Caitlin Cox

News Editor at TCTMD

News Editor @TCTMD | Associate Director, Editorial Content @CRFheart | Knitter & Nerd | Winner of the 2020 @NIHCMfoundation Trade Journalism Award | She/Her

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Articles

One-Year Mortality With TAVI Rose in Recent Years: TVT Registry

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

The COVID pandemic could be a cause, but perhaps not the only reason, for the changes from 2018 to 2022. Only time will tell. One-year mortality rates—both cardiac and noncardiac—have been nudging upwards in recent years, according to an analysis of US data from 2017 to 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic could have driven the shift, researchers say, but it’s too early to know whether that trajectory will persist.
Vutrisiran, With the FDA’s Sign-off, Joins the Fray for ATTR-CM

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

Along with tafamidis and acoramidis, the drug is now the third for ATTR-CM, but it comes with a whopping price tag of $477,000 a year. Vutrisiran (Amvuttra), a small-interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy, is now the third drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), manufacturer Alnylam announced Thursday.
ACC Releases ‘Concise Clinical Guidance’ for Cardiogenic Shock Care

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

In this “data-scarce zone,” the paper offers a road map for the first 24 hours and tips for transfer, teams, and more. In an effort to encourage best practices for cardiogenic shock care, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) has issued a consensus statement that provides practical advice to inform evaluation and management.
Lower Risk of Mortality for Shock Patients Transferred to Expert Centers

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

The US data also point to lower costs and shorter stays at these expert centers, an argument for regionalized care akin to STEMI. Patients with cardiogenic shock have lower in-hospital mortality, as well as shorter, cheaper hospital stays, if transferred to expert hub centers, according to new US data. Yet just one in 10 people with cardiogenic shock were transferred, researchers report in their paper published earlier this month in Circulation: Heart Failure.
Years After Radiation Therapy, Echo Parameters Worse in Breast Cancer Patients

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

Even modern cancer treatments appear risky for the heart, especially if the radiation dose to the LAD is high. Women with breast cancer who undergo contemporary radiation therapy see little change to left ventricular function in the first 5 years after treatment, according to observational data. At the same time, though, researchers picked up on “modest” worsening of diastolic function and measures of circumferential and longitudinal strain.
CV Screening, Care at UK Football Club Made Inroads Against HF

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

A one-stop approach resulted in a new diagnosis of HF for 3% of the clinic’s visitors, who then were referred for timely treatment. A one-stop “hub” for CV screening and treatment that leverages the reputation of local football clubs, common across the United Kingdom, is a promising form of outreach to communities, a new report shows.
Reinterventions Rare Yet Predictable After TAVI, French Registries Show

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

Procedural planning and attention to detail can help, but heart teams should be realistic about what lies ahead, experts say. Fewer than one in 50 TAVI patients undergo reintervention within 8 years, with most of the repeat procedures done early and using redo TAVI, according to French registry data spanning from 2010 to 2022. While that’s reassuring, there is still a need for continued, long-term study among low-risk and younger patients with longer life expectancy, researchers say.
Veterans Health System Meets-or Bests-Community Care for CVD

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

A review highlights how, amid shifts in care delivery, US veterans can still find high quality at their VA medical center. For nearly all aspects of cardiovascular care, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system delivers outcomes that either match or improve upon those offered by community care, a new review asserts. That goes for the treatment of heart failure and acute MI, or procedures like transcatheter aortic valve replacement or elective PCI, the authors say.
GLP-1 Drugs in Diabetes Don’t Raise Suicidality Risk, New Data Confirm

1 month ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

A study comparing GLP-1 users to others on antidiabetic drugs showed no added risk once confounders were accounted for. For patients with diabetes, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) don’t appear to increase suicidality over what’s seen with the use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors or sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, according to a large cohort study from the United Kingdom.
Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy Tied to Future Atrial Fibrillation

2 months ago | tctmd.com | Caitlin Cox

The complications portend a rise in the arrhythmia, and also in mortality, with an average time to event of 7 years. Women who develop hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) when pregnant with their first baby are more likely to later be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) and face an increase in premature mortality, according to an observational analysis of Canadian data.