Remote Acute Assessment Of Patients With High Cardiovascular Risk Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome (TELE-ACS)

Key Points:  

  • TELE-ACS evaluates the use of telemedicine strategies to reduce hospital readmission rates in patients with a recent history of acute coronary syndrome 
  • There was a 76% reduction in hospital readmission in the first six months for patients with a history of ACS who received the telemedicine intervention compared to controls (HR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.13-0.44, p < 0.00)  
  • The use of a telemedicine intervention resulted in a 41% reduction in emergency department visits (HR: 0.59, 95% CI HR: 0.40-0.89, p < 0.001) 

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An “Inclisiran First” Strategy Shows Greater LDL-C Lowering Compared With Usual Care In Patients With ASCVD: The VICTORION-INITIATE Randomized Trial

Key Points:

  • Most patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) do not achieve sufficiently reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels despite maximum-tolerated lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) to improve cardiovascular outcomes.
  • Twice-yearly inclisiran therapy added to maximum-tolerated statin therapy reduces LDL levels by an additional 50% compared to maximum-tolerated statin therapy alone.
  • The investigators randomized 450 participants to either inclisiran 284 mg at day 0, day 90, and day 270 plus usual LLT versus usual LLT alone.
  • The “inclisiran-first” strategy resulted in greater reductions in LDL and more patients reaching goal LDL reduction with minimal and comparable adverse effects.

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EMPACT-MI: Empagliflozin did not meet primary endpoint but significantly reduced HF hospitalizations

Key Points:

  • Incident heart failure remains common among patients who experience acute myocardial infarction despite recent advances in medical therapy and revascularization strategies. 
  • The EMPACT MI trial randomized 6,522 participants with acute myocardial infarction (STEMI or NSTEMI) at high risk of heart failure to empagliflozin 10mg daily or placebo.
  • Over a median follow-up of 17.9 months, the primary endpoint of time to first heart failure hospitalization or all-cause mortality was not significantly reduced with empagliflozin. 

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