New research was presented at ESC 2022, the annual European Society of Cardiology Congress, from August 26-29. The features below highlight some of the studies that emerged from the conference.
‘Polypill’ Reduces Secondary CV Events in Older Adults
A three-drug, fixed-dose “polypill” containing aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin prevents secondary cardiovascular events in people aged 65 and older who have previously had a myocardial infarction, reducing cardiovascular mortality by 33% in this vulnerable patient population.
First RCT Evidence for AI Use in Daily Practice
In the first and only randomized controlled trial of its kind, initial assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by artificial intelligence (AI) was non-inferior and superior to initial sonographer assessment. After blinded review of initial LVEF assessment, cardiologists were less likely to substantially change their final report with initial AI assessment than sonographer assessment. Furthermore, AI-guided assessment took less time for cardiologists to over-read and was more consistent in test-retest modelling.
Medical Therapy as Good as PCI for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
In patients with severe ischaemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) did not reduce the composite incidence of all-cause death or hospitalization for heart failure at a median follow-up of 3.4 years, compared with optimal medical treatment. Furthermore, PCI did not incrementally improve left ventricular ejection fraction or provide a sustained difference in QOL, reported researchers from the first randomised REVIVED-BCIS2 trial in this patient population.
ENTRIGUE: Subcutaneous Pegozafermin in Severe Hypertriglyceridemia
In a phase 2 study, treating patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia with subcutaneous FGF21 analog pegozafermin significantly reduced triglycerides across all dose groups compared with placebo. After 8 weeks of therapy, 75% of participants who received pegozafermin 27 mg weekly achieved a greater than 50% triglyceride reduction, without serious side effects.
AXIOMATIC-SSP: Reducing Risk for Ischemic Stroke With Factor XIa Inhibition?
Late-breaking findings from the phase 2, doseranging AXIOMATIC-SSP trial showed that, although dose response was not observed, a 30% relative risk reduction was demonstrated in symptomatic ischemic stroke for patients randomized to milvexian compared with placebo in participants treated with dual antiplatelets. The milvexian safety signal was also encouraging; no fatal bleeding and no increase in symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was reported.
