News and views

Topics covered in brief in this issue include: self-monitoring of type 2 diabetes cuts costs; rivaroxaban licensed in patients with CAD or PAD; new cardiovascular ultrasound platform; CV meta-analysis shows SGLT2 inhibitor benefits; dairy fat linked to lower rates of CVD and mortality....

Very high levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the lipid that has been considered ‘good’ cholesterol, may be associated with an increased risk of heart attack and death, according to research presented at the ESC Congress....

Rivaroxaban, the direct oral, factor Xa inhibitor, does not reduce the risk of a composite end point of survival, myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke after an episode of worsening heart failure in patients with heart failure, sinus rhythm, and coronary artery disease....

The use of the oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban in medically ill patients for 45 days following hospital discharge showed there was no significant difference between rivaroxaban and placebo for the primary efficacy end point: a composite of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) and VTE-related death in the MARINER (Rivaroxaban for Thromboprophylaxis after Hospitalization for Medical Illness) study....

“Usually”, appears to be the answer according to 10-year results from the Registry Of Pregnancy And Cardiac disease (ROPAC) a worldwide, prospective registry which was set up in 2007 by co-chairs Professor Roos-Hesselink (Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands) and Professor Roger Hall (University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK)....

‘All you need to know about heart failure – in one day’ was the promise of the 10th British Society for Heart Failure day for revalidation and training held on 19th June 2018 in Birmingham. The day provided a whistle-stop tour through the landscape of heart failure including drugs, devices, comorbidities, revascularisation and transplantation. Dr Andrew D’Silva reports some of the highlights....

This year’s meeting of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) was held in Munich, Germany, from 25th–29th August 2018....

This year’s 32nd HEART UK Annual Medical and Scientific Conference reflects the current challenges and innovations within the lipid community. Whilst bringing variety to the programme with a number of hot topics, each area was skilfully explored by the speakers and audience bringing greater insight and direction to our management of cardiovascular disease. Jaqui Walker reports from the conference, held at the University of Warwick from July 4th–6th 2018....

Consistently attracting over 11,000 delegates, EuroPCR remains one of the largest interventional meetings on the planet and this year’s packed programme did not disappoint, reports Dr Christopher Allen from this year’s meeting in Paris, France....

‘High performing teams’ was the theme for this year’s British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Annual Conference 2018, held in Manchester in June. It was opened by Dr Sarah Clarke, in one of the last acts of her distinguished three years as BCS president. Dr Matthew Ryan reports the conference highlights....