.

The BMI Epidemiology Study analysis linked health records to nationwide registries for 103k people in Sweden to track their BMI changes from childhood through young adulthood and examined CHD outcomes over a mean 37.8-year follow-up.

• Childhood overweight BMIs (HR 1.15) and young adult overweight/obese BMIs (HR 1.71) each led to increased CHD risk (5.6% of individuals ultimately experienced CHD).
• Children who were overweight but achieved normal weight by young adulthood had CHD risk equivalent to those maintaining normal weight at both timepoints (HR 0.98), bringing their risk back to normal as well.
• Obesity during puberty carried significantly greater CHD risk than long-term childhood obesity (HR 1.23), indicating timing of weight gain matters beyond duration.

It’s worth noting that this longitudinal study did not include lifestyle factors, but it still lends support to the importance of reversing unhealthy weight trends in children as soon as possible since developmental changes can rapidly increase risk.

• For example, the high CHD risk caused by obesity during puberty likely has ties to the way children’s hormones work.
• This is also supported by earlier research on teenage BMI changes that found increased stroke, heart failure, cardiovascular death, and coronary atherosclerosis risks.

Given that getting back to a normal weight by young adulthood also returned individuals to a normal CHD risk level, the findings support aggressive childhood obesity intervention as a window to prevent lifelong cardiovascular disease burden.

The Takeaway

It used to be assumed that childhood obesity was devastating for a person’s long-term health, but this study tells us that may not be the case, at least when it comes to coronary heart disease. It’s also a reminder that it’s never too late or too early to maintain a healthy weight.

The Largest Registry on Plaque Analysis in CAD

What if 50% of your CCTA patients could benefit from an adjustment to their treatment plan? Read more about Heartflow’s DECIDE registry that demonstrates how Heartflow Plaque Analysis using its Plaque Staging software empowers physicians with clinical insights that lead to real-world impact.

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

Changes in Heart Failure Management

Heart failure is a complex condition with high heart failure hospitalization and cardiovascular mortality rates, especially among patients with HFpEF and HFmrEF, for whom treatment options have been limited. Read how Bayer’s Dr. Alanna Morris-Simon discusses the changing treatment landscape and strategies for improving patient outcomes.

The Wire

• GLP-1 Effects Reverse Quickly: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials found that patients face significant metabolic rebound 12 weeks after GLP-1 discontinuation. Researchers followed 3.7k patients who stopped their GLP-1s and found that weight rebounded by 5.63 kg and HbA1c increased 0.25% in obese patients. Meanwhile, T2D patients gained 2.03 kg with 0.65% HbA1c rise. These findings emphasize the need for treatment guidelines addressing discontinuation strategies.

• Cell-Free DNA and LVAD Risk: A recent Circulation study suggests that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels could be used for risk stratification in LVAD candidates. Researchers followed 260 heart failure patients post-LVAD and found that nuclear cfDNA nearly halved post implantation, with reductions in immune, vascular, gastrointestinal, and liver-specific cfDNA. Furthermore, the patients in the highest pre-LVAD cfDNA category also faced worse infection-free survival (HR 2.94) and blood flow related adverse events (HR 3.24).

• Reimbursement for Point of Care Exams: CMS finalized a new national payment under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, enabling hospitals to receive reimbursement for algorithmic analysis of acoustic and electrocardiogram point-of-care exams. As a result, devices like Eko Health’s SENSORA AI-powered cardiac detection platform now fall under Category III CPT code 0962T and are assigned to APC 5734, supporting integration into standard workflows.

• Reimbursement for Cardio Diagnostics’ Tests: CMS set a final Medicare gapfill payment rate of $854 for Cardio Diagnostics’ Epi+Gen CHD and PrecisionCHD tests, effective January 1, 2026. This represents an increase from preliminary rates of $350 and $684.76 respectively, and is necessary due to the lack of a comparable test to Cardio Diagnostics’ platform. Both AI-powered cardiovascular tests analyze genetic and epigenetic markers from blood draws.

• CMS Raises Plaque Analysis Reimbursement: In more Medicare news, CMS established significant reimbursement for plaque analysis software under a Category I CPT code (75577), which goes into effect January 1, 2026. The 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule now sets the global reimbursement rate at $1,026 for plaque analysis at imaging centers/physician offices and $951 for hospital outpatient settings. This bodes well for plaque analysis developers like Elucid, Cleerly, Heartflow, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, and others.

• OxPL-apoB’s MACE Prediction: Recent results from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial suggest that elevated oxidized phospholipids on the apoB-100 molecule (OxPL-apoB) could predict which patients with recent acute coronary syndrome might experience MACE. The study followed 11.6k ACS patients over a 2.9 years average follow-up and found that those who took alirocumab OxPL-apoB levels saw them drop by 13%, leading to a reduction in MACE. OxPL-apoB levels also independently predicted risk when Lp(a) was below median in placebo patients, suggesting strong prognostic value.

• Nanosecond PFA’s Noninferiority: Results from the InsightPFA trial in China suggest that nanosecond pulsed field ablation (nsPFA) is noninferior to index-guided radiofrequency ablation for treating paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The study included 287 patients across 13 Chinese centers, demonstrating that both groups achieved similar 12-month freedom from arrhythmia recurrence (65.5% vs 64.1%) with comparable safety profiles. Notably, nsPFA required no general anesthesia and significantly reduced procedure and left atrial dwell times, though fluoroscopy exposure increased.

• CareDx’s HeartCare Shows Strong Results: CareDx published a third manuscript from its SHORE registry in JHLT, demonstrating that its HeartCare molecular testing technology provides critical prognostic value for heart transplant patients. The study of 1.9k transplant recipients from 59 centers showed that positive HeartCare results (elevated AlloMap and AlloSure Heart) identify patients at significantly higher risk for rejection complications, graft dysfunction, and cardiovascular death, even when biopsies appear normal, which enables targeted monitoring and potentially improved outcomes.

• Corstasis and CVL Partner on ENBUMYST: Corstasis Therapeutics partnered with Cardiovascular Logistics (CVL) to integrate ENBUMYST (bumetanide nasal spray) into outpatient HF management across CVL’s cardiovascular practice network. Recently FDA-approved for treating HF-associated edema, hepatic disease, and renal disease, ENBUMYST offers patients a self-administered, non-oral diuretic option for outpatient decongestion. The collaboration aims to enable earlier intervention and reduce hospitalizations.

• Olezarsen Notches Breakthrough Designation: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ olezarsen for treating severe hypertriglyceridemia. The designation stems from the Phase 3 CORE and CORE2 studies, in which olezarsen achieved up to 72% placebo-adjusted triglyceride reduction and 85% reduction in acute pancreatitis events. Olezarsen is also the first investigational therapy to significantly reduce pancreatitis events.

• AZ’s Baxdrostat Gets Priority Review: AstraZeneca’s recent new drug application for its BP drug, baxdrostat, received FDA Priority Review for treating hard-to-control hypertension as an add-on therapy. The PDUFA date is anticipated in Q2 2026 with the priority review based on positive BaxHTN Phase III results. If approved, baxdrostat would be the first aldosterone synthase inhibitor authorized in the U.S., addressing approximately 50% of American hypertension patients inadequately controlled on multiple treatments.

PIA’s Post-Processing Solution

Advanced cardiac imaging often calls for a time-consuming post-processing step, requiring costly software, hardware, and training. See how PIA provides this post-processing at lower cost, improved consistency, and greater efficiency.

Streamlining Cath Lab Hemodynamic Workflows

Is your hemodynamic solution keeping your cath lab efficient? Merge Hemo is a cath lab hemodynamic monitoring solution, providing a Best in KLAS user experience, while enhancing clinical workflows, automating data collection, and streamlining inventory management.

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.

The Resource Wire

• Cracking the Code of ECG Analysis with Monebo’s AI Genetic Algorithm: How do you teach a computer to recognize the complex patterns in an ECG signal? Discover how Monebo found the answer by blending human expertise and a little evolutionary magic in this article that breaks down the advantages of genetic algorithms in ECG analysis.

• CMR Access Is Broken—Here’s How to Fix It​: Cardiac MRI is one of the most powerful tools for diagnosing heart disease, yet it’s still out of reach for many patients. Download Vista AI’s new infographic to see what’s holding CMR adoption back—and how AI and automation can help make gold-standard imaging more accessible than ever.

• Tempus Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Tempus ECG-Low EF: Tempus announces the expansion of its Tempus ECG-AI portfolio with Tempus ECG-Low EF, software intended for use to analyze 12-lead ECG recordings and detect signs associated with having a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF less than or equal to 40%) in patients 40 years of age or older at risk of heart failure. It is not intended as a stand-alone diagnostic and positive results may suggest the need for further clinical evaluation. For Full Indications for Use, visit here.

• The All in One Cardiac Imaging Solution: Ready for an all-in-one solution that supports all of your MR and CT needs? See how Circle Cardiovascular Imaging’s cvi42 can streamline your core reading and reporting workflows within a single, customizable platform.

• Us2.ai’s AI HF Now Possible with Handheld Echo: The latest research shows Us2.ai’s software can take handheld echocardiography beyond its standard applications. Read this EHJ study about how swiftly and accurately Us2.ai’s HF detection software detects LVEF, closely matching expert human analysis of standard cart based echocardiograms.

The Industry Wire

1. CDC advisers delay planned vote on hepatitis B vaccine for infants.
2. American Cancer Society endorses pap smear alternative.
3. Weight-loss drugs could become unavailable for millions in coming years.
4. US Senate Democrats renew bid to extend Obamacare subsidies.
5. Humana working with Mark Cuban on potential pharmacy partnership.
6. Covert watchdog testing finds ACA vulnerable to subsidy fraud.
7. Angle Health snags $134M amid payer demand for cost savings.
8. ACA premium spikes cause Blue Cross call center volumes to soar.
9. Richard Pazdur, FDA drug czar, to retire from the agency.
10. How CMS plans to pay for wearables.