Conferences

The Heart Rhythm Society's 2019 scientific sessions will be held May 8-11 in San Francisco, a venue that enabled the program committee to tap into Silicon Valley’s expertise with digital health, emerging technology and innovation. HRS.19 Program Director Christine Albert, MD, MPH, gave Cardiovascular Business a preview of meeting highlights.

When couples attended smoking cessation programs together, their odds of quitting were nearly six times higher than for people who attempted to kick the habit alone, according to preliminary research presented April 12 at EuroPrevent 2019.

A study of nearly 900,000 patients with heart failure or cardiogenic shock revealed their race, insurance coverage and ZIP code were associated with their odds of receiving a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

Counties in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease than those in states that didn’t expand Medicaid, according to an abstract presented April 5 at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research scientific sessions.

People who reported waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom were 40 percent more likely to have hypertension, according to a study presented March 30 at the Japanese Circulation Society’s annual scientific meeting.

In the largest-ever randomized trial of antihypertensive drug treatment in sub-Saharan Africa, two medication combinations including the long-acting calcium channel blocker amlodipine outperformed a third two-drug combination featuring a diuretic and an angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor.

Hypertensive patients from the RADIANCE-HTN SOLO trial who received renal denervation sustained a lower blood pressure through six months compared to participants randomized to a sham procedure, despite being placed on fewer antihypertensive medications during follow-up.

A post-FDA approval study of Abbott’s CardioMEMS heart failure sensor found the device reduced HF-related hospitalizations by 58 percent in a trial group of 1,200 patients, researchers reported at this year’s American College of Cardiology symposium in New Orleans.

A catheter ablation protocol for atrial fibrillation (AFib) including only “the bare essentials” of the procedure delivered similar outcomes as a more involved strategy featuring pulmonary vein mapping, according to research presented at EHRA 2019.

A remote monitoring protocol for heart failure patients with implantable electronic devices helped more of them stay out of the hospital over a one-year period than standard in-person visits, researchers reported at EHRA 2019.

Richard Kovacs, MD, officially began his one-year stint as the president of the American College of Cardiology on March 18. The occasion was marked during a convocation ceremony on the final day of the ACC’s scientific sessions in New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS — A new analysis considering not only a patient's first cardiovascular event—but the second, third and beyond—paints the REDUCE-IT trial in an even more positive light.