December 2025 Dispatch for the CV Team

Every month, Section Editor L.A. McKeown curates a roundup of recent news beyond our regular TCTMD coverage, with tidbits from journals and medical meetings around the globe that are of special interest to heart teams and allied cardiovascular professionals.

In a study of nearly 20,000 older adults with heart failure (HF), only 4% had documentation of health‑related social needs (HRSNs) in the form of ICD-10 Z-codes. Writing in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the researchers say those with documented HRSNs were more likely to have unplanned emergency department visits or hospitalizations at both 30 and 90 days after discharge. “The findings suggest that unmet social needs contribute to postdischarge healthcare use beyond traditional clinical risk factors, reinforcing the importance of identifying and addressing social barriers to health. More widespread adoption of Z-code documentation could enhance risk stratification, inform targeted interventions, and improve care coordination for older adults at high risk of readmission,” they conclude.

Ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and outpatient-based laboratories (OBLs) have emerged as the dominant setting for peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) in the United States, according to an evaluation of national trends. By 2023, more than 45% of all these revascularizations were performed in an ASC/OBL. The study in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions further shows a trend toward improved outcomes compared with hospital-based outpatient and inpatient settings, which the authors say may “suggest appropriate patient selection has supported the migration of PVI to ambulatory environments.”

A novel frailty score that includes factors uniquely associated with biologic aging independent of chronological age may help improve health outcomes in frail patients across the age spectrum. In a validation study, investigators found that their AGELESS score, which includes depression, diabetes, serum cystatin C, forced expiratory volume, income, and educational attainment, was better at predicting risk of all-cause and CVD mortality within age quartiles than the Fried frailty phenotype measure. The paper was published recently in Frontiers in Medicine.

Prehospital delay is an independent predictor of short- and long-term mortality in patients with STEMI, an analysis of 20 years’ of observation from the SWEDEHEART registry shows. While the median prehospital delay times decreased somewhat over the study period with variations seen by sex, age, and diabetes status, the researchers say the delays are still far too long for many patients. For every 1 hour or longer prehospital delay, 14-day mortality increased by 2% and 1- and 5-year mortality increased by 1%. In the paper, published in the European Heart Journal – Acute Cardiovascular Care, the authors stress that “continuous efforts are needed to diminish patient delays to minimize myocardial damage, along with its complications such as premature death and heart failure.”

Patients undergoing CABG have a shorter time from hospital admission to surgery and a shorter length of stay when they receive cangrelor (Kengreal; Chiesi) compared with other antiplatelet strategies, data from the CAMEO registry show. Reporting in JACC: Advances, the investigators say they found wide variation in the use of cangrelor across centers and note that factors predictive of cangrelor use include history of prior PCI, admission hemoglobin, female sex, and the use of mechanical circulatory support.

ECG‐capable smartwatches could inadvertently induce magnet mode in patients with a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) if they hold the watch too close to it, according to a small animal study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. While the risk is low overall, the investigators say it varies by the implantation depth of the device and by the charging mechanism of the smartwatch. They suggest that their results be used to counsel patients not to place the watch back too close to their CIED and to maintain sufficient distance during charging.

An expert consensus document published in the European Journal of Heart Failure highlights pharmacological pitfalls that can result in commonly prescribed medications inadvertently worsening HF or precipitating decompensation. Among these are antidiabetic agents, antiarrhythmics, calcium channel blockers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antifungals, macrolide antibiotics, antihypertensives, and psychiatric medications. The writing group says greater awareness of potentially inappropriate prescribing can help clinicians, pharmacists, and nurses optimize HF treatment and reduce the risk of drug-induced deterioration.

Having more fatty tissue around the heart may play a role in increasing the risk of myocardial injury after an MI, according to findings presented recently at the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) 2025 Congress. The investigators say while further validation of the results is needed, identifying adults with elevated epicardial adipose tissue volume via cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging could help inform their risk status and influence personalized preventive strategies.

Data from 340,000 Swedish patients suggests that choosing the right antihypertensive from the start saves the healthcare system money and improves quality of life. In this case, the investigators say the best choice may be an angiotensin receptor blocker. Compared with patients who started on other classes, those on an ARB had the best long-term class persistence and the fewest treatment changes over a 5-year period. “A likely mechanism for the better persistence with ARB is fewer side effects than other drug classes; discontinuations due to adverse events have been on par with placebo for ARB but not for the other classes,” the researchers write in eClinicalMedicine.

News Highlights From TCTMD:

Remission From Prediabetes Halves CV Risk: Registry Data

SURPASS-CVOT Published: Large Trial Confirms CVD Efficacy of Tirzepatide

Patients With Obesity Get Biggest Benefit from Evolocumab: FOURIER

Front-of-Package Nutrition Info Backed by ACC to Improve CV Health