Cardiovascular Health

A US claims analysis found a 32% relative reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) with tirzepatide vs a placebo-proxy comparator.

A new machine learning version of the Martin-Hopkins equation matches the original's accuracy while making implementation easier for laboratories.

Although weight loss is a primary goal, the ultimate utility of these agents lies in their ability to reduce long-term morbidity.

SHASTA-3 and SHASTA-4 also showed a statistically significant drop in acute pancreatitis events, supporting a planned US sNDA this year.

New scientific statement links moderate caffeine to lower cardiovascular risk—but flags energy drinks as a distinct hazard pharmacists should counsel on.

Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS (AQ-Cardiology), CACP, led a Pharmacy Times Clinical Forum on optimizing the management of patients with heart failure across practice settings.

Pharmacists proactively identify red flags for early detection, navigate complex insurance and access barriers for high-cost disease-modifying therapies, and serve as educators across settings.

The 20-mg once-daily tablet is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

A simplified, no-cost machine learning version of the Martin-Hopkins equation matched the original's accuracy across millions of blood samples, helping clinicians identify patients who qualify for lipid-lowering therapy.

These recommendations for acute pulmonary embolism management are most applicable to pharmacists on the interdisciplinary team managing acute PE.

By targeting aldosterone synthesis directly, baxdrostat offers a novel mechanism for addressing resistant hypertension.

The POSEIDON clinical trial shows that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels remain elevated in approximately 2 in 5 patients with CVD, pointing to a gap in residual inflammatory risk management.

The agent is to be used alongside diet adjustments in adult patients.

Leonard Egede explains why PHQ-9 screening belongs in every cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome risk assessment—and how community pharmacists can reach patients the formal system misses.

TIMI Study Group investigators presented new VESALIUS-CV data showing that intensive LDL-C lowering with evolocumab reduces major cardiovascular events, reinforcing the "lower is better, earlier is better" approach to lipid management.

The landscape of cardiovascular prevention is shifting from a focus on surrogate biomarkers to a more granular, image-based assessment of actual disease burden.

New 2026 lipid guidelines push earlier screening, PREVENT risk scoring, and tougher LDL/ApoB targets with expanded nonstatin options.

Although polypharmacy is common in older adults and may increase the risk of adverse events and drug-drug interactions, statin therapy may continue to provide benefit in patients older than 75 years.

Stephanie Dwyer Kaluzna, PharmD, BCCP, discusses atrial fibrillation (AFib) anticoagulation risk stratification, therapy selection, and the emerging role of factor XI/XIa inhibitors.

Mary Katherine Cheeley, PharmD, BCPS, CLS, FNLA, highlights key data and events at the 2026 NLA Scientific Sessions.

Joseph Saseen, PharmD, discusses how pharmacists can overcome therapeutic inertia and sequence nonstatin therapies to help patients reach individualized LDL-C goals.

Although evidence supports safety of apixaban and rivaroxaban relative to warfarin, researchers had not directly compared their bleeding risk until last year.

A cross-sectional analysis of nearly 30,000 US adults found that economic instability, food insecurity, limited education, and poor social context each independently elevated the odds of advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKD) syndrome—but not equally across all groups.

Emerging data support less intensive antithrombotic strategies for LVADs that could reduce bleeding complications without compromising thromboembolic protection.

A large analysis found that measurable declines in processing speed, global cognition, and executive function began up to 8 years before a cardiovascular event.