TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for February 2022

Once again, many of our top stories this month stemmed from COVID-19 infections and vaccines and how these might interact with the cardiovascular system. The world’s first genetically modified xenotransplantation continued to make headlines, as did other heart failure news, including the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of empagliflozin (Jardiance, Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly) for patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. A study on anesthesia handovers and outcomes also made the top three.

1. COVID-19 Reports of Sudden Deaths Among Athletes After COVID-19 Vax Are ‘Misinformation’

Sports cardiologists said they aren’t aware of any credible cases of athletes dying from shot-related adverse effects.

2. FDA Approves Empagliflozin for Treatment of HFpEF

Empagliflozin is the first approved sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor in the US for reducing hard outcomes in HF patients with preserved EF.

3. Complete Anesthesia Handover in Cardiac Surgery Leads to Worse Outcomes

When another anesthesiologist took over the case, there was a higher risk of death at both 30 days and 1 year.

4. COVID-19 TCTMD’s COVID-19 Dispatch

We update our Dispatch with the top research and health policy news, as well as media highlights, three times per week.

5. COVID-19 Myocarditis After COVID Vaccination Is Rare, Resolves Quickly, Studies Confirm

Data from the CDC and from a comparison of mRNA and inactivated vaccine add reassurance about risks in young people.

6. COVID-19 Even Less-Severe COVID-19 Can Have Long-term CV Effects

The study showed myriad adverse outcomes through 1 year, and the risk wasn’t restricted to hospitalized patients.

7. COVID-19 Skipping Second Dose of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine May Limit Myocarditis in Adolescents

A strategy of spreading out the two doses, instead of forgoing the second, might be a better option, one expert indicates.

8. Xenotransplant of Pig Heart ‘Just Baby Steps,’ Lead Surgeon Says

Over two presentations at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and Technology and Heart Failure Therapeutics (THT) meetings, Bartley Griffith shared new details about the historic surgery.

              SEE ALSO: Off Script: Off Script: Heart Failure, Hope, and the Hurdles Ahead for Xenotransplantation

9. THT 2022 REDUCE LAP-HF II: Atrial Shunt Device Comes Up Short in HFpEF

The shunt, designed to relieve pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, was no better than a sham procedure, researchers said.

10. SCAI SHOCK: Update Refines Cardiogenic Shock Classification

The newly tweaked expert consensus is meant to be concise and to provide even more consistency across the diverse field.

Find all of our coverage from the recent ISC 2022, THT 2022, and STS 2022 meetings on our conference hub. On the Heart Sounds podcast this month, the TCTMD team hears from Jonathan Drezner, Tsuyoshi Kaneko, Louise Sun, Srihari Naidu, and David Webb on vaccine misinformation, acetaminophen and BP, bicuspid SAVR, and more. On Rox Heart Radio, Roxana Mehran celebrates Heart Month with Michelle Albert.