Sujith J. Kalathiveetil, MD, FACC on how Merge Cardio fits into the TAVR workflow.

With transcatheter therapies and cardiac imaging guided interventions on the rise, it’s more important than ever to have an image management platform that can handle multiple modalities. Watch the latest episode of The Cardiac Wire Show to hear from Sujith J. Kalathiveetil, MD, FACC, about his experience with Merge Cardio and how it has changed his patient workflows in the clinic.

Cardiology Testing

What NT-proBNP Can Tell Us About TEER Outcomes

New research presented at THT 2026 suggests that the NT-proBNP biomarker could give us a glimpse into which patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) will benefit the most from transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER).

• NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) is a key blood biomarker used to diagnose, rule out, and manage heart failure by measuring cardiac stress.
• TEER for severe TR is proven to improve symptoms and reduce heart failure hospitalizations, but predicting treatment success has been difficult.

Using data from the EuroTR registry, researchers evaluated 2.2k patients undergoing TEER, and organized them into three NT-proBNP categories (≤1,674, 1,675-3,743, >3,743 pg/mL) to compare baseline levels plus 30-day trajectory changes, finding that…

• Higher baseline NT-proBNP was associated with a greater 2-year composite mortality or first HF hospitalization risk (aHR: 1.62).
• Patients in the highest NT-proBNP category showed less functional improvement and less procedural success (81.4% in the highest vs. 86.3% in the lowest).

The 30-day NT-proBNP levels also predicted outcomes in patients who started at high baseline and saw their levels increase more than 30%. 

• Patients like these faced a 36% event-free survival rate versus 76% in the low NT-proBNP group.

While the study demonstrated NT-proBNP’s prognostic value, it also raised questions about the study population, since the extremely elevated baseline NT-proBNP levels suggest patients might not have been on optimal GDMT prior to TEER.

• Only 26% of patients received SGLT2is despite guidelines, while 43.9% were on MRAs and 57.4% were on RASis.

The Takeaway

When it comes to a complex procedure like transcatheter edge-to-edge repair for severe TR, being able to predict a patient’s response to treatment is invaluable. This study suggests that NT-proBNP could help do that, so long as physicians know a patient’s GDMT history.

The Power of AI in Cardiovascular Imaging

Cardiac labs are under more pressure than ever to deliver more with greater speed and precision. Hear from Tony Gallagher, Director of Noninvasive Cardiology at Baptist Health Lexington about how Siemens Healthineers’ ACUSON Origin is reshaping daily practice and transforming the future of echocardiography.

The Hidden Costs of Delaying Cardiac MRI Adoption

Despite being the gold standard for functional cardiac imaging, many hospitals remain slow to adopt it. From missed revenue to lost patients, the impact goes far beyond the scan. Read about the real clinical and financial risks of falling behind.

Circle CVI’s CAD-RADS Rundown

Ever wondered how CAD-RADS enhances the communication of coronary artery disease findings from imaging studies? Check out this guide from Circle Cardiovascular Imaging about the evolution of CAD-RADS and how to incorporate it into your practice.

The Wire

• Squeezing Limbs to Protect Hearts: One of the most effective cancer drug classes, anthracyclines, can cause serious heart damage but that drawback could be avoidable. A recent mouse experiment showed that the heart can be protected during anthracycline treatment using a technique known as remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) without reducing chemotherapy effectiveness. RIC consists of short controlled interruptions of blood flow to a limb by applying a pressure cuff. This activates protective mechanisms that help the heart better withstand stressors like those from chemotherapy.

• Relief’s Relieving FIH: Bringing us closer to a true medtech therapy for congestive heart failure, Relief Cardiovascular announced positive 90-day results from its RELIEF-FIH study at THT 2026. The “smart” valve-and-sensor implant, which sits in the inferior vena cava, successfully improved patients’ venous pressure with 100% procedural success, zero device-related adverse events, and highly accurate hemodynamic sensing. The system can also provide on-demand renal flow enhancement through a cloud-based platform, offering a device-based alternative to traditional diuretics.

• A Chest Pain Reducer: Early clinical data published in JSCAI suggests that VahatiCor’s A-Flux Reducer System is safe and effective for patients with stubborn chest pain. The self-expanding nitinol device achieved a 100% procedural success rate with no adverse events and patients experienced improvements in angina class and quality-of-life scores at six months. The A-Flux reducer uses a recapturable design and low-profile delivery system to minimize dislodgement risks while promoting healthy tissue healing and device patency.

• Ralinepag’s PAH Potential: Results from the Phase 3 ADVANCE OUTCOMES study of United Therapeutics’ ralinepag found that the drug significantly reduces the risk of worsening pulmonary artery hypertension. Ralinepag is a prostacyclin that helps keep blood flowing to the lungs and showed a 55% risk reduction of worsening PAH compared to placebo. The drug also led to 47% greater odds of clinical improvement alongside gains in six-minute walk distance and NT-proBNP levels. United plans an NDA submission to the FDA by late 2026.

• CardioMEMS’ HEROic Upgrade: Abbott received FDA approval for its CardioMEMS HERO, a next-generation remote reader for the CardioMEMS HF System that helps monitor and manage heart failure patients. The device is 60% lighter and more compact than its predecessor which improves portability and adherence while detecting worsening heart failure before symptoms appear. Past studies have shown that this approach can reduce hospitalizations by up to 57% by catching the delicate changes in pulmonary artery pressure before causing HF symptoms.

• Surgery for MR and TV: A new analysis suggests that the vast majority of mitral regurgitation and tricuspid valve disease patients remain free from reintervention or disease following surgery. The study found that 92% of patients with degenerative MR and TV disease stayed alive and free from reoperation or severe MR at 2 years following surgical MVR. Two-year mortality was 3.5% and only 1.4% had severe MR. While transcatheter MVR is gaining traction, it seems like surgery works fine for those who can get it.

• JUXTAPID for Kids: The FDA expanded Chiesi’s JUXTAPID (lomitapide) to include pediatric patients aged two years and older with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) since this ultra-rare genetic disorder causes dangerously high LDL-C from birth. In clinical trials, JUXTAPID demonstrated a 49% mean reduction in LDL-C when added to standard-of-care therapies. The approval provides a critical early intervention to mitigate the risk of severe, early-onset atherosclerosis in young children living with this condition.

• Hello Heart and The ACC: Hello Heart partnered with the ACC as part of a new initiative to evaluate its cardiovascular monitoring and coaching technology. The ACC will assemble an independent clinician workgroup to determine the quality and applicability of Hello Heart’s technology for clinician reporting and EMR integration. Hello Heart also joined the ACC’s Industry Advisory Forum in a bid to contribute to future public policy and AI integration into cardiovascular care.

• Lying Doesn’t Just Break Hearts: A cardiologist surrendered his medical license after getting caught in a web of elaborate deceptions. He was first fired from Cookeville Regional Medical Center after faking a penile cancer diagnosis to conceal his extramarital affair and fabricating training credentials, including fraudulent letters of recommendation from the Cleveland Clinic. He continued to falsify records and references while working at Baptist Health Lexington and now seems to have given up the gambit completely. He’ll be eligible to request reinstatement in two years.

• No Holds Barred for Intellia: The FDA removed the clinical hold on Intellia Therapeutics’ Phase 3 MAGNITUDE trial of nexiguran ziclumeran (nex-z) for ATTR-CM. Originally paused in October 2025 due to liver safety concerns, the study will resume with enhanced safety protocols, including intensified liver monitoring, short-term steroid guidance, and refined patient exclusion criteria (such as history of cardiovascular instability or low ejection fraction). Intellia is now focused on completing enrollment for both the MAGNITUDE and MAGNITUDE-2 trials.

• PFO’s 20-Year Proof: After 20 years, it’s safe to say that patent foramen ovale closure is safe. A recent 20-year longitudinal study of 130 patients confirmed that transcatheter PFO closure led to a stroke recurrence rate of less than 1% and only 13% of patients experienced bleeding events (predominantly women and those on antithrombotic therapy). Since no ischemic events occurred in patients who discontinued antithrombotic treatment, researchers reiterated that personalized therapy is needed to reduce bleeding risks after successful closure.

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.

Diagnosing Cardiac Amyloidosis Using Echo AI

Catching cardiac amyloidosis early is critical to giving patients the best possible outcome. Read Us2.ai’s latest paper in Circulation to learn how their echocardiography AI solution and new Us2.ca model helped clinicians diagnose cardiac amyloidosis with higher sensitivity and specificity.

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.

The Resource Wire

• 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.

• Why Merge Hemo is the Cardiology Hemodynamics Leader: Thanks to feedback from its customers, Merge Hemo has been named the 2026 Best in KLAS for cardiology hemodynamics for the 14th time. Join Merge for a free virtual discussion on March 18th to hear the factors behind their win and the latest innovations in hemodynamics.

• 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.

• 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.

• A Cardiovascular Ultrasound Platform You Can Trust: Being able to provide premium diagnostic information for your pediatric patients every day, all day, is vital. Find out why cardiac imagers trust Fujifilm’s Lisendo 880, and how its premium imaging quality, efficiency tools, and reliability you can trust, have helped change workflows for clinicians and technologists alike.

The Industry Wire

1. Breaking down the healthcare talk in Trump’s State of the Union.
2. Claude back online after “unprecedented demand” from DoD clash.
3. New rules for ACA plans would shift more healthcare costs to Americans.
4. Oracle faces executive exodus in health division.
5. Rural patients bypass local hospitals but get lower quality care elsewhere.
6. FDA plans bonuses for scientific staff that speeds up drug reviews.
7. Behind the scenes of a hospital’s 9-day cyberattack response.
8. Football is (still) bad for your head.
9. 2 dead, 2 wounded during multiple hospital shootings in Wisconsin.
10. States move to limit access toHIV treatment.