AHA: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

Recent results from a team-based, scalable intervention to promote medication adherence highlighted that the relationship between adherence and clinical outcomes is not always clear cut, said Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

The outcomes in the COMPASS trial of rivaroxaban to treat patients with peripheral artery disease have been very positive, and a new analysis has looked at the cost impact of bringing the drug to market, explained Andre Lamy, MD, MHSc, FRSC, a cardiac surgeon with the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The analysis presented at the American Heart Association looks strictly at healthcare costs, but a broader cost-effectiveness study is planned that will consider drug costs as well as effect on patient quality of life.

Researchers presenting at the American Heart Association look at specific populations within 2 large diabetes drug trials, CANVAS and EMPA-REG OUTCOME.

The time a patient is in a doctor's office represents a very small window of the body normally, which makes out-of-office blood pressure measurements important to confirm diagnosis of hypertension, explained Paul Whelton, MD, MSc, professor of global public health at Tulane University.

The chair of the guidelines committee said just because it's hard to change diet and exercise habits doesn't mean doctors and patients shouldn't try.

Results from higher-risk subgroups could help clinicians target this cholesterol-fighting therapy to patients who most need it, authors of one abstract say.

The EMPA-REG trial has been a big step forward for clinicians being able to put patients with type 2 diabetes onto treatment that also reduces cardiovascular disease risk, which is the primary cause of death in these patients, explained Eliot A. Brinton, MD, FAHA, FNLA, president of the Utah Lipid Center.

The PIONEER AF-PCI trial studied bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with 3 different treatments. The study found that a rivaroxaban (Xarelto)-based strategy had a significant reduction of bleeding complications, explained Roxana Mehran, MD, FACC, FACP, professor of medicine and director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials at the Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

A study inspired by a patient who could not afford his heart medication shows that there was no pattern to price variability for a common regimen to treat heart failure, which could contribute to poor adherence.

The study now includes 494 patients, and will be complete when 503 are enrolled. Of the participants, 60% required anticoagulant reversal to undergo surgery.

For some time, cardiologists have wondered whether there was anything to be gained by pushing LDL or "bad" cholesterol to very low levels.

A study of a pair of large databases shows a strong link between obesity and heart failure.

The study finds one-quarter of the patients stop taking anticoagulants within 3 months and nearly three-quarters have stopped after 2.25 years.

Presenters noted that this was an important but unusual trial, because it examined drugs not in isolation but how they are used in combination.

The results point to the need for more study on the effects of long-duration blood pressure treatment to prevent cognitive decline, especially in the highest risk patients.

The results from a wide-ranging public health effort in Howard County, Maryland, show a decline in sugary beverage consumption nearly on par with early results from Berkeley, California, which passed the nation's first soda tax.

A review of data of patients with cardiomyopathy found that those who had used marijuana were more likely to be younger males with fewer pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors.

Results released by Sanofi and Regeneron of their PCSK9 inhibitor were based on prior clinical trials.

Studies at the American Heart Association show very different approaches to exercise for type 2 diabetes patients.

Test results presented have implications for patients if they require emergency surgery.

Results show that bleeding was the most common reason patients stopped taking the drug in this study of long-term tolerability.

Commentators called the study the most important blood pressure research in 40 years. Treating systolic pressure to a target of 120 mm Hg did not cause problems for patients with existing chronic kidney disease although there were some signals for those who did not have the disease at baseline.

More details are revealed on the first diabetes drug shown to have a cardioprotective benefit, but Yale's Silvio Inzucchi was cautious about assuming the effect applies to the entire SGLT2 inhibitor class.

Studies that measure the effect of walkable communities in Canada and taking the train in Japan show that added steps to one's routine can have positive effects on heart health.

A study finds that a commonly prescribed therapy reduces activity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Hospitals that face penalties from CMS for failing to reduce readmission rates have looked to telehealth as a potential tool to keep track of patients after discharge. A study presented by a UCLA researcher did not meet its end point but offered some insights for future work.

Ample evidence supports obesity as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Traditionally, obesity is defined by body mass index (BMI); however, recent data suggest metabolic syndrome and excess adipose tissue play more of a role than BMI in determining CVD risk. In this session, Jaime Armando, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and Amparo Figueroa, MD, MPH, from Massachusetts General Hospital, presented results from studies that examined the roles of metabolic syndrome and excess adipose tissue in determining CVD risk.

In a presentation titled Readmission for Stroke and Quality of Care Among Hospitalized Patients With Transient Ischemic Attack: Real World Delivery of Care, Emily C. O'Brian, PhD, from Duke University School of Medicine, presented results from the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines (GWTG)-Stroke program. GWTG is a hospital improvement program designed to improve adherence to evidence-based care.

In this session, data were presented from 3 separate trials that focused on potential ways to reduce the risk for bleeding in patients who require anticoagulation therapy, including the use of genetic tests to optimize warfarin dosing and the use of the factor Xa inhibitor edoxaban. Munir Pirmohamed, MD, PhD, from the University of Liverpool, discussed results from the EU-PACT trial; Stephen Kimmel, MD, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discussed results from the COAG trial; and Robert P. Giugliano, MD, SM, FAHA, FACC, from Brigham and Women's Hospital, discussed results from the ENGAGE TIMI-AF 48 trial.