Advances in Clinical Cardiology 2024: A Summary of Key Clinical Trials

Abstract

Introduction: In 2024, numerous key clinical trials in the field of clinical cardiology have been published or presented at major international conferences. This review seeks to collate and summarise these trials and reflect on their clinical context.

Methods: The authors evaluated all clinical trials presented at major cardiology conferences during 2024 with a focus on clinical trials which would influence and/or change current clinical practice. We reviewed clinical trials presented at all major international conferences including the American College of Cardiology (ACC), European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EuroPCR), European Society of Cardiology (ESC), Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), American Heart Association (AHA), European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), TVT-The Heart Summit (TVT) and Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT). Trials considered to have highest impact and/or broad relevance across the field of clinical cardiology, with a high likelihood to change or impact upon clinical practice were included.

Results: Over 90 key cardiology clinical trials were identified across the spectrum of clinical cardiology. Important updates in percutaneous coronary intervention were reviewed including new ESC guidance and several key trials in the field of coronary physiology (FAVOR III), drug-coated balloons (REGCAGE-FREE, AGENT-IDE), shock, and acute coronary syndromes (SENIOR-RITA, DanGer-Shock). Structural trials included major updates in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) from EARLY-TAVR, TAVR-UNLOAD and NOTION 3, as well as seminal trials in tricuspid (TRISCEND II) and mitral intervention (MATTERHORN). Key updates in preventative cardiology included new data in lipoprotein (a) pharmacotherapy, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol reduction and hypertension management (BPROAD, BedMed, KRAKEN), as well as several key trials in heart failure (SUMMIT, FINEARTS) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (SEQUOIA-HCM) and cardiac amyloid (HELIOS-B).

Conclusion: The review presents a concise summary of the key clinical cardiology trials published or presented during the past year and should be of interest to clinicians and researchers in the field of cardiology.

Keywords: Acute coronary syndromes; Cardiology; Clinical trials; Electrophysiology; Heart failure; Intervention; Prevention; Structural.

Fig. 1

Image of the Pi-Cardia ShortCut™ device, a novel dedicated transcatheter device designed to modify aortic valve leaflets by mechanical splitting [47]. Image supplied with permission from Pi-Cardia

Fig. 2

Central illustration from Greene et al. [90] demonstrating US HF registry data of patients hospitalised with new HFrEF from 2016 to 2023. a Proportion of patients eligible for quadruple therapy. b HF medication prescribed on discharge. c Estimated reduction in all-cause mortality from addition of GDMT in eligible patients. Image reprinted under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC open access agreement, with permission from Oxford University Press. ACEi angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, ARB angiotensin receptor blocker, ARNI angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor, BB beta-blocker, GDMT guideline-directed medical therapy, MRA mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, RASi renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors, SGLT2i sodium–glucose cotransporter 2

Fig. 3

Central illustration from Schubert et al. [93] demonstrating the superiority of early and sustained reduction in non-HDL vs. other strategies (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.74–0.86). Image reprinted under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC open access agreement, with permission from Elseveir. CI confidence interval, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein, HR hazard ratio, MACE major adverse cardiovascular events, MI myocardial infarction