Hunting & Heart Attacks; Cardiologist’s Whistleblower Suit; Algorithm Predicts Death

The American Heart Association said that hunters should be advised that physical exertion, colder temperatures, and the thrill of the hunt can put them at risk for heart attack or stroke.

Merck announced positive topline results for sotatercept (Winrevair) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension functional class III or IV in the phase III ZENITH trial.

Data from the phase III TANDEM trial showed that a fixed-dose combination of obicetrapib and ezetimibe nearly halved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in people who had already tried statins without success, NewAmsterdam Pharma said.

For patients with Sievers type 1 bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with balloon-expandable valves versus self-expanding valves involved tradeoffs in permanent pacemaker rates and patient-prosthesis mismatch, a propensity score-matching analysis suggested. (JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions)

Real-world results suggested a shift toward better outcomes, lower gradients, and no paravalvular leaks with the Sapien 3 Ultra Resilia TAVR valve compared with older-generation models, Edwards Lifesciences announced.

A Michigan cardiologist is suing Trinity Health Muskegon for whistleblower retaliation after he spoke up about another doctor’s unnecessary pacemaker implants. (FOX17)

The machine learning algorithm RF-SLAM accurately predicted all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalization among patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

The SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin (Farxiga) was associated with a reduced incidence of new-onset diabetes among patients with cardiovascular or kidney disease in a pooled trial analysis. (European Heart Journal)

Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and concurrent diabetes tended to have better clinical outcomes when using SGLT2 inhibitors. (European Journal of Preventive Cardiology)

The kidney and cardiovascular benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists were supported by a large meta-analysis. (Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology)

In an open-label Japanese trial, a course of cilostazol atop other antiplatelets beginning days before carotid artery stenting reduced the risk of in-stent restenosis at 2 years. (Stroke)

CDC researchers said that Bartonella quintana infection should be considered for solid-organ transplant recipients who received organs from donors with a history of homelessness or body lice infestation. (Emerging Infectious Diseases)

Even without evidence of antibody-mediated rejection by endomyocardial biopsy, heart transplant recipients with donor-specific antibodies and concurrent allograft dysfunction may still have a poor prognosis, according to a prospective study. (Circulation: Heart Failure)

The regenerative capacity of human cardiomyocytes is minimal in heart failure — unless the patient is receiving left ventricle support device therapy, which was associated with a more than sixfold increase in cardiomyocyte renewal relative to healthy hearts in one study. (Circulation)