Pier Paolo Bocchino, Benedetta De Guidi, Guglielmo Gallone, Simone Frea, Gaetano Maria De Ferrari
{"title":"A structured approach to cardiogenic shock: integrating phenotyping, timely circulatory support, and regional care networks.","authors":"Pier Paolo Bocchino, Benedetta De Guidi, Guglielmo Gallone, Simone Frea, Gaetano Maria De Ferrari","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2713480","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2713480","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"693-696"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148648543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nikolaos P E Kadoglou, Constantinos H Papadopoulos, Evangelos Tatsis, Vasilios Sahpekidis, Nearchos Kasinos, Konstantinos G Papadopoulos, Anastasios Theodosis-Georgilas
{"title":"Improving stress echocardiography-based decision pathways for coronary intervention patients: where can current and previous trials improve real-world practice?","authors":"Nikolaos P E Kadoglou, Constantinos H Papadopoulos, Evangelos Tatsis, Vasilios Sahpekidis, Nearchos Kasinos, Konstantinos G Papadopoulos, Anastasios Theodosis-Georgilas","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2713474","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2713474","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Stress echocardiography (SE) is a widely used noninvasive imaging method to detect myocardial ischemia and assess prognosis in patients with suspected or established coronary artery disease (CAD). However, its results may challenge clinical interpretation and individualized management when technical performance is inadequate.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>This review summarizes key diagnostic issues regarding SE that affect interpretation and clinical decision pathways for coronary intervention, including: discordance between SE and coronary angiography findings (positive studies with non-obstructive coronaries and negative studies with anatomically significant stenoses), limited myocardial ischemia, and normal wall-motion response with ischemic ECG changes or chest pain. In addition to that, this review discusses issues in specific patient groups like those with small LV cavity/LV hypertrophy, left bundle branch block, extensive baseline wall-motion abnormalities, and atrial fibrillation/arrhythmias. Moreover, we have mentioned recent technological advances like three-dimesion SE and speckle tracking analysis, which have shown promising preliminary results. An extensive literature search was performed in Pubmed and Embase platforms using the appropriate keywords. Unfortunately, the available data are limited and clinical practice is based on operators' experience.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>SE remains an operator-dependent technique. In order to improve the objectivity of each study, several steps have been proposed like stress workload adequacy, use of contrast agents, coronary microvascular evaluation commitment, and advocacy of adjunctive methods (atropine infusion, hand-grip).</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"729-742"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148673171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Miriam Allein Zago Marcolino, Rodrigo Antonini Ribeiro, Carisi Anne Polanczyk
{"title":"Temporal trends of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) implantation in the Brazilian Public Health System: a 12-year real-world data study.","authors":"Miriam Allein Zago Marcolino, Rodrigo Antonini Ribeiro, Carisi Anne Polanczyk","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2626316","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2626316","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Population aging, cardiovascular disease burden, and evolving clinical practices may influence procedure rates, key to health policy planning. This study aimed to describe cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) implantation trends in the Brazilian Universal Health System (SUS) over 12 years.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Ecological study using open data on hospital claims (2008-2019) for permanent pacemaker (PM), implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), and cardiac resynchronization therapy with pacemaker (CRT-P) or defibrillator (CRT-D) implants. Annual percent changes (APC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated by linear regression of the logarithm of age and sex standardized implantation rates per million (MM) population (Brazil 2019 population).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 216,927 CIED implants were analyzed. Annual implant volume rose from 14,466 to 20,726 (+43.3%). Nonetheless, the standardized rate declined from 108.9 to 98.2/MM (-9.8%), with an APC of -1.2% (95%CI -1.7% to -0.7%). PM and ICD rates were stable, but CRT trends diverged (CRT-D increasing, CRT-P decreasing). Regional analyses showed negative trends for PM and CRT-P, and heterogeneous ICD/CRT-D patterns.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite increasing volume, standardized CIED implantation rates declined in SUS, especially for PM and CRT-P. Divergent regional trends highlight the need for targeted health policies to ensure equitable access to advanced CIED therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"675-683"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146123982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emanuele Bobbio, Christian L Polte, Entela Bollano, Carsten Tschöpe
{"title":"Giant cell myocarditis or sarcoidosis? Time to develop clinically driven non-invasive decision algorithms in inflammatory myocardial diseases: integrating clinical features, biomarkers and multimodality imaging.","authors":"Emanuele Bobbio, Christian L Polte, Entela Bollano, Carsten Tschöpe","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2692679","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2692679","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"563-568"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148271051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdul Qadeer, Diann Gaalema, Mohanad Albayyaa, Areeba Fareed, Ibrahim Mortada, Brian Katz, Matthew L Mendoza, Afaq Motiwala, Thomas Blackwell, Hani Jneid
{"title":"Life's Essential 8 and its role in cardiovascular health: evolution, evidence, and future directions.","authors":"Abdul Qadeer, Diann Gaalema, Mohanad Albayyaa, Areeba Fareed, Ibrahim Mortada, Brian Katz, Matthew L Mendoza, Afaq Motiwala, Thomas Blackwell, Hani Jneid","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2699875","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2699875","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading global cause of mortality. To improve prevention, the American Heart Association introduced Life's Simple 7 (LS7) in 2010 and updated it to Life's Essential 8 (LE8) in 2022. This review summarizes the development, scientific rationale, predictive validity, and clinical applications of LE8 across diverse populations.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>A comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus through December 2025 identified studies evaluating LS7 and LE8 in U.S. and international cohorts. Evidence from prospective studies, registries, and validation analyses was synthesized to assess prognostic performance. LE8 includes diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure, each scored on a 0-100 scale. Higher LE8 scores consistently correlate with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart failure, cognitive decline, chronic kidney disease, and all-cause mortality. Findings from NHANES, ARIC, CARDIA, and REGARDS demonstrate strong prognostic validity, while international studies support reproducibility.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>LE8 provides a practical framework for cardiovascular health assessment, risk communication, and prevention. Broader implementation may improve population health, although challenges remain, including reliance on self-reported measures and limited integration of psychosocial and environmental determinants of health.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"641-662"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148381789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prosthetic valve thrombosis: contemporary concepts in diagnosis and management.","authors":"Mohsin Raj Mantoo, Nayani Makkar, Gautam Sharma","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2700450","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2700450","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) is a serious, potentially life-threatening complication of mechanical heart valves. Its management remains challenging, with persistent debate regarding the optimal roles of surgery and thrombolytic therapy.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>This review summarizes contemporary approaches to the diagnosis and management of PVT, based on evidence from observational studies, randomized trials, and major guideline documents. Literature was identified through a PubMed search from inception to March 2026, supplemented by manual review of relevant references. We discuss the role of echocardiography and multimodality imaging in diagnosis, thrombus characterization, and therapeutic decision-making. Evidence comparing surgery and thrombolysis is reviewed, including historical outcomes with conventional thrombolytic regimens and contemporary data using low-dose, slow- or ultraslow-infusion protocols. Recent randomized evidence, including SAFE-PVT and TENET, is considered in the context of current practice.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>Management of PVT has shifted from a surgery-dominant paradigm toward individualized, imaging-guided decision-making. In selected patients, standardized fibrinolytic protocols now offer high success rates with acceptable safety, particularly where surgical risk or access is limiting. Surgery remains essential for patients with contraindications to thrombolysis, large thrombus burden, recurrent thrombosis, or failed fibrinolysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"609-624"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148396408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vasiliki Androutsopoulou, Andrew Xanthopoulos, Prokopis-Andreas Zotos, Thanos Athanasiou, Vanesa Brecher, Dimitrios E Magouliotis
{"title":"Approaches to transcatheter aortic valve replacement failure: is more focus on prevention required?","authors":"Vasiliki Androutsopoulou, Andrew Xanthopoulos, Prokopis-Andreas Zotos, Thanos Athanasiou, Vanesa Brecher, Dimitrios E Magouliotis","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2698021","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2698021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has transformed the management of severe aortic stenosis across all surgical risk strata. As its use expands to younger, lower-risk patients, the durability of transcatheter heart valves and the clinical consequences of prosthetic failure have become critically important. Despite a growing literature on reintervention strategies, systematic prevention of TAVR failure remains comparatively underemphasized.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>We searched PubMed and the Cochrane Library (2000-2026, English language) for studies on TAVR failure and its prevention. This review examines the mechanisms of TAVR failure, including structural valve deterioration, paravalvular leak, prosthesis-patient mismatch, subclinical leaflet thrombosis, valve endocarditis, and device migration; appraises current management, including valve-in-valve TAVR, redo surgical aortic valve replacement, and medical therapy; and reviews prevention strategies spanning patient selection, procedural optimization, antithrombotic management, structural surveillance, coronary access preservation, and lifetime planning.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>The evidence base has focused disproportionately on reintervention rather than prevention. Greater emphasis on structured lifetime management planning at index TAVR, individualized antithrombotic strategies, and evidence-based surveillance is needed. Several proposed measures, however, including routine anticoagulation for subclinical leaflet thrombosis and routine CT or artificial-intelligence-based surveillance, are not yet supported by outcome data and require prospective validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"593-607"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148351380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficacy and safety of clopidogrel and aspirin initiated within 72 hours after mild ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA by sex: a prespecified subgroup analysis of the INSPIRES trial.","authors":"Xiaodong Li, Ying Gao, Hongyi Yan, Yongjun Wang, Yuesong Pan, Ling Guan, Yilong Wang","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696285","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696285","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sex differences may influence outcomes of dual antiplatelet therapy after acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). We evaluated whether treatment effects of clopidogrel plus aspirin differ by sex in patients with mild ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA. .</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>This prespecified subgroup analysis used data from the INSPIRES trial, a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial conducted in China. Patients aged 35-80 years enrolled within 72 hours of symptom onset were randomized to clopidogrel plus aspirin or aspirin alone. The primary efficacy outcome was new stroke within 90 days, and the primary safety outcome was moderate-to-severe bleeding. Sex-by-treatment interaction was assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 6,100 patients (female 35.8%), new stroke occurred in 7.9% of females and 6.95% of males in the clopidogrel plus aspirin group, compared with 9.9% and 8.71% in the aspirin group, respectively. No significant sex-by-treatment interaction was observed for stroke prevention. Rates of moderate-to-severe bleeding were low and similar between females and males, with no evidence of interaction.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this prespecified subgroup analysis, clopidogrel plus aspirin showed no sex-based differences in efficacy or safety. These findings do not support sex-specific treatment effects. .</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03635749).</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"663-673"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148367362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marcio J Concepcion-Zavaleta, Jenyfer M Fuentes-Mendoza, Luis Concepción-Urteaga, Selina A Castillo-Balderas, Juan Carlos Morón Siguas, José Paz-Ibarra, Juan Eduardo Quiroz Aldave
{"title":"Early autonomic neuropathy in prediabetes: an overlooked driver of cardiometabolic risk.","authors":"Marcio J Concepcion-Zavaleta, Jenyfer M Fuentes-Mendoza, Luis Concepción-Urteaga, Selina A Castillo-Balderas, Juan Carlos Morón Siguas, José Paz-Ibarra, Juan Eduardo Quiroz Aldave","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696292","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696292","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Autonomic neuropathy is increasingly recognized as an early consequence of glucose dysregulation that may precede type 2 diabetes and contribute to cardiovascular risk.</p><p><strong>Areas covered: </strong>This narrative review summarizes current evidence on autonomic dysfunction in prediabetes, including its epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical significance, and therapeutic implications. A literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published between 2010 and 2026. Evidence indicates that alterations in heart rate variability, impaired baroreflex sensitivity, endothelial dysfunction, and chronic low-grade inflammation contribute to autonomic imbalance and increased cardiovascular risk in individuals with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>Autonomic dysfunction should be considered an early manifestation of cardiometabolic disease rather than a late complication of diabetes. Although accumulating evidence supports its prognostic relevance, routine screening remains limited by the absence of standardized diagnostic criteria and clear guideline recommendations. Incorporating autonomic assessment into risk stratification may facilitate earlier identification of high-risk individuals and support targeted preventive strategies. Future studies should focus on validating diagnostic thresholds and determining whether early intervention improves long-term cardiovascular outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"625-640"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148338318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contemporary approach and key considerations to asymptomatic aortic stenosis treatment.","authors":"Marko Banovic, Bernard Iung","doi":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696295","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14779072.2026.2696295","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common and the deadliest valvular disease. The treatment of asymptomatic patients with severe AS remains a subject of investigation. Recently, ESC/EACTS guidelines for valvular diseases introduced a new indication for the treatment of asymptomatic low-risk patients with isolated high-gradient severe AS, as an alternative to clinical surveillance.</p><p><strong>Area covered: </strong>This paper attempts to provide a rational, clinically oriented and evidence-based approach to the treatment of asymptomatic patients with high-gradient severe AS without additional adverse factors such as decrease in left ventricular systolic function or increase in natriuretic peptides. We searched for original and review papers through the PubMed database using the keywords: aortic stenosis, asymptomatic, risk stratification and intervention, without limiting the time period of the analyzed papers.</p><p><strong>Expert opinion: </strong>The latest ESC/EACTS recommendations for the treatment of asymptomatic AS should be considered adequate. Considering differences in patient characteristics and heterogeneous treatment modalities, as well as differences in institutional-level outcomes, the optimal intervention strategy still needs clarification. Ongoing trials in asymptomatic patients with severe AS should provide significant new evidence. The diverse array of therapeutic options emphasizes the need for TAVI vs. SAVR randomized trial in middle-aged asymptomatic patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":12098,"journal":{"name":"Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":"569-576"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148338340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}