{"title":"Racial and ethnic disparities in percutaneous coronary intervention: contemporary evidence and pathways to equity.","authors":"Shaun Khanna, James Sapontis, Heerajnarain Bulluck, Sanjay Patel, Ravinay Bhindi, Roxana Mehran, Aditya Bhat","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Racial and ethnic disparities in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) persist despite major advances in contemporary acute coronary syndrome (ACS) care and represent an important challenge in achieving equitable cardiovascular outcomes. In this State-of-the-Art Review, we propose a PCI care-continuum framework demonstrating how inequities emerge sequentially across multiple stages of care; including baseline cardiovascular risk, prehospital triage, invasive coronary angiography, PCI decision-making, procedural optimization, and post-procedural outcomes. Contemporary evidence from randomized trials, large PCI registries, administrative datasets, and systems-of-care analyses demonstrate that Black, Hispanic, and certain Asian populations experience higher cardiometabolic burden, delayed presentation, reduced access to invasive management, and persistent disparities in clinical outcomes compared with White populations. These inequities are further amplified by structural determinants including residential segregation, unequal distribution of PCI-capable facilities, insurance-related barriers, and variation in healthcare delivery processes. Addressing these disparities requires coordinated multi-level interventions focused on standardized prehospital pathways, equitable access to invasive care, reduction of structural barriers, and implementation of equity-focused quality metrics. Improving PCI equity will require health systems to move beyond procedural excellence alone and address disparities across the entire cardiovascular care pathway.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148653780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cardiovascular prevention: Can handheld echocardiography serve as a risk modifier?","authors":"Katharina Hannah Epe, Derk Frank","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148632673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Arrhythmias in cancer patients: The emerging frontier of cardio-oncology.","authors":"Michele Marchetta, Michele Golino, Antonio Abbate","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148551023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Long-term outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.","authors":"Maxwell C Braasch, Yun Zhu Bai, Tsuyoshi Kaneko","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a more prevalent procedure than surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS). With increasing TAVR utilization in young and low-risk patients, understanding long-term outcomes of TAVR is critical. Three randomized TAVR vs SAVR trials in patients with severe AS were identified with outcomes reported beyond 5 years: the NOTION (10-year outcomes), PARTNER 3 (7-year outcomes), and Evolut Low-Risk (6 year overall outcomes and 7 year reintervention data) trials. Primary trial outcomes, all of which were composite outcomes including all-cause mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or valve-, procedure-, or heart failure-related readmission, demonstrated similar outcomes between TAVR and SAVR (NOTION: 65.5% vs 65.5%, P = 0.9; PARTNER 3: 34.6% vs 37.2%, HR 0.87 [95% CI 0.70-1.08]; Evolut Low Risk: 23.3% vs 20.4%, P = 0.43). Amongst secondary outcomes, the cumulative incidence of TAVR reintervention was similar to SAVR reintervention in the NOTION trial (4.3%vs 2.2%, P = 0.3) and the PARTNER 3 trial (6.7%vs 6.0%, HR 1.11 [0.63-1.94]), but TAVR reintervention was higher than SAVR reintervention in the Evolut Low-Risk trial (9.8%vs 6.0%; p = 0.02). Study limitations include small cohort size (145 undergoing TAVR) of older patients undergoing TAVR with early generation self-expanding TAVRs in the NOTION trial and no data yet beyond 7 years in the PARTNER 3 and Evolut Low-Risk trials. Despite limitations, these data highlight the criticality in extremely careful patient selection for TAVR to optimize long term outcomes in the era of lifetime management of AS.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148551012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial commentary: What is the future of artificial intelligence in clinical echocardiography?","authors":"L Samuel Wann","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Massimiliano Camilli, Cristina Madaudo, Andrea Tedeschi, Valentina Alice Rossi, Adrien Procureur, Giulia Tamburrini, Marco Giuseppe Del Buono, Jacopo Francesco Imberti, Antonella Lombardo, Giuseppina Novo, Susan Dent, Giuseppe Boriani, Daniela Maria Cardinale, Giorgio Minotti
{"title":"Arrhythmias in patients with cancer: Pathophysiology, risk stratification and clinical implications.","authors":"Massimiliano Camilli, Cristina Madaudo, Andrea Tedeschi, Valentina Alice Rossi, Adrien Procureur, Giulia Tamburrini, Marco Giuseppe Del Buono, Jacopo Francesco Imberti, Antonella Lombardo, Giuseppina Novo, Susan Dent, Giuseppe Boriani, Daniela Maria Cardinale, Giorgio Minotti","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Arrhythmias are increasingly recognized cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer, arising from both the malignancy and its therapies. Once considered unimportant compared to cancer treatment-related heart failure, arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias (VA), are now recognized to play a major role in cardio-oncology due to their prognostic impact and effect on treatment continuity. Anthracyclines, immune checkpoint inhibitors and Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors are linked to higher arrhythmic risk, ranging from asymptomatic ECG abnormalities to QT prolongation (QTp), conduction disorders and AF. Cellular therapies are linked to AF, mainly driven by cytokine-mediated myocardial inflammation. Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors, especially ribociclib, may induce dose-related QTp and, less commonly, VA. Additionally, Takotsubo syndrome may occur in patients with active cancer due to stress and is often accompanied by early arrhythmic complications. Awareness and prevention of arrhythmias are essential to optimize patients' outcomes. Arrhythmias management requires individualized assessment, ECG surveillance, and multidisciplinary follow-up. We additionally propose a six-step framework to support early detection and prompt intervention of arrhythmias.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148450515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenxin Bian, Peter A Cistulli, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Raaj Kishore Biswas, Nicholas A Koemel, Matthew Ahmadi, Emmanuel Stamatakis
{"title":"The role of sleep in cardiovascular health and disease risk.","authors":"Wenxin Bian, Peter A Cistulli, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Raaj Kishore Biswas, Nicholas A Koemel, Matthew Ahmadi, Emmanuel Stamatakis","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sleep is a multidimensional physiological state, and it is increasingly recognized as a core determinant of cardiovascular (CV) health. This review summarises the CV health attributes of important sleep dimensions, including sleep duration, regularity, timing, quality, efficiency, and napping. New device-measured data continue to demonstrate the importance of both direct and synergistic effects of sleep with movement and dietary lifestyle behaviours in relation to CV risk. Emerging adoption of the 24-hour framework by guidelines highlights the importance of addressing sleep, as part of the broader cluster of lifestyle-related health behaviours, for a more comprehensive understanding of health risks and intervention opportunities. The reviewed literature indicates that sleep, both independently and through its interrelationships with other lifestyle behaviours, plays an important role in shaping CV health. We identified potential interconnected mechanisms through which poor sleep may influence risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heightened sympathetic drive, altered neuroendocrine activity, inflammatory and immune changes, metabolic dysregulation, and weight gain. Large-scale device-based prospective studies capturing multidimensional sleep characteristics are needed to further delineate causal pathways linking sleep dimensions to CV risk. Such an evidence base will advance holistic CVD prevention through better clinical interventions and public health policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148406696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrea Stefanini, Maria Concetta Pastore, Cosimo Salvatici, Riccardo Liga, Antonio Capolongo, Francesca Amati, Egidio Imbalzano, Paolo Calabrò, Felice Gragnano, Giulia Elena Mandoli, Laura Spaccaterra, Elena Placuzzi, Andrea Rinaldi, Pietro Scicchitano, Annalisa Pasquini, Marta Focardi, Roberto Pedrinelli, Anna Vittoria Mattioli, Andrea Igoren Guaricci, Stefania Paolillo, Flavio D'Ascenzi, Matteo Cameli
{"title":"Usefulness of handheld echocardiography for cardiovascular diseases in preventive cardiology.","authors":"Andrea Stefanini, Maria Concetta Pastore, Cosimo Salvatici, Riccardo Liga, Antonio Capolongo, Francesca Amati, Egidio Imbalzano, Paolo Calabrò, Felice Gragnano, Giulia Elena Mandoli, Laura Spaccaterra, Elena Placuzzi, Andrea Rinaldi, Pietro Scicchitano, Annalisa Pasquini, Marta Focardi, Roberto Pedrinelli, Anna Vittoria Mattioli, Andrea Igoren Guaricci, Stefania Paolillo, Flavio D'Ascenzi, Matteo Cameli","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and current risk scores based on personal history, physical examination and basic tests fail to identify a proportion of individuals who will experience cardiovascular events. In this context, handheld echocardiography (HHE) is an intermediate step between clinical assessment alone and comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography, with the potential to act as an imaging-based tool within cardiovascular prevention programmes. Through focused, bedside or outpatient examinations, HHE can detect early signs of hypertensive organ damage as well as left and right ventricular dysfunction and other structural cardiovascular abnormalities, beyond traditional clinical evaluation. Through an examination of current evidence, technological developments, and clinical implementation pathways, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving role of HHE as an adjunct to standard cardiovascular assessment, highlighting its potential to enhance early risk stratification in preventive cardiology. In this context, it proposes a pragmatic worklist for focused HHE examinations in at-risk individuals and illustrates representative HHE use cases, with involvement of non-cardiologists and the potential contribution of teleconsultation and digital integration. Finally, unresolved challenges are highlighted, defining the research priorities for the systematic integration of HHE into cardiovascular prevention strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148413654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Artificial intelligence in echocardiography for valvular heart disease.","authors":"Xianyu Ke, Ruize Zhang, Jiawei Shi, Zhaoli Ren, Dingtao Wang, Jiaxin Du, Mingxing Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.06.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tcm.2026.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The global burden of valvular heart disease (VHD) is increasingly burdensome, and precise early diagnosis combined with accurate risk stratification constitutes the core strategy for improving patient prognosis. As the first-line imaging modality for VHD assessment, echocardiography is constrained by interobserver variability and cumbersome, time-consuming data processing workflows, which prevent it from fully meeting the demands of precision medicine. In recent years, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly deep learning (DL) technologies, have been reshaping the paradigm of imaging-based evaluation for VHD. This review systematically summarizes the latest advances in AI applications across the entire workflow of echocardiographic assessment in VHD: from the precise segmentation of valvular anatomical structures and identification of lesions using convolutional neural networks, to the automated grading of hemodynamic severity achieved through end-to-end learning. More importantly, this article explores how AI can surpass the limitations of traditional imaging indicators by leveraging unsupervised clustering to unearth potential high-risk phenotypes and integrating multimodal data to predict adverse outcomes. Finally, the paper critically analyzes the current challenges in data standardization, model interpretability, and clinical translation, and offers perspectives on future directions in the intersection of clinical medicine and engineering.</p>","PeriodicalId":51199,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148383136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}