How to address burnout | CMS approves coverage for TTVR | Devices recalled over safety concerns | Does marketing to docs work?

Laxmi Mehta, MD, detailed several ways she and her colleagues at The Ohio State University are working to combat the rising levels of burnout among cardiologists.

CMS will cover TTVR for the treatment of symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation on a national level. The agency first proposed such a policy in December, taking time to consider public comments before finalizing its decision.

The FDA shared a warning about these safety issues in February, but said it was still reviewing the evidence. The agency is now saying the devices “may cause serious injury or death” if used without following the updated instructions for use.

Researchers tracked three years of CMS data to explore how meal-based marketing may influence the habits of general and advanced heart failure cardiologists.

Using a left radial artery approach in the cath lab exposes interventional cardiologists to significantly less radiation than a hyper-adducted right radial artery approach. The difference is substantial enough for researchers to declare LRA "the primary access site for cardiac catheterization."

S. Chris Malaisrie, MD, professor of surgery at Northwestern University, explained what these data can tell us about the lifetime management of patients who require aortic valve replacement.

Breast artery calcifications are already visible when radiologists review mammograms, but nothing typically happens with them. Researchers aimed to see if AI could help translate those findings into an easy-to-understand cardiovascular risk score.

Two separate groups have published new research comparing early AVR with clinical surveillance for the treatment of asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Overall, the two groups found, early treatment was associated with multiple benefits—and no added risk of harm.

Researchers presented new two-year data from the SMART trial at CRT 2025 in Washington, D.C. Overall, self-expanding TAVR valves continue to show superior valve performance compared to balloon-expandable valves, and clinical outcomes remain comparable.

The new guidelines were designed to ensure sonographers and other members of the heart team have the information they need to screen patients when appropriate and identify early warnings signs of PH. 

California has moved assertively to legislate guardrails around AI in healthcare. Will other states follow? 

The notices are unrelated, but both require that clinicians adhere to a set of updated use instructions. One patient died as a result of injury.