Each month, section editor LA McKeown compiles a summary of the latest news from journals and medical meetings around the world.

If optimal guideline-guided medical therapy (GDMT) for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) were implemented globally, it could save an estimated 1.19 million lives over the course of a year, an analysis suggests. “Significant benefits would be achieved with GDMT optimization in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, as well as in Eastern Mediterranean and African countries,” thanks to the high prevalence of HFrEF and the current levels of undertreatment, the researchers write in JAMA Cardiology.

The age-old question of whether caffeine is good for you gets another boost from a study of lupus patients showing that those who consume more caffeine have better vascular health. Report your findings in RheumatologyResearchers say the small study of lupus patients without traditional CV risk factors requires further confirmation but may be a step toward clarifying the role of dietary caffeine in controlling the disease process.

The Chest Pain Conception Questionnaire (CPCQ) works as well in the racially and ethnically diverse real world as it did when it was first developed in a predominantly white population, an article published in Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing suggests. The CPCQ was created to assess lay people’s ideas about chest pain symptoms and how they would feel if the symptoms happened to them.

Episodes of acute decompensated HF may, due to systemic congestion, cause changes in the retinal microvasculature, a study in European Journal of Heart Failure demonstrates. While gains in some eye parameters were observed after the patients recovered, the authors say the changes did not return to normal compared to controls, highlighting the need for more study of this cardio-ocular syndrome and its potential long-term consequences.

New stroke prevention guidelines from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association provide evidence-based recommendations to support brain health across the lifespan with the goal of minimizing risk in people without previous stroke. Published in Strokethe advice addresses risk factors, lifestyle changes and health equity as well as screening and management strategies that are specific to sex and gender.

Over the past decade, there has been a significant shift in the field of acute ischemic stroke toward endovascular therapies such as clot retrieval and salvage stenting, which a review article in Lancet says has improved understanding of optimal management techniques. Randomized trials using next-generation devices confirmed the benefit of endovascular therapy over best medical treatment in selected patients, the authors say, and have led to improved patient selection as operators rely on evolving RCT evidence.

Black patients are 22% more likely than white patients to die in the hospital after CABG surgery, data from a large US inpatient database shows. The results, which were presented at the latest Anesthesiology 2024 meeting, also reveals longer hospital stays for black patients as well as higher likelihood of cardiac arrest.

In a recent study of prognostic factors in cardiogenic shock, several patient characteristics emerged as factors linked to increased risk of early mortality: age ≥ 75 years, peripheral arterial disease, chronic kidney disease, and female sex. The systematic review and meta-analysis of over 2.4 million patients, published in NO Evidencealso showed that certain procedural and presentation factors may predict increased mortality, including out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, left ventricular ejection fraction < 30%, and need for dialysis or mechanical circulatory support.

As data accumulates that suggests so fasting is unnecessary and unpleasant for patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, a two-hospital analysis suggests that the risk of aspiration in STEMI patients undergoing emergency or emergent cardiac catheterization with moderate sedation and no enforced fasting is extremely low. Potential aspiration has long been cited as the cause of fasting requirements. Of 446 patients, 15 had a suspected aspiration event that, on assessment and review, resulted in only one probable and one possible aspiration, the researchers report in JSCAI.

News Highlights from TCTMD:

SOUL: Oral Semaglutide Reduces CV Events in Diabetic Patients

Practical strategies for promoting diversity in cardiology clinical trials

Can the ‘Body Roundness Index’ replace BMI? It depends, experts say

Standing alone will not offset sitting’s CVD risks, study suggests

“Teleprehabilitation” before cardiac surgery improves outcomes following