Heart failure (HF) continues to be a significant global health challenge, contributing to high rates of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Patients who seek care in the emergency department (ED) or are hospitalized for HF face a greater risk of future adverse events, but accurately assessing and categorizing their risk level remains a complex task. […]
Heart failure is common in patients with kidney failure undergoing dialysis, but it is often difficult to distinguish from other conditions with similar symptoms, such as volume overload. For this reason, it is critically important to have standardized diagnostic criteria in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in order to accurately assess treatment effects. In a recent […]
ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) occurs when a coronary artery is completely blocked and is the most severe type of heart attack. The STREAM-2 study evaluated the safety of a pharmoco-invasive (PI) treatment with half-dose tenecteplase, a clot-busting drug used to prevent death, in STEMI patients aged 60 and older who presented within 3 hours of symptom onset, […]
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a condition characterized by high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery that carries blood from the heart to the lungs. Clinical trials have led to a growing number of treatment options that can improve symptoms and clinical outcomes for patients with PAH. In a recent international task force summary paper […]
The Healthy Pregnancy Hub is a new canada-wide online platform that provides evidence-based information about the safety of prescription medications during pregnancy. The site launched on November 19th and is based on research from the Canadian Mother-Child Cohort (CAMCCO) collaboration. Although almost 70% of pregnant women take medication, there is limited information available on impact and safety for this […]
Patients with heart failure are often recommended to restrict sodium intake in their diet, however, current scientific evidence does not support limiting dietary sodium to improve clinical outcomes. In this secondary analysis of the SODIUM-HF trial, published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure, researchers investigated the link between baseline dietary sodium intake and change at 6 months, with […]
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) occurs when blood pressure is abnormally high in the lungs. In a state-of-the-art review published in the European Respiratory Journal, led by CVC faculty member Dr. Jason Weatherald, researchers provide a comprehensive overview of the process of determining PH phenotypes (observable traits that result from both genetic and environmental factors), discuss the progress made […]
The VICTORIA study evaluated the efficacy of vericiguat in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, and found that vericiguat reduced the risk of the primary outcome of heart failure hospitalization (HFH) or cardiovascular death (CVD) when compared to placebo. In a recent secondary analysis published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure, researchers applied two alternative methods, the […]
Reverse ventricular remodelling – characterized by a reduction of left ventricular end-systolic volume indexed to body surface area (LVESVI) or an increase of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) – is associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Little is known about the central pathophysiological mechanisms associated with […]
Alirocumab is an injectable monoclonal antibody directed against proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) that reduces the level of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and other atherogenic lipoproteins. The ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial demonstrated that in patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome who were receiving high-intensity statins, alirocumab reduced the risk of recurrent ischemic cardiovascular events and lowered the rate of […]
CSL112 is an apolipoprotein A1 (apoA-I) derived from human plasma, and is a component of high-density lipoprotein (known as the “good” cholesterol). CSL112 removes plaque from the arteries, and helps facilitate cholesterol efflux, the removal process of low-density lipoprotein (known as the “bad” cholesterol) from the body. The AEGIS-II trial determined that CSL112, when compared to placebo, […]
On September 20, 2024, the CVC was pleased to host the 11th annual CVC Colloquium in Edmonton, Alberta. The theme for this year’s meeting was “Shared Best Practices in Clinical Research”. The session opened with a keynote address by Dr. Schuyler Jones (Duke Clinical Research Institute), who shared approaches to partnering with patients in clinical trials and recommended […]
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Heart Association, Circulation commissioned “thought leaders and luminaries” in cardiovascular medicine to provide a series of articles throughout 2024. Included in this Centennial Collection is a perspective from CVC Founding Director, Dr. Paul Armstrong, entitled Global Collaborative Cardiovascular Research: The Collective Wisdom of Countries. His article highlights how large international randomized […]
Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common abnormal heart rhythm disorder, is a major cause of stroke in older adults. Oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) is an effective and widely-available treatment method for reducing the risk of stroke and improving survival rates in patients with AF; however, significant gaps in the appropriate delivery of this therapy exist. […]
The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most common, affordable, and accessible tool used to diagnose cardiovascular (CV) disease. The clinical role of machine learning-based ECG algorithms is gaining prominence since these models can detect early signs of CV disease, including conditions not typically associated with conventional interpretation of ECG data. In a recently published study […]
The built environment can impact health outcomes, and for children in particular, their wellbeing may be affected by the quality and quantity of physical activity they can access within their communities. In a recently published study in Childhood Obesity, researchers sought to examine how elements of the built environment impact activity and excess weight in preschool-aged […]
A hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test measures a person’s average blood sugar (glucose) level during the past 2 to 3 months, and is an important tool for screening, diagnosing, and monitoring diabetes. Growing evidence suggests that HbA1c can also be a marker for risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals without diabetes, however, whether there are […]
Heart failure is a serious condition that occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to the body. It has been declared a worldwide epidemic and has a growing cost on the healthcare system as well as a high mortality rate. One of the most common types of heart failure is called heart […]
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a surgical procedure that improves blood flow to the heart by using a healthy blood vessel from elsewhere in the body to develop a new pathway around an artery blockage. Patients who have undergone prior CABG and have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS, a range of conditions in which […]
Heart failure is a condition that generally results in deterioration of quality of life (QoL) in addition to increased risk of mortality. While both of these factors influence patient treatment goals, assessing and improving QoL as well as length of life has not been the primary focus of most contemporary research. In an article published […]
