Top in cardiology: Refined vs. whole grains; novel technology for heart failure detection

In the Middle East Region, increased consumption of refined grains was associated with an increased risk for premature coronary artery disease, according to recent data.

On the other hand, researchers found that high whole grain intake was inversely associated with premature coronary artery disease. It was the top story in cardiology last week.

The second top story covered a presentation from the Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting about HearO, a novel speech analysis system that can detect worsening heart failure via a smartphone app. Researchers reported that HearO was able to predict 80% of heart failure events on average 22.5 days before the events occurred, with a false-negative rate of approximately 18%.

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

Eating refined grains may raise premature CAD risk

Iranian adults who reported eating more refined grains were at elevated risk for developing premature coronary artery disease, whereas those who consumed more whole grains were at reduced risk, researchers reported. Read more.

Smartphone speech analysis detects worsening heart failure prior to an event

A novel speech analysis system was able to detect impending heart failure events in ambulatory patients with congestive heart failure more than 3 weeks ahead of time, a speaker reported. Read more.

Particle radioactivity exposure from radon gas linked to CVD mortality

Chronic, long-term exposure to a radioactive property of fine particulate matter common with radon gas may drive CVD mortality, particularly from myocardial infarction and stroke, researchers reported. Read more.

Benefits of aficamten on obstructive HCM symptom burden, QoL sustained at 6 months

Aficamten (Cytokinetics) was associated with sustained improvement in patient-reported symptom burden and quality of life at 6 months when used to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a speaker reported. Read more.

Food insecurity has increased over time in patients with CVD

The prevalence of food insecurity rose over time in patients with CVD, researchers reported in JAMA Cardiology. Read more.