The importance of intensive lipid lowering in CV risk reduction: the role of early combination treatment

Professor Alberto Zambon explains the significance of intensive lipid lowering therapy in cardiovascular risk reduction after ESC 2023. He highlights the importance of early combination treatment to achieve target LDL- Ch levels. His key messages can be guidance for all of us.

State of art lipid-lowering treatment in 2023

Professor Stephen Nicholls summarizes the state of art lipid lowering therapy after ESC 2023.

Key points from the 2023 Focused update of the 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure

Professor Marco Metra was the co-chairman of the update to the ESC Heart Failure guidelines of 2021. The update incorporate data from nearly a dozen new clinical trials published since 2021, including EMPEROR-Preserved, DELIVER, STRONG-HF, IRONMAN, and more. The new guidelines include new recommendations related to SGLT2 inhibitor use in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction or with preserved ejection fraction as well as updated guidance surrounding management of comorbidities. ⁠You can access the document on the ESC website by clicking here.

Heart Failure management in the post-COVID era - Lessons from the pandemic

Professor Theresa McDonagh discusses how to deal with the legacy of COVID-19 for our patients and shares her advices.

Highlights of ESC2023 Congress - Heart failure in focus

Professor Carlos Aguiar discusses the highlights of the ESC2023 annual congress, shares  his thougths on many great news, novelties that could be changing the way we practice medicine, but also about findings that would be advancing our understanding on the mechanism of CV diseases. This year's ESC congress focused on Heart Failure, he explains the results of trials like STEP HFpEF, CASTLE-HTx and Guideline updates.

Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in the European Union

Professor Panos Vardas highlights the economic burden of cardiovascular diseases in the European Union. CVD cost the EU an estimated €282 billion in 2021, according to late breaking research presented at ESC Congress 2023.

Prospective Meta-Analysis of SGLT2 Inhibitor Randomized Trials in COVID-19

Professor Mikhail Kosiborod explains the findings of the Meta-Analysis, shows SGLT2 inhibitors do not reduce 28-day mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. These findings do not support the use of SGLT2 inhibitors as standard care in this clinical setting.

When real-world data meet real patients' needs: how to optimally treat patients with chronic coronary syndromes in 2023?

Professor Luis Henrique Gowdak share his thought how to treat patients optimally with chronic coronary syndromes in 2023.

STEP HFpEF: once-weekly semaglutide in people with HFpEF and obesity

Professor Mikhail Kosiborod provides a summary of the STEP HFpEF trial, in which semaglutide improves heart failure-related symptoms and physical function and results in greater weight loss compared with placebo in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity, according to late breaking research presented at ESC Congress 2023.

Main headlines of 2023 Focused update of the 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure

Professor Theresa McDonagh was the co-chair of the update to the ESC Heart Failure guidelines of 2021 which incorporates data from nearly a dozen new clinical trials published since 2021, including EMPEROR-Preserved, DELIVER, STRONG-HF, IRONMAN, and more. The new guidelines include new recommendations related to SGLT2 inhibitor use in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction or with preserved ejection fraction as well as updated guidance surrounding management of comorbidities. ⁠You can access the document on the ESC website by clicking here.⁠

2023 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Diabetes - from the cardiologist's perspective

Professor Nikolaus Marx, was the co-chairman of the new European Society of Cardiology Guidelines of the Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Diabetes. A key change from the previous 2019 edition is that the 2023 guidelines only focus on CVD and diabetes, and do not consider pre-diabetes due to the lack of clear evidence. Another important concept modification is the way that CV risk should be assessed in patients with diabetes.  ⁠You can access the document on the ESC website by clicking here.⁠

HEART-FID: Ferric Carboxymaltose in Heart Failure with Iron Deficiency

Professor Robert Mentz provides a summary of the HEART-FID trial. The study investigated the long-term safety and efficacy of supplementing heart failure patients with iv iron. There was no significant difference between ferric carboxymaltose and placebo in the primary composite outcome, including death, heart failure hospitalizations, and a six-minute walk distance.

DICTATE-AHF: Early Dapagliflozin Initiation in Acute Heart Failure

Professor Zachary Cox provides a summary of the DICTATE-AHF trial which showed that in patients with ADHF requiring inpatient IV loop diuretic therapy, there was a trend toward increased diuretic efficiency with the addition of dapagliflozin compared with placebo.

2023 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Endocarditis

Professor Michael A. Borger, was the co-chairman of the new European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the Management of Endocarditis. The overarching aim of this guideline is to provide a guide to the diagnostic approach to cardiomyopathies, highlight general evaluation and management issues, and make the reader aware of the relevant evidence base for the recommendations. ⁠You can access the document on the ESC website by clicking here.

OCT vs. IVUS vs. angiography guidance: a real-time updated network meta-analysis

Professor Gregg Stone provides a summary from a real-time updated network meta-analysis comparing OCT, IVUS and Angiography guidance in percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. The OCTOBER and ILUMIEN IV randomised trials both studied OCT-guided versus angiography-guided PCI. This analysis compared the overall effects of intravascular imaging in improving outcomes of the PCI procedure as compared to angiography, as well as IVUS vs angiography, OCT versus angiography, and IVUS versus OCT. Results showed that IVUS-guided PCI was associated with lower rates of target lesion failure as compared to angiography-guided PCI.

2023 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Cardiomyopathies

Professor Juan Pablo Kaski co-chaired the brand new European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the Management of Cardiomyopathies. This is the first international guideline document to include all cardiomyopathy subtypes, and the first time that specific recommendations are made for cardiomyopathies other than hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. You can access the document on the ESC website by clicking here.