At the 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress, investigators from Brigham Health presented results from highly anticipated cardiovascular trials with the potential to transform clinical practice.
Ticagrelor Reduced Heart Attacks and Strokes in Patients with Diabetes
In late-breaking clinical trial results presented in a Hot Line Session, investigators from Brigham Health presented the results from The Effect of Ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in Diabetes Mellitus Patients Intervention Study (THEMIS).
Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, THEMIS co-chair and executive director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham Health, presented study results showing that taking ticagrelor in addition to aspirin reduced the risk of a composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke among patients with diabetes. Patients on this dual-antiplatelet therapy also experienced an increased risk of bleeding. Results of THEMIS were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
To learn more, access the Brigham Health press release.
PARAGON-HF Trial Misses Endpoint, But Sacubitril-Valsartan May Benefit Some Patients
In a Hot Line Session, investigators from Brigham Health presented the results of Prospective Comparison of ARNI with ARB Global Outcomes in HF With Preserved Ejection Fraction (PARAGON-HF), the largest, randomized clinical trial of heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction, a patient population for whom no approved therapies currently exist.
Scott D. Solomon, MD, FACC, co-chair of the PARAGON-HF study, and senior cardiologist at Brigham Health, presented results showing that the drug sacubitril-valsartan did not significantly reduce heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular death in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, compared to valsartan alone. However, the data suggest that patients in the lower ejection fraction range may benefit from the therapy. Results of the PARAGON-HF trial appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine.
To learn more, access the Brigham Health press release.
Marc Sabatine, MD, MPH, Presents New ESC/EAS Dyslipidemia Guidelines and Benefits of Lifelong Low LDL and Systolic Blood Pressure
Marc S. Sabatine, MD, MPH, Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham Health, presented the new ESC/EAS Dyslipidemia Guidelines, which Dr. Sabatine co-authored. In another Hot Line session, Dr. Sabatine, in collaboration with Brian A. Ference, MD, MPhil, MSc, FACC, FESC, presented the results of a genetic study that examined the benefits of lifelong lower LDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. Dr. Sabatine is the senior author of the paper that published in JAMA.
HERMES Study: Using Cardiolinguistics and Artificial Intelligence to Reframe Typical and Atypical Angina
In a study using artificial intelligence to assess the nuanced variations in the language expressed by men and women to describe their symptoms to a physician, Catherine Kreatsoulas, M.Sc., PhD, and investigators at Brigham Health found that angina symptoms were similar in men and women.
In her presentation, Dr. Kreatsoulas and colleagues concluded that the terms “typical” and “atypical” angina do not accurately reflect patient symptoms and should be abandoned, as they do not correlate with disease and may perpetuate stereotypes based on sex. To learn more, access Dr. Kreatsoulas’s presentation here.
Tailoring Therapy in Diabetes
David D. Berg, MD, and investigators from the TIMI Study Group developed a novel clinical risk score to identify patients with diabetes who are at heightened risk for hospitalization due to heart failure. The investigators also found these patients have the biggest reduction in hospitalization for heart failure with a new class of glucose-lowering drugs called SGLT2 inhibitors. These findings were published in Circulation.