Venk Murthy, MD, PhD on AI being used to create fake research.

Cardiology Testing

Better hs-cTnT Assays, Lower Healthcare Burden

Cardiac troponin assays might be the gold standard for diagnosing a heart attack in the ER, but a new JAMA study suggests the latest generation of tests could significantly reduce false positives and ultimately, health system burden.

• Myocardial infarction symptoms are a common reason why people go to the ER, accounting for 4% to 6% of total attendances.
• Current guidelines recommend a less than 5-ng/L threshold for cTnT levels to rule out a heart attack and allow for patient discharge when using a fifth generation assay.
• However, this threshold can lead to false positives that burden ERs with unnecessary patient admittances.

To address this, researchers compared how the newest sixth generation hs-cTnT assay (which used a 13-ng/L cut off for detecting MI) stacks up to the fifth gen assay by using both to evaluate 987 patients presenting to ERs with heart attack symptoms and comparing the results.

• Upon arriving at the ER, 61% had hs-cTnT levels below 13 ng/L.
• As a result, more than double the patients were ruled-out from having an MI using the sixth-gen assay compared to the fifth-gen (41.0% vs. 17.4%).

This led researchers to conclude that the sixth gen hs-cTnT assay could identify more patients as suitable for discharge after a single cardiac troponin measurement.

What this means for ERs, and cardiac emergencies in general, is that a more sensitive hs-cTnT assay could help reduce crowding and systemic burden for health systems.

• For reference, one Canadian study suggests that a single false positive MI hospitalization costs health systems $2,136 on average.

The study also comes just a few weeks after a JACC analysis found that the ratio between hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT could help distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 MI.

• So there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to cardiac troponins, despite how ubiquitously they’re used to diagnose MI.

The Takeaway

These early assay validation results are a good reminder that as cardiac diagnostics improve, so too will outcomes, especially for an event like a heart attack in which better diagnosis can lead to a lower burden on the healthcare system.

From Fetal to Adult Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Continuity of care is critical when it comes to a patient’s cardiovascular health. That’s why cardiologists across America are picking Fujifilm’s Lisendo 880 cardiovascular ultrasound for its versatility and precise imaging starting at a patient’s fetal development to adulthood.

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.

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. Watch this on-demand virtual discussion to hear the factors behind their win and the latest innovations in hemodynamics.

The Wire

• Stroke Risk of PF vs. RF Ablation: Though most research we’ve covered tends to favor pulsed-field ablation when it comes to safety, new research might contest that. A study presented at EHRA 2026 revealed that PFA was associated with a roughly fivefold higher risk of stroke or TIA compared to radiofrequency ablation (0.47% vs. 0.10%). While absolute event rates remain low for both, the study of over 4.2k patients suggested that there’s potential safety trade-offs for PFA, such as microbubble formation or endothelial disruption. Investigators are now working with the FDA to launch a nationwide postmarket surveillance study.

• Pulnovo Medical Secures $100M: Pulnovo Medical raised $100M in Series C financing to advance its Pulmonary Artery Denervation (PADN) System. The funding, supported by Medtronic, will accelerate clinical trials and regulatory submissions for the PADN technology, which already holds FDA Breakthrough Device Designation and multiple international approvals. Additionally, a new commercial agreement with Medtronic will leverage the medtech giant’s global network to bring Pulnovo’s radiofrequency-based hypertension and heart failure treatments to broader markets.

• CCP Opens Cardiac Walk-In Clinic: Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia (CCP) launched “CCP Now,” a specialized walk-in facility in Springfield, Pennsylvania, designed for patients with urgent symptoms like chest pain or palpitations. By providing same-day access to cardiologists and onsite diagnostics (troponin testing, ECGs, and vascular imaging) the clinic offers a lower-cost alternative to hospital emergency departments. CCP believes this outpatient model could reduce patient wait times and ease the burden on local EDs.

• LVH and Pediatric HCM: A multi-registry analysis of 587 children found that massive left ventricular hypertrophy (wall thickness >30mm) significantly increases the risk of HCM-related mortality and major ventricular arrhythmias. Patients with massive LVH were typically diagnosed at a younger age and showed a higher prevalence of sarcomeric genetic variants. While absolute wall thickness often increased over time, nearly 25% of patients experienced significant decreases in thickness as well, highlighting HCM’s complex history in high-risk pediatric cases.

• CTI Score and Coronary Calcification: A longitudinal analysis of the CARDIA study found that the C-reactive protein–triglyceride–glucose index (CTI) is an independent predictor of coronary artery calcium progression. Among 2,6k participants followed for nearly nine years, those in the highest CTI bracket faced a 38% higher risk of advancing subclinical atherosclerosis compared to the lowest bracket. The association remained consistent across age, sex, and racial subgroups, highlighting CTI’s potential as a dual biomarker for systemic inflammation and insulin resistance.

• CMS to Work with FDA on Breakthrough Devices: Getting FDA approval for a breakthrough medical device is great, but what if providers can’t get paid for using it? A new CMS program may fix that. CMS and the FDA last week announced their new Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device program, which enables the agencies to work together so evidence generated for breakthrough FDA submissions can be used to determine Medicare coverage. The RAPID program should reduce delays between FDA market authorization and Medicare national coverage decisions.

• Surgeon Gender in Cardiac Surgery: A large-scale analysis published in JAHA revealed that sex mismatch between patients and their surgeons does not explain the outcome gap in cardiac surgery. Examining over 223k Medicare beneficiaries, researchers found that both men and women had comparable 30-day and 5-year morbidity and mortality rates regardless of their surgeon’s gender. Experts attribute this consistency to the highly standardized, team-based nature of cardiac care, suggesting that while women still face higher overall risks, the individual surgeon’s sex is not a modifiable driver of these disparities.

• MCS Implant Location Matters: Initiating mechanical circulatory support (MCS) at regional referral hospitals before transfer to a specialized “hub” could be linked to a nearly twofold increase in device-related complications. A Circulation study compared patients implanted at referral centers to those treated at level 1 shock centers and found they faced significantly higher rates of bleeding (29% vs. 12%) and vascular injury (22% vs. 5%). It’s worth noting patient baseline status also contributed to higher mortality, but lower procedural volume at referral sites may be driving these technical complications.

• XVIVO’s Tech May Improve Transplant Outcomes: Preliminary data from the PRESERVE Trial showed that XVIVO’s Heart Assist Transport system successfully preserves extended-criteria donor hearts beyond the traditional four-hour limit. The trial of 141 heart transplant recipients met its primary efficacy and safety endpoints, achieving a 92.1% success rate at 30 days and 91.4% survival at one year. Notably, nearly 74% of cases exceeded the standard preservation window, prompting XVIVO to plan an FDA Pre-Market Approval submission later in 2026.

• Conavi Medical’s FDA Clearance: Conavi Medical received FDA 510(k) clearance for its next-generation hybrid imaging system, which simultaneously performs intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography. The co-registered platform allows for a complete assessment of coronary anatomy, visualizing both deep vessel structures and high-resolution surface detail in a single pullback. Following a January catheter recall for its original Novasight system, Conavi plans a limited U.S. commercial launch for this updated technology in the second half of 2026.

• Deadly Energy Drink Consumption? The family of a 17-year-old Texas student filed a wrongful death lawsuit against energy drink distributors following her death from cardiomyopathy attributed to excessive caffeine. The complaint alleges that Alani Nu Energy Drinks (which contain 200mg of caffeine) use deceptive, youth-targeted marketing and inconspicuous warnings that fail to disclose significant cardiovascular risks. Seeking over $1M in damages, the suit highlights ongoing safety concerns regarding highly caffeinated beverages, and is part of a trend of other cardiac caffeine lawsuits like those filed against Panera and Monster.

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.

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.

Uncovering Cardiac Risk With Circle CVI’s AI

Calcium scoring alone can sometimes miss coronary disease. Register for Circle Cardiovascular Imaging’s case-based webinar to learn why AI-enabled coronary plaque analysis is changing the way we detect, quantify, and manage cardiac risk.

The Resource Wire

• CA Diagnosis Using Echo AI: Diagnosing cardiac amyloidosis using echo can be challenging due to the imaging overlap between CA and more prevalent causes of cardiomyopathy. Read more about how Us2.ai’s echocardiographic score and fully automated deep-learning model overcome this challenge to enable better diagnosis.

• 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 ACUSON Origin customer, Tony Gallagher about how Siemens Healthineers’ cardiovascular ultrasound system is improving exam efficiency and showing positive impact on ROI.

• AHA Scientific Sessions Discussion: Heart Failure Treatment Developments and Impact on Women: Women with heart failure with preserved and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF and HFmrEF, respectively) often present with different symptoms than men, leading to underrecognition. Moreover, the incidence of HFpEF in women is increasing more than in men. Watch Dr. Martha Gulati discuss prevalence and changing treatment options.

• PIA Medical Processes It All: Need an analysis like calcium scoring, strain or even FFR? PIA Medical began as a Core Lab and can handle creative cardiac research and clinical trials along with the full breadth of clinical analyses available today.

The Industry Wire

1. Payors launch effort to standardize prior authorizations.
2. Is AI-powered prior authorization delaying medical care? 
3. Trump closes last of 17 deals to cut drug prices.
4. Healthcare providers warily watch for pharma shortages. 
5. Report: Medical lobbying groups spending more in Washington.
6. ER patients waiting days for inpatient hospital beds. 
7. Guest issues raise questions about academic publishing. 
8. Should the Main Residency Match be reformed?
9. FTC reaches pact to finally settle anesthesia roll-up complaint.
10. Trump administrationdowngrades marijuana classification.