At the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) annual meeting, March 16-18 in New Orleans, Philips announced the results of the DEFINE PCI [1] study, which assessed the level of residual ischemia found in patients after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). This study found that 1 in 4 patients [1] treated with standard-of-care PCI left the cath lab with residual ischemia (iFR < 0.90), as demonstrated by using a blinded instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) pullback measurement, which is Philips’ new physiologic guidance technology.

Prevencio Inc. announced data confirming the high accuracy of its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven, multiple-protein HART CVE Test for predicting cardiovascular events (CVE) and HART CAD Test for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD). Researchers believe these findings, presented at the 2019 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions, March 16-18 in New Orleans, demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of these tests. The new data, from two additional hospitals, confirm results previously published from Massachusetts General Hospital and James Januzzi, M.D.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance announced results from the Phase 4 AUGUSTUS trial evaluating Eliquis (apixaban) versus vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and/or undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Results show that in patients receiving a P2Y12 inhibitor with or without aspirin (antiplatelet therapies), the proportion of patients with major or clinically relevant non-major (CRNM) bleeding at six months was significantly lower for those treated with Eliquis compared to those treated with a VKA (10.5 percent vs. 14.7 percent, respectively; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.69, 95 percent confidence interval [CI]: 0.58-0.81; p-superiority<0.001).

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine presented preliminary results of the Apple Heart Study, a virtual study with over 400,000 enrolled participants, at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 68th Annual Scientific Sessions, March 16-18 in New Orleans. The researchers reported that wearable technology can safely identify heart rate irregularities that subsequent testing confirmed to be atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of stroke and hospitalization in the United States.

The American College of Cardiology’s first annual ACC Quality Summit, held March 13-15 in New Orleans, merges the NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry) Annual Conference and ACC Accreditation Congress for the first time to optimize cardiovascular patient care. The conference brings together cardiovascular thought leaders, administrators, clinicians, clinical quality leaders and data quality experts.