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Commentary & Perspectives Practice Management

AHA: 2023’s Most Significant Scientific Advancements in Cardiovascular Care

The AHA provided an overview of the most notable advancements in cardiovascular disease research in 2023.

Conexiant

The American Heart Association (AHA) reviewed the most notable advancements in cardiovascular disease research in 2023. The association explained that the new data may help physicians better understand the factors contributing to cardiovascular disease, prevent disease development, and reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and death.

Among the new discoveries, researchers found that the investigational agent zilebesiran may effectively reduce angiotensinogen levels; when administered at 200-mg doses or greater in patients aged 65 years and older with hypertension, zilebesiran successfully decreased blood pressure for at least 24 weeks. Researchers also revealed that endoscopic thrombectomy may benefit patients who have had severe strokes more than standard care; patients who underwent thrombectomy demonstrated greater functional independence, a lower risk of disability, and a reduced risk of death, but they may have a higher risk of intracranial hemorrhages. The AHA also noted that recent improvements in imaging—including angiography and optical coherence tomography—that help guide percutaneous coronary interventions could allow cardiologists to perform the procedures in patients with more complex coronary lesions. Further, researchers investigating the timing of the administration of direct-acting oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation who had had a stroke determined that earlier treatment (within 48 hours of a minor or moderate stroke and on days 6 or 7 following a major stroke) may result in a lower incidence of recurrent strokes and bleeding outside the brain. Additional advancements included:

  • Semaglutide may reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with obesity who do not have diabetes
  • Social determinants of health such as income status, access to healthy foods, and housing, as well as implicit biases, may be contributing to racial disparities in cardiovascular mortality rates among Black patients
  • The newly named cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome may help define the interconnection between obesity, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as well as identify effective therapeutics in this patient population.