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Y Chromosomes, Physician Shortages, and Funding Rounds
January 12, 2026
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Together with
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“Anybody can scan those cardiacs, but making sure that especially the cardiologists are seeing what they need to see in order to keep somebody from getting a catheterization or getting unnecessary treatment, you have to have good work, so having a good standard of what we are giving back to the community is very important.”
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Joe Seibert, Director of Imaging at Precision Imaging Centers
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Getting the best cardiac imaging results often means extensive post-processing, but not every practice has the time or resources. Watch the latest episode of the Cardiac Wire Show with Precision Imaging Centers’ Joe Seibert to find out how they partnered with PIA to save time, money, and get better outcomes from their cardiac images.
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We already know that loss or mutation in genes can lead to increased cardiovascular risk or even cause some diseases, but what about losing a whole chromosome? New research in JACC suggests that men who lose pieces of their Y chromosome as they age could be at greater risk of heart attacks.
- Every male cell (except red blood cells) includes one Y and one X chromosome as well as 44 other chromosomes.
- In the context of this study, researchers focused on the loss of Y chromosome (LOY) specifically in leukocytes (the white blood cells in our immune system).
- LOY in leukocytes occurs in approximately 20% of men over age 50, and nearly 40% in men over 70, with environmental factors like smoking and air pollution playing a big role.
Researchers measured the percentage loss of Y chromosome in 5.1k men over 65 who were previously enrolled in the ASPREE trial with no prior CVD, and examined how often MACE occurred during the trial’s 8.4 year follow-up, finding that…
- Nearly 10% of men experienced MACE, with 5% being MI and 4% ischemic stroke.
- Each standard deviation increase in LOY was associated with 14% higher MI risk.
- Men with the top 10% of LOY had 68% higher MI risk versus men without LOY.
- However, LOY wasn’t associated with ischemic stroke.
Keeping an eye on LOY has already emerged as a blood-based genomic biomarker for disease risk and mortality during aging, and while the study supports this, there are a few key details it doesn’t tell us.
- The study lacked any functional data, like cell sorting, blood cell counts, or single-cell data, which would help uncover the cell-specific patterns of LOY and underlying mechanisms.
- Participants with LOY measurements also tended to be healthier than the overall ASPREE male population.
- Additionally, the study’s participants were mostly of European ancestry, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other ethnicities.
The Takeaway
This study tells us one thing very clearly – the more a man loses from his Y chromosome, the higher his risk of MI. Why this is still isn’t clear and needs further research, but it does add nuance to the risks men face as they age.
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9 Merge Cardio Features to Change Your Cardiology Workflows
Having the right tools is essential for efficient cardiology imaging workflows and delivering exceptional patient care. Read this article on how Merge Cardio can make the biggest difference to your imaging workflows, care team user experiences, and patient care delivery.
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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.
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GLS Analysis of Us2.ai’s Fully-Automated Software
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- AI Predicts Diseases from Sleep: A new study in Nature Medicine suggests that a novel AI model can predict over a hundred different diseases, including CVD from a single night of sleep. Stanford researchers trained the SleepFM foundation model on 585k hours of sleep recordings from 65k patients, combining brain, heart, and breathing signals to predict future disease risk. SleepFM was shown to accurately predict 130 conditions with one night of sleep data, including dementia (C-Index 0.85), myocardial infarction (0.81), chronic kidney disease (0.79), stroke (0.78), and atrial fibrillation (0.78).
- AccurKardia Wins FDA Clearance for AccurECG 2.0: AccurKardia received FDA 510(k) clearance and launched AccurECG 2.0, the next-generation version of its automated ECG interpretation platform. The device-agnostic, Class II SaMD delivers near–real-time analysis across 13 arrhythmia classifications with 99% accuracy, enabling cardiac monitoring providers and hospitals to scale ECG workflows and reduce backlogs as monitoring volumes grow. The approval complements AccurKardia’s efforts to expand ECG beyond arrhythmia (e.g. hyperkalemia, AS), where they’ve landed two FDA Breakthroughs and entry into the FDA tap program.
- BrightHeart Raises €11M: BrightHeart raised €11M ($12.9M) in a Series A round to further commercialize its AI technology for detecting congenital heart defects on prenatal ultrasound exams. The company has received five FDA clearances and is ramping up its penetration of the U.S. market, with several clinical sites using the software.
- HeartLung Gets Clearance for AI-CVD: HeartLung received FDA clearance for AI-CVD, the company’s flagship AI opportunistic screening solution that analyzes chest and abdominal CT scans for multiple conditions, ranging from heart disease to stroke to osteoporosis. AI-CVD can be used to analyze CT scans acquired for other clinical indications, and is applicable to nearly 40M CT scans performed annually in the U.S. HeartLung sees AI-CVD as leading a shift in CT use from a diagnostic tool into a more preventive role.
- Physician Shortage Strains U.S. Healthcare: U.S. healthcare is under strain from the ongoing physician shortage, a situation only likely to worsen in coming years. A report from recruiting firm Medicus outlines how an aging population and stagnant workforce are putting pressure on physicians, with areas like rural healthcare particularly at risk. In the case of cardiology, nearly half of U.S. counties lack a practicing cardiologist, and the distance to the nearest cardiologist is often over 80 miles.
- CVAUSA Expands in Phoenix: Atria Heart, part of Cardiovascular Associates of America (CVAUSA), acquired Cardiovascular Consultants, expanding its presence across metropolitan Phoenix. The combined practice will operate nine offices with nearly 30 physicians and providers, building on Atria Heart’s partnership with HonorHealth hospital system. CVAUSA acquired Atria Heart back in May 2024, with this recent expansion based on their initial Phoenix foothold.
- Biobeat’s Series B: Biobeat Technologies closed a $50M Series B financing to expand U.S. commercialization of its FDA-cleared, cuff-less 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring system. The patch-worn device allows continuous monitoring without inflation cycles, addressing patient compliance issues with traditional cuff-based ABPM systems. After completing a test, the disposable device automatically generates reports available immediately in electronic medical records. The funding will support field sales expansion to make ABPM a standard of care for over 100M U.S. hypertensive patients.
- Eli Lilly Acquires Ventyx: Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Ventyx Biosciences in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.2B. Lilly’s interest stems from Ventyx’s oral NLRP3 inhibitors that target inflammation across cardiometabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory conditions. The purchase represents a 62% premium to Ventyx’s 30-day average trading price, with the acquisition expected to close in the first half of 2026 pending stockholder and regulatory approvals.
- Pression earns FDA Clearance: Pression received FDA 510(k) clearance to commercially market its Wave PRO External Counter-Pulsation system for patients with chronic stable angina without revascularization options. The portable system uses chest compressions timed with the patient’s heartbeat to improve blood flow to the heart. With clearance secured, Pression is moving into commercial manufacturing and deployment in outpatient and cardiac rehabilitation settings.
- Weight Returns Quickly After Stopping GLP-1s: A new meta-analysis in BMJ found that patients who discontinue weight-loss medications regain lost weight within an average of 1.7 years, with cardiometabolic risk factors rebounding in parallel. After stopping semaglutide or tirzepatide, patients regained nearly 10 kg within a year, returning to baseline weight by ~18 months. The findings suggest GLP-1 therapies are effective but require ongoing treatment or alternative long-term strategies to sustain benefits.
- First Human VECTOR Procedure: Physicians reported the first successful human use of ventriculo-coronary transcatheter outward navigation and reentry (VECTOR) to bypass the left main coronary artery before TAVR in a prohibitive-risk patient. VECTOR created a new aorta-to-coronary bypass with covered stents, preventing fatal coronary blockage in cases where other techniques couldn’t be used, and it remained open at 6 months following the procedure.
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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
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5,600 Ways to Improve Your Cardiac Ultrasound Workflow
AI-powered measurements can enhance the way you acquire and interpret cardiac ultrasound. Learn how AI-powered ultrasound can help you overcome everyday limitations in echo. Read Siemens Healthineers’ white paper on how its AI software provides 5,600+ automated measurements to help improve workflow efficiency, consistency, and clinical confidence.
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Circle CVI’s Cardiac CT Expansion
Watch this Cardiac Wire interview with Circle Cardiovascular Imaging’s Chief Product Officer, Scott Galbari as he sheds light on Circle CVI’s history with cardiac MRI and how the company is tackling the coming demand for cardiac CT.
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- Vista AI Grows CMR Volume: Are your patients waiting weeks or months for cardiac MRIs? See Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s real-world results showing how Vista AI’s software for automated MRI scanning led to 50% more scan slots, without adding more scanners or staff.
- Heart Failure Hospitalization Doubles Risk of Cardiovascular Death: 21% of patients with symptomatic heart failure escalate to hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular death, and 25% of those who experience hospitalization are readmitted due to heart failure within one year of discharge. Watch Bayer’s Dr. Alanna Morris-Simon discuss heart failure hospitalizations and when to assess care plans.
- 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.
- 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.
- Monebo’s Approach to Cardiac Health Monitoring: The heart works day and night, so your cardiac monitoring software should too. Learn about how Monebo’s latest innovation superimposes long-term monitoring results onto a 24-hour circadian cycle scale, creating a comprehensive map of circadian variations.
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