Rates of readmission following heart failure hospitalization are high. The BMAD trial in patients with heart failure assessed the use of the Microcor device on readmission rates. In this touchCARDIO interview, we speak with Dr John Boehmer (Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine,  Hershey, PA, USA) to discuss purpose, […]

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a hemodynamic disorder characterized by an elevation of left ventricular filling pressures. This trial assessed the ability of dapagliflozin, a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i), to reduce this elevation. In this touchCARDIO interview, we speak with Dr Barry Borlaug (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA) to discuss the […]

The REVIVED-BCIS2 trial assessed the use of myocardial viability tests in predicting prognosis following revascularization in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction.  In this touchCARDIO interview, we speak with Professor Divaka Perera (Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) to discuss the REVIVED-BCIS2 trial, its findings and the impact these results will likely […]

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease involving proliferative remodeling of the pulmonary vessels and elevations in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Despite recent treatment advances, the associated morbidity and mortality rates of the disease are still high. In this touchCARDIO interview, we speak with Prof. Marius Hoeper (Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, […]

Mitral valve (MV) disease includes either mitral regurgitation or mitral stenosis or both. The incidence and prevalence of valvular heart disease is increasing with the increasing population age. Degenerative MV disease poses a global burden with a prevalence of 18.1 million cases in 2017. Further, its global prevalence increased by 94% from 1990 to 2017.1 Surgery is the gold standard of […]

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), along with its more common subgroup, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), is the most common monogenic cardiovascular disorder, with a prevalence of about 1 in 500,1 and a dominant inheritance pattern, thus clustering in affected families. Patients with HCM often have significant limitations to their exercise capacity, and while there are several underlying pathomechanisms for […]

The global prevalence of aortic stenosis (AS) has steadily increased over the past several decades.1 In high-income countries, degenerative calcific aortic valve disease is the primary aetiology for AS, whereas chronic rheumatic valve disease and infective endocarditis remain more common causes worldwide.2 Population-wide trends in developed countries suggest a strong relationship between advanced age and incidence of […]

In recent years, patients undergoing non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures have become increasingly older, with a more significant comorbidity burden and complex coronary disease.1 Many of the patients who undergo elective or urgent PCI are surgical turndown patients, for whom PCI is the only revascularization option.2 For these high-risk patients, more interventionalists are opting for […]