Cardiovascular Health

Craig Beavers and Kyle Fischer, PharmD, BCCP, MBA, discuss key late-breaking cardiovascular trials expected at the American Heart Association’s upcoming annual meeting, exploring their clinical relevance and implications for pharmacists.

Long-term melatonin use for insomnia raises heart failure risks, highlighting the need for careful evaluation of sleep aids and underlying health issues.

Teva Pharmaceuticals recalls over 580,000 bottles of prazosin due to contamination concerns, urging patients to consult healthcare providers.

Richard Kovacs, MD, underscores the pharmacist’s role in educating patients about sodium reduction, monitoring blood pressure, and ensuring safe transitions to low-sodium oxybate therapy.

Richard Kovacs, MD, explains how switching from high-sodium to low-sodium oxybate led to meaningful blood pressure reductions and lower cardiovascular risk in patients with narcolepsy.

In Danish athletes, long-term anabolic androgenic steroid use was associated with progressively worsened cardiovascular outcomes.

The FDA updates sotatercept's label, enhancing treatment options for pulmonary arterial hypertension and reducing severe clinical events.

Research highlights the link between earlier menopause, cardiac function, and brain health, emphasizing the need for sex-specific dementia risk strategies.

Influenza vaccination provided direct, non–infection-based benefits in older adults.

When treating vasomotor symptoms (VMS), 15- and 20-mg doses of estetrol (E4) did not significantly hinder postmenopausal women’s blood pressure, including those with cardiovascular risks.

Prior to the 2025 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions Meeting, Craig J. Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS (AQ-Cardiology), CACP, discusses two recent papers that are influencing practice within the cardiovascular space.

Revised recommendations include new thresholds for initiating antihypertensive therapy using the PREVENT equation.

Individuals without a previous heart attack or stroke demonstrated significant cardiovascular risk reduction when treated with evolocumab.

Craig Beavers discusses recent developments in hypertension management and the clinical implications of the Bax Hypertension and KARDIA-3 trials with Shelby Tungate from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

William Van Decker, MD, discusses the key priorities of the upcoming ACC Legislative Conference, including telehealth, cardiovascular rehab, prior authorization reform, and the role of pharmacists in shaping patient-centered cardiovascular policy.

New results from the phase 3 HYPERION trial demonstrate reduced risks as early as the year following diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The RNA interference therapy indicated that, along with its therapeutic benefits in cardiomyopathy transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR-CM), there was a reduced risk of GI events.

Individuals with heart failure who are Black, Hispanic, or Asian face a much earlier onset of heart failure hospitalization compared with White patients.

Host Craig Beavers discusses the validity of meta-analyses and highlights analyses from European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2025 with Bill Baker, PharmD, FCCP, FACC, FAHA.

Fluctuations in glycemic delta, a specific measurement of glucose levels, is an indicator of worsened myocardial infarction outcomes, including greater reductions in left ventricular ejection fraction.

Digitoxin reduces primary composite vs placebo in HFrEF, with no statistically significant effect on individual components of all-cause mortality or first heart failure-related hospitalization.

Bumetanide nasal spray provides patients with edema an alternative to burdensome oral or intravenous diuretic options.

Pharmacists enhance patient safety by addressing common medication errors, ensuring proper drug use, and improving therapeutic outcomes in clinical practice.

Investigators emphasize that early cardiovascular risk assessments and preventive strategies are necessary for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Michael Fifer, MD, discusses the Maple HCM study, which compared the cardiac myosin inhibitor Aficamten and the beta blocker Metoprolol in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).