Precision medicine: Hype or hope?

In recent years, precision medicine has steadily risen to the forefront of many aspects of medicine, including cardiology [1]. While this field has exponentially expanded and advanced in the last few years, a lot of questions remain regarding exact definition, usage, and clinical applications [2,3]. This review will provide a brief synopsis of the current state of precision medicine, its limitations, future directions, as well as analyze emerging clinical applications in cardiology.

Highlights of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Studies Presented at the 2022 European Society of Cardiology Congress.

Purpose Of Review: Focused review of select studies presented at the 2022 European Society of Cardiology Congress.

Recent Findings: Included studies assessed the effects of aspirin and omega-3 fatty acid supplements on heart failure (ASCEND study); the impact of icosapent ethyl on ST-elevation MI incidence (REDUCE-IT); air temperature's effect on cardiovascular mortality (EXHAUSTION project); LVEF outcomes after troponin-guided neurohormonal blockade for the prevention of anthracycline toxicity; efficacy of routine stress testing after high-risk PCI (POST-PCI trial); influenza vaccine among patients with acute coronary syndromes (VIP-ACS trial); empagliflozin in patients with acute myocardial infarction (EMMY); effects of comprehensive imaging-based cardiovascular screening on death and cardiovascular events (DANCANVAS); safety of long-term evolocumab in patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (FOURIER-OLE); and use of a cardiovascular polypill as a global strategy to improve secondary prevention (SECURE). Research presented at the 2022 ESC Congress highlighted many novel applications of preventative and treatment strategies in cardiology, including the effects of environmental risk factors on the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Feasibility of measuring pericoronary fat from precontrast scans: Effect of iodinated contrast on pericoronary fat attenuation.

Background: Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation has been identified as a marker for cardiovascular risk. The effect of contrast enhancement on fat attenuation is unknown. We aim to compare precontrast coronary scans to postcontrast CCTA for quantification of pericoronary fat volume and attenuation.