EVAR vs Aneurysm Activity; Carotid Stenosis Inaccuracy; More PAP in Heart Failure?

In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms, endovascular aneurysm repair was shown to reduce aortic microcalcification and disease activity according to fluoride-18 uptake. (Heart)

There was a shrinking of small abdominal aortic aneurysms upon high-dose administration of immune-modulating stem cells in a preliminary study highlighted by the American Heart Association.

Records from carotid stenting facility accreditation review show that real-world operators tend to overestimate carotid artery stenosis, perhaps affecting decisions around carotid revascularization. (Stroke)

Postmenopausal women with a greater atherosclerotic burden were at higher risk of heart attacks than men of similar age, suggesting a higher dose of statins or the addition of another lipid-lowering drug for this population. (European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging)

Older people who met intensive blood pressure lowering goals did have fewer cardiovascular events over more than 3 years of follow-up in the STEP trial. (European Journal of Preventive Cardiology)

Assessed by artificial intelligence-powered quantitative flow ratio, residual ischemia after left main bifurcation stenting was associated with 3-year cardiovascular mortality, according to an observational report. (European Heart Journal)

Several available software products computing angiography-derived fractional flow reserve showed good diagnostic accuracy according to an independent core lab — but not to the level reported from validation studies of the vendors. (JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions)

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction may play a role in exercise intolerance among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. (JAMA Cardiology)

Heart failure patients who were more adherent to positive airway pressure therapy for concomitant obstructive sleep apnea tended to require fewer hospital visits. (Journal of the American Heart Association)

Early pulmonary artery catheter use was associated with better survival in heart failure-related cardiogenic shock. (Journal of Cardiac Failure)

In Korea, the socioeconomic disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest care were partly mediated by potentially modifiable factors such as witnessed status and provision of coronary angiography. (JAMA Network Open)

Samsung had the irregular heart rhythm notification feature of its smartwatch software cleared by the FDA. (Mass Device)

For patients with pulmonary hypertension and supraventricular arrhythmias, extensive radiofrequency catheter ablation resulted in less arrhythmia recurrence at 13 months than clinical arrhythmia ablation alone. (EP Europace)

Scientists identified new contributions of genetics to congenital heart disease with the discovery of splice region variants on RNA splicing. (Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine)

Newborns with critical coarctation of the aorta had biventricular systolic function restored with transcatheter or surgical repair, according to a small single-center report. (JACC: Advances)

Denver cardiologist Stephen Matthews, MD, was arrested again with the surfacing of nine more criminal cases related to alleged sexual assault. (CBS News)