In patients with a poorly functioning bioprosthetic mitral valve in the heart, a minimally invasive procedure to insert a new valve was associated with a lower rate of death or disabling stroke within one year, compared with patients who underwent standard repeat mitral valve replacement surgery, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

Adolescent patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) who received the drug mavacamten saw a significant improvement in left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient, a measure of blood flow obstruction in the heart, compared with those who received a placebo, according to a small study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26). The trial is the first to test mavacamten in patients younger than 18.  

Patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) experienced significant improvements in blood pressure and vascular health after taking the drug sotatercept, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

A trial testing the aldosterone blocker spironolactone in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) did not show any significant improvement in terms of heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular death at 24 months, according to findings presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).