Top 10 Journal Scans

Kim A. Eagle, MD, MACC

What an amazing year 2024 was in terms of advances in cardiovascular care! With more than 882,000 users, ACC.org continues to be a critical resource for cardiovascular clinicians around the world!

The most visited journal scan articles of 2024 reflected areas of major progress or new understandings of conditions and/or their treatment. SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 RAs are transforming our treatment of heart failure, diabetes and obesity. More precise care of acute and chronic coronary artery disease is upon us, and new risk-prediction tools and drug-drug interactions are being defined.

On behalf of the care providers and ACC staff who bring you content all year long, thank you for trusting the ACC with your learning needs and here's to wishing you a joyous holiday season and new year!

— Kim A. Eagle, MD, MACC
Editor-in-Chief, ACC.org

1. Semaglutide vs. Tirzepatide For Weight Loss in Adults
2. Lp(a) and CV Risk Reduction With Icosapent Ethyl
3. Aspirin in Patients With DES Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery
4. Short-Term DAPT After DES in Patients With ACS
5. Bleeding in AFib Patients With Diltiazem and DOAC Therapy
6. Comparative Outcomes of Empagliflozin to Dapagliflozin in HF Patients
7. Rethinking False Positive Exercise ECG Tests in ANOCA
8. Complete Revascularization in NSTEMI vs. STEMI Older Patients
9. Hypotension With Sacubitril/Valsartan Use in HFrEF
10. Development and Validation of PREVENT Equations

Top 10 Clinical Trials

Dharam J. Kumbhani, MD, SM, FACC

Anthony A. Bavry, MD, MPH, FACC

It was an exceptional year for clinical trial coverage on ACC.org! There were 315,700 unique views of the top trials coming out of ACC.24, ESC Congress 2024, TCT 2024, AHA 2024.

Among the hottest trials, PREVENT was the most popular. In this trial, “preventive” PCI of ≥50% angiographically stenosed lesions that had evidence of vulnerability on intravascular imaging but a negative FFR showed superior clinical outcomes compared with medical management alone. Other noteworthy trials in the interventional field include DanGer Shock, which demonstrated that routine implantation of a microaxial flow pump (Impella CP) on top of standard care is superior to standard care alone in reducing 6-month mortality among patients presenting with STEMI and cardiogenic shock, despite a higher risk of complications.

Other top trials included REDUCE-AMI, which noted that, among patients with acute MI and preserved LVEF, beta-blockade was not associated with decreased all-cause mortality or future acute MI compared with usual care. CLEAR SYNERGY (OASIS 9) found no benefit with routine colchicine among patients presenting with acute MI and undergoing PCI. The investigators also studied the role of routine spironolactone in this patient population; no benefit in cardiovascular outcomes was noted.

Happy holidays, and a joyous new year to all of you!

— Dharam J. Kumbhani, MD, SM, FACC, and Anthony A. Bavry, MD, MPH, FACC
Associate Editors, Clinical Trials, ACC.org

1. Preventive PCI on Stenosis With Functionally Insignificant Vulnerable Plaque – PREVENT (ACC.24)
2. Finerenone Trial to Investigate Efficacy and Safety Superior to Placebo in Patients With HF – FINEARTS-HF (ESC Congress 2024 and AHA 2024)
3. Randomized Evaluation of Decreased Usage of Beta-Blockers After AMI – REDUCE-AMI (ACC.24)
4. Microaxial Flow Pump in Infarct-Related Cardiogenic Shock – DanGer Shock (ACC.24)
5. One-Month Ticagrelor Monotherapy After PCI in ACS – IVUS-ACS/ULTIMATE-DAPT (ACC.24 and TCT 2024)
6. Colchicine in AMI – CLEAR SYNERGY (OASIS 9) (TCT 2024 and AHA 2024)
7. Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People With Obesity and HFpEF and Diabetes Mellitus – STEP-HFpEF DM (ACC.24)
8. Older Patients With NSTEMI Randomized Interventional Treatment  – SENIOR-RITA (ESC Congress 2024)
9. Assessment of Beta-Blocker Interruption 1 Year After an Uncomplicated MI on Safety and Symptomatic Cardiac Events Requiring Hospitalization – ABYSS (ESC Congress 2024)
10. Study to Evaluate the Effect of Empagliflozin on Hospitalization For HF and Mortality in Patients With AMI – EMPACT-MI (ACC.24)

Top 10 ACC News Stories

1. ACC, AHA Release New Perioperative Guideline For Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery
2. New ACC/AHA Guideline on Management of Lower Extremity PAD
3. New ACC/AHA Guideline on Evaluation and Management of People With HCM
4. New ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway Updates Guidance on HFrEF Management
5. ACC Issues Guidance on HF Management, Treatment
6. ACC Issues Guidance For Diagnosing and Managing Myocarditis
7. ACC Issues Guidance on Arrhythmia Monitoring After Stroke
8. ACC/AHA Add 9 New Performance and Quality Measures to Updated 2024 HF Measure Set
9. ACC, AHA Release First-Ever Performance and Quality Measures For VHD and SHD
10. 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Deep Dive

Top 10 Cardiology Magazine Articles

1. Cardiac Amyloidosis and How to Stop Missing the Diagnosis
2. Acute Coronary Syndromes: New Perspectives, New Data
3. HF in Women: Understanding the Differences to Change the Paradigm
4. Navigating AFib Care Across the Continuum: Insights From the Guideline
5. Takotsubo Syndrome: Expanding Insights, Unanswered Questions
6. Clinical Decision-Making in Aortic Stenosis in Patients With Bicuspid Valves
7. Rethinking the Meaning of IHD: Invasive Assessment of ANOCA
8. Renal Denervation: Expanding Care For Treatment-Resistant HTN
9. Cardiopsychology: Exploring the Heart/Brain Connection in Cardiovascular Disease
10. Hypertrophic Septum: Ablation, Transcatheter Myotomy or Medical Therapy?

Top 10 Expert Analyses

1. 2023 ESH Hypertension Guideline Update: Bringing Us Closer Together Across the Pond
2. Smartwatches and AFib: What Works and What Needs Improvement?
3. Navigating CV Risk Assessment in Older Patients: Insights From CAC Scoring
4. I Am an Athlete: Will This Statin Affect My Performance?
5. Current State of MRI With Cardiac Devices
6. LDL-C Lowering: Is There a Risk for Dementia and Hemorrhagic Stroke?
7. Pulsed Field Ablation For AFib: The New Kid on the Block (ADVENT Study)
8. An Update on Lp(a) and Aspirin in Primary Prevention
9. GLP-1 RAs in Clinical Practice: Therapeutic Advances and Safety Perspectives
10. Have We All Gone MAD?

Top 10 Patient Case Quizzes

1. A Closer Look Into Segmental Wall Thickness: ECG Never Lies!
2. Murmur and Palpitations in an 18-Year-Old Male Seeking Sports Clearance
3. To Swim or Not to Swim (During the Diagnostic Evaluation): Advising a Competitive Swimmer With Exertional Chest Pain
4. The Enhancement Pattern That Rings the Bell
5. Shedding Light on a Restrictive Diagnosis: Amyloid Cardiomyopathy
6. A Young Woman With an Abnormal Echocardiogram and a Purple Rash
7. Balance is the Goal, and Insufficiency Takes a Toll
8. Pediatric Syncope: Simple vs. Sinister
9. A Temporary Squeeze: Recognizing the Paradigm Shift in Constrictive Pericarditis Management
10. Abdominal Pain and Its Aftermath

Top 5 ACC Podcast Episodes

1. Eagles Eye View: Top 8 Trials From ESC Congress 2024
2. Eagles Eye View: Top 6 Trials From AHA 2024
3. ACCEL Lite: EMPACT-MI Results
4. CardiaCast: The Who, What and Where of Lp(a)
5. Practice Made Perfect: Manuscript Preparation From the Lens of an Editor

2024 Contributors

Thank you to all the ACC.org 2024 Contributors. See the list here.