Top in cardiology: Predictors of heart disease risk; semaglutide’s role in CVD prevention

Low levels of the cytokines interleukin-4 and interleukin-17 were associated with an increased risk for coronary artery disease, data show.

A risk prediction model based on these serum cytokines along with other clinical risk factors “could serve as a cost‐effective and low‐risk diagnostic tool to guide the referral of symptomatic patients for angiography, especially in resource‐limited settings,” Chengqian Yin, PhD, of the Center for Coronary Heart Disease at Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Capital Medical University, China, and colleagues wrote in Clinical Cardiology. It was the top story in cardiology last week.

Another top story was about the implications of the SELECT trial, which showed semaglutide reduced cardiovascular events in people with obesity and CVD by 20% vs. placebo, for CVD prevention.

“I think a lot of people have already embraced this medication,” Sean Heffron, MD, a cardiologist at the NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and assistant professor at Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Healio. “This trial brings semaglutide more clearly into the CV space, and this will hopefully result in a greater number of patients receiving a drug that will improve CV outcomes.”

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

Two inflammatory markers independently predict heart disease risk

Among adults presenting with chest pain, those with coronary artery disease confirmed by angiography had significantly lower levels of the cytokines interleukin-4 and interleukin-17 compared with those without coronary artery disease, data show. Read more.

At Issue: The implications of SELECT on CVD prevention in high-risk patients with obesity

The SELECT trial, which showed semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist also approved for diabetes, reduced cardiovascular events in people with overweight/obesity and CVD but no diabetes, was one of the most important developments in cardiology in 2023. Read more.

Top cardiology news in 2023: A year of firsts for CVD treatments, procedures, devices

Healio | Cardiology Today compiled a list of some of the most important news in cardiology from 2023. Read more.

Mortality rate doubles with weekend vs. weekday admission for patients with ACS, HF

Adults with acute coronary syndrome and acute decompensated heart failure are twice as likely to die of any cause within 1 year if admitted on weekends or holidays vs. weekdays, independent of age or hemodynamic status or traditional cardiovascular risk factors, researchers reported. Read more.

Valves from world’s first partial heart transplant growing with child recipient

More than 1 year after the world’s first partial heart transplant in a newborn boy, pediatric transplant cardiologists at Duke Health report that the donor valve tissue is growing with the child. Read more.