An Expert Panel Perspective published in JACC: Advances proposes best practice recommendations for integrating shared decision-making (SDM) as part of multidisciplinary team-based care delivery.

The panel, chaired by Elizabeth M. Perpetua, DNP, ACNP-BC, FACC, outlines operating principles for SDM within a CV team-based care environment, as well as strategies for implementation that leverage a patient-centered, team-based approach and include clearly defined discussions about choices, goals, values, preferences and final decisions.

A new analysis helps to define the geographic disparities in access to cardiovascular care, finding that 46.3% (1,454) of all U.S. counties, comprising 22 million residents, do not have a practicing cardiologist. These counties tend to be more rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged, with a greater burden of cardiovascular disease. Of the rural counties, 86.2% did not have a cardiologist. In the other 1,689 U.S. counties, on average there were 24 cardiologists, according to a research letter published in JACC.

A  mong patients who underwent a PCI, the increased risk of death was similar at one year among those who had a procedural myocardial infarction (pMI) and those who had a spontaneous myocardial infarction (spMI) when their troponin level was >35x the upper reference level (URL), according to results of a new study published in JACC. In contrast, when the troponin increase was <35x URL, only spMI was significantly associated with an increased mortality risk.

Distinct racial and ethnic variations in baseline characteristics among patients with diabetic cardiomyopathy (DbCM), underscore the need for personalized and targeted strategies for managing overall care and outcomes, according to findings from an observational analysis of ARISE-HF trial participants published in JACC.