The Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s (CRF) annual symposium, the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), is coming up and held from 27-30 October 2024 in Washington D.C. It will feature advances made in interventional cardiovascular medicine.
An estimated 250 million people in the world live with coronary heart disease making breakthroughs in heart and vascular disease management important to improve the quality of life of those who are affected.
New treatments and procedures can meaningfully reduce mortality rates from heart disease as well as enhance the quality of life of patients using minimally invasive procedures and new medications.
In addition, better prevention and treatment alternatives can lead to longer and healthier lives.
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Surgery is one of the options available for treating heart and vascular diseases. The specific type of surgery is dependent on the individual’s condition and needs. For example, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) redirects blood flow around blocked or narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.
Unfortunately, open heart surgeries are often risky because of possible bleeding, infection, stroke, heart attack, and longer recovery periods. Additionally, patients may experience pain and discomfort, and temporary or long term cognitive changes after the procedure.
On the other hand, there are several nonintrusive surgeries that address heart and vascular diseases effectively. To illustrate, a cardiac ablation procedure is minimally invasive and is used in correcting heart rhythm issues.
A catheter is inserted into a blood vessel to deliver heat or cold energy to the areas of the heart tissue creating tiny scars that that block abnormal electric signals, thereby, restoring normal heart rhythm.
Another alternative is the minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) that uses smaller incisions between the ribs and the left side of the chest. It is typically used for people who need a bypass graft to a specific artery.
New Medications
Novel medicines have transformed cardiac care among patients with heart problems. To illustrate, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, originally developed for diabetes, have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing the heart failure risk, heart attack, and stroke.
The newest SGLT-2 Inhibitors are bexagliflozin and sotagliflozin, both released in 2023. On the other hand, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and reduce the cardiovascular problems risk.
Praluent (alirocumab) and Repatha (evolocumab) are two approved medications by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Compared to statins which are oral medications to lower cholesterol, PCSK9 inhibitors are injectables administered once or twice a month. They are also very expensive. Depending on the health insurance plan and the treatment plan, it can cost $519 or more per month according to Medical News Today.
Moreover, there are new generation anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents to improve the management of thrombosis. These drugs stop specific clotting factors like facto Xa or thrombin. They also interfere with vitamin K which is a vital factor in blood clotting.
Antiplatelet agents, on the other hand, block platelet activation reducing their ability to stick together, preventing clumps and clots from forming.
As part of new cardiac therapies, these new generation drugs can significantly reduce the occurrence of thrombosis especially among patients with atrial fibrillation or history of blood clots.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
AI can analyze x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results to detect early signs of heart disease, such as plaque buildup in the arteries or abnormalities in the heart.
Furthermore, AI can also work on data from wearable devices like smart watches to identify patterns associated with the heart disease including irregular heart rhythms or elevated heart rate.
Moreover, through predictive modeling, AI looks at the risk of future cardiac events and tailor treatment plans to suit individual patient needs. Other things that AI can do include drug response prediction and real time monitoring as well as telehealth consultations.
AI helps as well in generating a drug discovery process by identifying potential drugs and predicting potential interactions.
Through massive data collection and engineering, machine learning can predict the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke for new patients. The model can help differentiate or categorize patients into low, medium, and high risk categories enabling health care providers to prioritize preventative measures and personalized treatment plans.
All in all, advancements in cardiac medicine have significantly improved the outlook for patients with heart and vascular problems. These include recent progress made on minimally invasive heart surgery procedures, release of novel medications, and use of AI and machine learning to calculate risks.
