Cardiology: Most Read Stories From 2024
Check out this list of our top 5 most read cardiology stories from the year 2024.
FDA Approves Vadadustat For Treatment of Anemia Due to CKD
Earlier this year, the FDA approved Akebia Therapeutics’ vadadustat (Vafseo) for adults on dialysis for at least 3 months. In the INNO2VATE trial, researchers attempted to determine the correction or maintenance treatment of anemia in participants with incident dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD). With approval leading to Akebia’s immediate rollout of vadadustat, the company is attempting to make its drug the new oral standard of care for adult patients on dialysis.
Top read cardiology stories from the year 2024 | image credit: Harvinder / stock.adobe.com
SGLT2i, GLP-1RA Combination Therapy Offers Robust Protection Against Cardiovascular, Kidney Disease
With GLP-1RAs and SGLT2i medications gradually becoming commonplace in both the diabetes and cardiovascular spaces, researchers continue to discover new indications furthering the benefits of these life-saving drugs. In July, a meta-analysis showed that a combination of GLP-1RA and SGLT2i reduced CKD by 33% and slowed the annual loss of kidney function by nearly 60%.
Mediterranean, DASH Diets May Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with T1D
Over the summer, readers were reading about the Mediterranean diet as well as dietary approaches to stopping hypertension, otherwise known as the DASH diet. Intrigued by its ability to possibly reduce patients’ cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, the Mediterranean diet specifically correlated with lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers. Furthermore, these diets were especially useful for lowering CVD risk in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Moving back to GLP-1RAs—and what is most likely the most well-known in semaglutide (Ozempic)—researchers from the FLOW randomized trial found that semaglutide had “robust” benefits for treating CKD and CVD events in patients with T2D. While these results, released back in May, are promising for patients with T2D, more data from this study is expected to further build up the benefits of semaglutide.
GLP-1s Lead to Weight Loss, Improved CVD Outcomes in Breast Cancer
Further solidifying the trend of GLP-1s in treating CVD, an abstract presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Annual Meeting showed that the drug can lead to improved CVD outcomes and even weight loss for patients with breast cancer. Like many other clinical trials surrounding these medications, researchers of the ASCO poster are conducting more studies to further seek benefits of GLP-1s in patients with cancer.
READ MORE: Cardiology Resource Center
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