Aficamten Improves Exercise Capacity and Health Status in Nonobstructive HCM

In patients with symptomatic nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), aficamten significantly improved exercise capacity and patient-reported health status compared with placebo at 36 weeks. In this phase 3 multinational, double-blind trial, 517 adults were randomly assigned to receive aficamten or placebo for up to 72 weeks. At week 36, the Kansas […]

DOACs Reduce Cardiovascular Events in Atrial Fibrillation at Intermediate Stroke Risk

In patients with atrial fibrillation at intermediate risk for stroke, direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) therapy significantly reduced the 24-month risk of a composite of stroke, systemic embolism, major bleeding, or cardiovascular death compared with no anticoagulation. In the Korean multicenter, open-label, adjudicator-masked randomized trial, 1,803 patients with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score […]

Recombinant Shingles Vaccine Linked to Reduced Cardiovascular Risk

The recombinant shingles vaccine was associated with a 9% reduction in overall cardiovascular burden over 7 years among adults aged 60 years or older, based on a natural experiment that reduced confounding from existing studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Researchers compared adults vaccinated immediately before versus immediately after the […]

Multiday Heart Rate Rhythms Common in Young Adults

In a US retrospective observational cohort study of 623 young adults, significant infradian (multiday) heart rate rhythms were detected in 70% of participants, with 36% showing two or more distinct rhythms. Using up to four years of wearable and questionnaire data from the University of Notre Dame’s NetHealth project, researchers […]

Early-Life Sugar Restriction Linked to Lower Risk of Early-Onset Cancer

Early-life sugar restriction during pregnancy and infancy was associated with a 34% lower risk of early-onset cancer (diagnosed by age 50), although it was not associated with a significant reduction in cancer-specific mortality. Using a natural experiment created by the end of UK sugar rationing, researchers analyzed 63,819 UK Biobank […]

Domain-Specific Physical Activity and Dementia Risk

Higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower risks of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia, but the associations differed substantially by physical activity domain. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, 74 cohort and case–control studies involving 4,227,297 participants were analyzed, with a median follow-up of 10.0 years. […]

BMI and Waist Circumference Jointly Predict Mortality Risk in Older Adults

In US adults aged ≥65 years, overweight and class I–II obesity were associated with lower all-cause mortality risk, whereas high waist circumference and being underweight were associated with higher mortality risk, highlighting the importance of central adiposity and the limitations of BMI alone for mortality risk stratification. Using 14 years […]

Longitudinal Heart Stress Status Predicts CVD and Mortality in Older Adults

In community-dwelling older adults without prior cardiovascular disease (CVD), new or persistent heart stress (HS)—defined by elevated NT-proBNP concentrations over 3 years—was associated with substantially higher risks of CVD and all-cause mortality, whereas HS remission was associated with risks similar to those of individuals who remained HS-free. In the observational […]

The Obesity Paradox in Colorectal Cancer May Reflect Prediagnostic Weight Loss

In the German multicenter study of 5,521 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), the apparent survival advantage associated with overweight and obesity at diagnosis was largely explained by cancer-associated weight loss before diagnosis. Compared with patients with normal weight, those who were overweight had modestly better overall survival (HR, 0.89), whereas […]

Stopping Statins for Primary Prevention After Age 75? Evidence from a Randomized Trial

In adults aged 75 years or older without a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who were taking statins for primary prevention, discontinuing statin therapy was non-inferior to continuing treatment with respect to 3-year all-cause mortality. In the French multicentre, open-label, phase 3 randomised controlled trial, 1,180 participants were assigned […]