Clinical

This channel newsfeed includes clinical content on treating patients or the clinical implications in a variety of cardiac subspecialties and disease states. The channel includes news on cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, heart failure, electrophysiology, hypertension, structural heart disease, use of pharmaceuticals, and COVID-19.

CT scans don't lie—cigarettes are harder on the lungs than marijuana
Many have touted smoking marijuana as a safer alternative to cigarettes. New imaging data offer clarity on whether this notion is actually true.
Champagne could be good for the heart—and other lessons from a new risk analysis
Researchers explored the potential impact of more than 100 risk factors on a person's risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Some of their findings were what you may expect, but others were much more surprising.
Bayer's finerenone reduces risk of AFib, atrial flutter in all CKM syndrome patients
New data published in JACC represents another big win for Bayer's finerenone. The drug has previously been linked to cardiovascular benefits for patients with CKD and heart failure, but its potential across the full CKM spectrum remained a bit of a mystery.
Society of Thoracic Surgeons shares new risk calculator for complex aortic procedures
The new resource was built to help care teams plan for ascending aorta and aortic root surgeries.
PFA takes center stage at Heart Rhythm 2025 as medtech companies share new data
Pulsed field ablation was one of the biggest topics at Heart Rhythm 2025, the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Boston Scientific, Abbott, Kardium and Field Medical all shared new data at the conference highlighting the safety and effectiveness of their advanced PFA technologies.

cardiologist Peter J. Fitzgerald, MD, PhD, HeartBeam

Cardiac technology startup names cardiologist Peter Fitzgerald its chief medical officer

Fitzgerald, a leading figure in interventional cardiology, praised the company's potential to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

Metformin, the popular type 2 diabetes medication, may be an effective AFib treatment

A team of specialists from Cleveland Clinic reviewed nearly 3,000 medications, writing that a common type 2 diabetes medication offered the most potential as an effective treatment for AFib.

CT has been used for planning and procedural guidance in pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for about 20 years. It shows the anatomy to the electrophysiologist. The EPs also can load the imaging into their EP mapping system. It also shows them the location of the esophagus and the phrenic nerve so they can avoid these during the procedures. #PVI #EPeeps

VIDEO: The expanding role of cardiac CT in electrophysiology

Harold Litt, MD, division chief of cardiothoracic imaging and director of the Center for Advanced CT Imaging Sciences at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, explains the role of cardiac CT in EP procedures.

A transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure being performed at Intermountain Healthcare. Image from Intermountain Healthcare

Severe prosthesis-patient mismatch after TAVR linked to a higher risk of death

Researchers examined data from 82,000 TAVR patients, focusing on echocardiography-defined PPM. They shared their results in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.

FFR-guided PCI provides significant value, new meta-analysis confirms

FFR-guided PCI was associated with improved resource utilization and less radiation exposure, among other benefits, when compared to angiography-guided procedures.

COVID-19 vaccines prevented 300K deaths in 2021

COVID-19 vaccines were very effective at preventing serious illness and excess deaths in 2021, according to new data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vaccines were also linked to considerable cost savings.

Microbot Medical microcatheters Liberty Robotic System

Microbot Medical acquires Nitiloop’s assets, including FDA-cleared microcatheters

The company plans to integrate the newly acquired microcatheters into its existing robotics platforms.

Heart failure-related deaths are on the rise in the U.S., especially among men

Heart failure-related mortality among older adults improved from 1999 to 2012, but then things changed considerably over the next several years. Researchers explored the latest data at length, sharing their findings in JACC: Heart Failure.

Clinical

CT scans don't lie—cigarettes are harder on the lungs than marijuana

Champagne could be good for the heart—and other lessons from a new risk analysis

Bayer's finerenone reduces risk of AFib, atrial flutter in all CKM syndrome patients

Society of Thoracic Surgeons shares new risk calculator for complex aortic procedures

PFA takes center stage at Heart Rhythm 2025 as medtech companies share new data