TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for December 2020

TCTMD’s Daily Dispatch, summing up COVID-19 research and policy news was our most-clicked story in December—bookmark it! We’re keeping it up until this darn pandemic is behind us. A mix of COVID-19 and more cardiology-related content made up the remainder of December’s most-read. Several feature stories from our Envision Change series also made the list.

1. COVID-19: TCTMD’s Daily Dispatch

For 10 months we’ve been curating a list of COVID-19 research and other useful content, and updating it daily.

2. William R. Hiatt, Giant of Vascular Medicine, Dies at 70

Friends and colleagues remembered a kind mentor, confidant, and avid mountain climber.

3. Too Easy to Misconstrue: Is It Time to Ditch Periprocedural MI?

There are many definitions, and some may even be useful, but there’s little consensus on MI endpoints in clinical trials.

4.  The Hope Dealers: How Clinicians and New Tech Could End Unnecessary PAD Amputations

Through passion, education, and legislation, those who fight against limb loss are confident they will eventually win the battle.

5. Plaque Burden, Not Coronary Stenosis, Linked to Future Events in Stable CAD

Taking a broad view of atherosclerotic burden allows physicians to focus on stable patients at highest risk for future CVD, new research suggested.

6. Funding the Future: How Industry Support for CV Trials Could Evolve

Cardiologists say it’s hard to imagine a future without industry’s money, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for change.

7. In ISCHEMIA, Stable CAD Treatment Effect Hinged on MI Definition

A new analysis showed that spontaneous MIs were reduced with invasive strategy and these events were linked with CV death.

8. Inclisiran Approved in Europe for Lowering LDL Cholesterol

The US Food and Drug Administration was still weighing the evidence when the EMA decision was made, but subsequently made its own surprise announcement.

9. FDA: Penumbra JET 7 Clot Retrievers Recalled Following Deaths, Injuries

The recall affected the JET 7 Xtra Flex catheter and JET 7MAX system, but not the JET 7 reperfusion catheter with standard tip.

10. No Angina? No Benefit to PCI Pre-TAVR: ACTIVATION

The long-running ACTIVATION trial offers a negative result that should have a positive impact on practice, said Simon Redwood.

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We’ve also tallied our Top 10 stories for 2020, here, while the TCTMD reporters recap their most memorable stories of the year on the Heart Sounds podcast. All of our COVID-19 reporting—news, videos, and podcasts—can be found on our COVID-19 Hub and if you’re (more than) ready to move on from 2020, check out our series of “Envision Change” features, looking forward to some brighter days ahead.