CARDIOPROGRESS
Foundation for the advancement of cardiology

Can Treating Depression Mitigate CVD Risk? Depression is linked to a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in women, new data from a large retrospective cohort study show. Researchers suggest that screening and treating patients for depression may lead to a decreased incidence of CVD.

Gout Increases the Risk for a Wide Range of Cardiovascular Diseases People with gout are 58% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new analysis. This increased risk was observed across 12 different cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure, arrhythmias, and valve diseases.

Artificially Sweetened Drinks Linked to Increased AF Risk Drinking 2 L or more of artificially sweetened drinks per week was associated with a 20% increased risk for atrial fibrillation (AF) in a new observational study.

Spinal Cord Injury Tied to Greater Risk for Heart Disease Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a significantly greater risk for heart disease than the general non-SCI population, especially among those with severe disability, new observational data suggested.

Good Performance for Universal CVD Risk Prediction Model A universal cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction tool performs well in patients with and without atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), a new study showed, suggesting this model could facilitate transition from primary to secondary prevention by streamlining risk classification.

Long-term cardiac follow-up of athletes infected with SARS-CoV-2 after resumption of elite-level sports Longitudinal consequences and potential interactions of COVID-19 and elite-level sports and exercise are unclear. Therefore, scientists determined the long-term detrimental cardiac effects of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the highest level of sports and exercise.

Deaths Linked to Substance Use, CVD on the Rise Deaths caused by both substance use (SU) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased substantially in the United States between 1999 and 2019, with the most pronounced rise among women, American Indians, younger people, rural residents, and users of cannabis and psychostimulants, results of new research suggest.

Colchicine May Benefit Patients With Diabetes and Recent MI A daily low dose of colchicine significantly reduces ischemic cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and a recent myocardial infarction (MI).

New Insights Into Mortality in Takotsubo Syndrome Mortality in patients with takotsubo syndrome (TTS), sometimes called broken heart syndrome or stress-induced cardiomyopathy is substantially higher than that in the general population and comparable with that in patients having myocardial infarction (MI), results of a new case-control study showed. The rates of medication use are similar for TTS and MI, despite no current clinical trials or recommendations to guide such therapies, the authors noted.

Association between catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and mortality or stroke Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation was associated with a reduction in the primary endpoint of all-cause mortality or stroke. This result was driven by a marked reduction in all-cause mortality.

New guidelines may help prevent sudden death in myocarditis The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recently released its 2025 guidelines for the management of myocarditis, which also includes extensive discussion of pericarditis and the wide range of overlap between these types of cardiac inflammation. The guidelines were presented at the ESC Congress 2025 in Madrid and simultaneously published in the European Heart Journal.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

Classification Identifies Four Stages of Heart Attack The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) has developed a four-stage classification of acute atherothrombotic myocardial infarction (MI) based on the severity of the injury to the myocardium.

AHA Joins New Cardiovascular Certification Group ABCVM The American Heart Association (AHA) has now formally voted to join several other cardiovascular societies to form a new professional certification board for cardiovascular medicine, to be known as the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM).

Coronary artery calcium: from risk prediction to treatment allocation and clinical trials Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a direct measure of an individual’s coronary atherosclerotic burden.

FDA Okays First Extravascular ICD System The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Medtronic's novel "extravascular" implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (Aurora EV-ICD) system, which uses a single lead implanted substernally to allow anti-tachycardia pacing and low-energy defibrillation while avoiding the vascular space for lead placement.

Redefining CVD Risk: Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Syndrome Citing the strong overlap between heart disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, the American Heart Association (AHA) has for the first time formally defined what they are calling cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

ACP Revises Standard on Cardiorespiratory Death Determination The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a new position paper on determination of death that includes a clarification to the 1981 Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), but otherwise reaffirms the current standards.

AHA Updates CPR Guidelines on Cardiac Arrest After Poisoning The American Heart Association (AHA) has released a focused update on managing patients with cardiac arrest or life-threatening toxicity due to poisoning. The update reflects treatment advances and new knowledge, including the use of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for patients whose condition is refractory to poison antidotes and other therapies.

Nobel Prize Awarded to Covid Vaccine Pioneers The physiology or medicine prize for Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman recognized work that led to the development of vaccines that were administered to billions around the world.