A third blood pressure drug has been recalled over a carcinogenic impurity, the FDA announced Nov. 8.

The Door-to-Unload pilot study concluded without any “prohibitive safety signals,” researchers reported at the American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions, clearing the path for a larger trial to test the hypothesis that ventricular unloading prior to PCI with the Impella CP heart pump can reduce reperfusion injury.

A machine learning algorithm that predicts five-year mortality among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) makes the case that patient responses to questionnaires can be just as informative in risk stratification as clinical characteristics and lab measurements.

When approached again, about a quarter of patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) not taking anticoagulants due to physician-cited “patient refusal” said they would consider taking the drugs, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

Over the coming weeks, CMS will unveil a mandatory Medicare payment model for radiation oncology, Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary, said in a recent speech. The announcement drew a mixed reaction from the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Among patients with restored ventricular function who were taken off their heart failure medications, 44 percent relapsed within eight weeks. Researchers said the trial indicates most of these patients should remain on their treatments indefinitely.

Sacubitril-valsartan therapy was associated with greater reductions in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) than enalapril among patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure, according to research presented Nov. 11 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions and published online simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

VITAL and REDUCE-IT—both highly anticipated trials revolving around the cardiovascular benefits of fish oil products—delivered mixed results at this year’s AHA Scientific Sessions in Chicago, with one trial observing few heart benefits from omega-3s while the other saw a 25 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events with a purified eicosapentaenoic acid product.