Late-breaking results from the RESPECT trial show that recommended anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs are less effective than surgical intervention. 

After one month, patients with severe aortic stenosis and intermediate surgical risk had improved health status if they underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) rather than surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), according to an analysis of a randomized study. The analysis also found that patients in both groups had similar quality of life outcomes at two years.

A randomized trial found that an investigational cerebral protection device captured embolic debris in 99 percent of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and did not change their neurocognitive function. However, the study did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint, which was the reduction in median new lesion volume in protected territories as assessed by MRI two to seven days after patients underwent TAVR.

In an attempt to put a long-standing controversy to rest, a new study provides evidence that the cholesterol found in eggs is not damaging to the heart. 

For this issue, we gave cardiologists a crystal ball, figuratively, of course, and asked them what they saw for their specialty’s future.

After six months, patients with coronary artery disease who received the investigational Fantom bioresorbable scaffold had a low risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, according to a prospective, multicenter trial. The device also had low late lumen loss.

Based on their findings, the researchers mentioned that EMRs could be used to evaluate existing prediction models and develop new models and be incorporated into clinical practice to prospectively identify people at high risk of atrial fibrillation and other diseases.

Genetic testing provides physicians with more information to help make an accurate diagnosis. It is not a fool-proof way to ensure the diagnosis is never incorrect—as new research from Mayo Clinic shows.