February 2026 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.

Advancing stages of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome strongly correlate with increased risks of all-cause, CVD, coronary heart disease, and stroke mortality, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The researchers note that sex, age, and educational attainment modified the associations, “underscoring the need to incorporate both biological and social determinants into risk assessment and prevention strategies for more precise control of CKM-related diseases.”

Relying on quick “eyeballing” of patient logs can lead to over- or underestimating home blood pressure readings, new data show. When a group of physician participants reviewed simulated logs and then estimated average systolic and diastolic pressures, more than 30% of them were off by more than 5 mm Hg. Many participants also failed to initiate antihypertensive medication in an untreated hypertensive patient or to intensify therapy in a treated but uncontrolled patient, the study published in Hypertension found.

A bipartisan law will help children with complex congenital heart disease access care from pediatric interventional cardiologists. The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) says the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act removes barriers that create delays when children need to see an out-of-state pediatric specialist. The streamlined Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment process for eligible providers will allow children to see out-of-state specialists when none are available in their home state. 

More data challenge the validity of fasting protocols for patients undergoing cardiac catheterization procedures, including coronary angiography, PCI, structural heart procedures, and catheter ablation for arrhythmias. In a meta-analysis of nine trials, investigators found no difference in rates of mortality, aspiration, nausea/vomiting, or hypotension between patients who fasted and those who did not. The findings, published in JSCAI, confirm results of prior trials, including SCOFF and CALORI.

In a joint scientific statement from the Heart Failure Society of America and the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, investigators summarize current evidence supporting use of integrated health technologies (IHTs) such as telemonitoring, mobile health-based remote monitoring, and implantable devices in heart failure management. In the Journal of Cardiac Failure, the authors review the clinical implications of implementing and adopting IHTs while also addressing the patient-, technology-, and clinician-related challenges of doing so.

An appropriations minibus approved by Congress and signed into law earlier this month extends COVID-era US Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027. Among the provisions is an extension of in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation flexibilities, as well as the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, and inclusion of virtual diabetes services in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.

Personalized overnight fasting may help some high-risk patients improve their cardiometabolic health. As reported in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, adults with overweight or obesity were randomized to either an extended overnight fasting intervention that involved not eating within 3 hours of going to sleep or their normal eating and sleeping habit for a period of 7.5 weeks. Compared with the control group, those who completed the intervention saw improved nighttime patterns in blood pressure and heart rate, with what the authors describe as a more natural drop in both measures during sleep. They also had lower glucose levels and higher 30-minute insulinogenic index on oral glucose tolerance testing.

In a position paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, authors argue that “provider” is not an acceptable professional term to describe physicians, contending that it “undermines the physician’s ethical obligations, clinical integrity, and accountability, as well as trust in the patient–physician relationship.” They further suggest that the term also should not be used to describe team members or trainees to avoid confusing patients and minimizing the roles of those who care for them.

An analysis projects that the proposed reductions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—estimated at $186 billion by 2034—could have serious downstream health ramifications. Published in the Lancet, the paper describes a rise in all-cause hospitalizations among low-income adults, with the authors theorizing that the increase “might be driven by multiple factors, including declines in diet quality leading to the exacerbation of diet-sensitive conditions and heightened financial strain forcing individuals to make difficult trade-offs between food and healthcare needs.”

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved labeling changes to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products prescribed for menopausal women. The agency says statements related to risks of CVD, breast cancer, and probable dementia were removed from the boxed warning “to clarify risk considerations for these drugs.” Six commonly prescribed products from each of the four categories of HRT now carry the updated prescribing information and 29 manufacturers have submitted proposed labeling changes for their products.

News Highlights From TCTMD:

When Nudges Aren’t Enough: Study Ponders AS Referral System Changes

Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer May Do Well With Simple Strategy for CV Risk

Side Effects of Statins Might Be Overstated: CTT Collaboration

Rural US Hit Hardest by Recent Rise in Stroke Mortality

AHA Statement Addresses ACS Management Gap in Younger Women