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Kathryn Berlacher, MD, MS, FACC, chair of the 2026 American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2026 Scientific Sessions, and clinical director of cardiology and a women's heart and cardio-obstetrics specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, explains the major trend of artificial intelligence (AI) in cardiology, the use of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) for the first time at a medical meeting to scan attendees, and the rise in hands on, guideline, business and advocacy sessions.

ACC 2026 Chair Kathryn Berlacher, MD, MS, FACC, explains some of the big trend at this year's meeting, including AI, CCTA, hands-on and guideline sessions.

prescription drugs

Lower Medicare drug costs translated into more patients taking their medications, leading to better outcomes.

The SoloPace Fusion Temporary Pacing System from Solo Pace Inc. is deigned to eliminate the need for right ventricular (RV) lead placement, which requires the added procedural step to gaining venous access. This can cut procedure time and mitigate possible complication risks. For interventional cardiologists using improvised left ventricular (LV) pacing, this system can replace ad-hoc clip assemblies, subcutaneous needles and exposed wire connections, which are known sources of inconsistent pace capture.

New pacing system is designed to streamline TAVR cath lab workflows, cut procedural steps and increase reliability.

AI healthcare doctor surgery procedure artificial intelligence

Clinlab.AI will oversee every aspect of this new-look laboratory, working to integrate it with the practice's workflows in a way that boosts patient care and speeds up treatment decisions.

robot reviewing heart data

AI can help care teams identify heart patients who would benefit from TAVR or another life-changing valve intervention.

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More than 33,000 devices are affected by this recall. Customers may need to return and replace the purge cassettes included with their devices due to a risk of serious injury or death. 

 Former American College of Cardiology president Hadley Wilson, MD, FACC, executive vice chair of Atrium Health's Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute, shared his thoughts on what he saw as the key studies in the above video interview with Cardiovascular Business. He covered numerous trials in more detail in the video. #ACC26 #ACC

Hadley Wilson, MD, a former American College of Cardiology president, spoke to Cardiovascular Business about several studies presented at ACC.26.

Michiel Voskuil, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist and professor at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, presented his team’s data on the ACC.26 stage.

Patients with coronary artery disease and severe aortic stenosis often undergo PCI before TAVR. According to new data presented at ACC.26, however, deferring PCI is associated with comparable outcomes as well as a reduced bleeding risk.

Example of an automated artificial intelligence (AI) assessment of soft coronary plaque from a CT scan from the vendor Cleerly. This image shows the AI's reconstruction of a patient's coronary tree and color codes the vessel segments by the amount of overall plaque burden. The AI gives a very detailed report of all the plaque in all the coronary vessels. Some cardiology experts believe this may be the way of the future in screening patients for early coronary disease and monitoring the impact of prevention

Advanced AI software developed by Cleerly consistently produced plaque assessments comparable to intravascular ultrasound. 

artificial intelligence AI in healthcare

When patients without diabetes land in the hospital after a heart attack or stroke, early treatment with tirzepatide may prove beneficial. 

Workflow efficiencies and automation enhance newer cardiovascular IT systems

Bringing in a new and improved cardiovascular IT system can save physicians a ton of time and lead to considerable cost savings.

overweight patient seeking health advice

Novo Nordisk will be selling the new 7.2-mg dose under the brand name Wegovy HD. The FDA's decision fell under a new pilot program intended to grant certain companies improved access and quicker approvals. 

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