New pharmacological agents and novel cardiovascular pharmacotherapy strategies in 2024.

Despite substantial advances in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy and devices in recent years, prevention and treatment of many cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain limited, thus reflecting the need for more effective and safer pharmacological strategies. In this review, we summarize the most relevant studies in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy in 2024, including the approval of first-in-class drugs for the treatment of resistant hypertension and pulmonary arterial hypertension, label expansions for bempedoic acid and semaglutide, and the results of major randomised clinical trials (RCTs) that have met the prespecified primary endpoints, thereby filling some gaps in knowledge and opening new perspectives in the management of CVD, and those RCTs whose results did not confirm the proposed research hypotheses. We also include a section on drug safety, where we describe the newest data on adverse reactions and drug-drug interactions that may complicate treatment and/or reduce drug adherence with the consequent decrease in drug effectiveness.

Evolution of coronary stents: innovations, antithrombotic strategies and future directions.

Implantation of drug-eluting stents (DESs) remains central to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and chronic coronary syndromes (CCS). DES platforms, polymers and drugs have evolved significantly to improve deliverability and safety, now being typically thin-strut with a compact layer of biocompatible or bioresorbable polymer, or no polymer at all. Ultra-thin-strut DESs push this concept further, and in some studies perform better than conventional DES, but may recoil in challenging settings such as chronic total occlusion PCI.

Sleep Hygiene Education, ReadiWatch™ Actigraphy, and Telehealth Cognitive Behavioral Training for Insomnia for People With Prostate Cancer.

Objectives: To test the feasibility of sleep hygiene education and longitudinal wrist actigraph sleep metrics measurement alone versus in combination with telehealth-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (teleCBT-I) for people with prostate cancer (PC) receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Sample & Setting: 45 men with PC receiving ADT were recruited from a midwestern comprehensive cancer center.

Methods & Variables: Participants were provided with wrist actigraphs, their individual sleep metrics data, and sleep hygiene education.

Transition of a Neurology Subspecialty Service to a Pediatric Hospitalist Model of Care.

Objectives: Pediatric hospitalists have increasingly been relied on to care for hospitalized patients. While hospitalist care models have shown many benefits, studies examining the transition from subspecialist to hospitalist-led teams are lacking. This study aimed to monitor the impact of transitioning an inpatient pediatric neurology service to a hospitalist model on several key outcome measures, with the hypothesis that these measures would be unaffected by the transition.

Development and validation of a multivariable Prediction Model for Pre-diabetes and Diabetes using Easily Obtainable Clinical Data.

Importance: In the US, pre-diabetes and diabetes are increasing in prevalence alongside other chronic diseases. Hemoglobin A1c is the most common diagnostic test for diabetes performed in the US, but it has known inaccuracies in the setting of other chronic diseases.

Objective: To determine if easily obtained clinical data could be used to improve the diagnosis of pre-diabetes and diabetes compared to hemoglobin A1c alone.