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Dear Readers,
This has been another exciting year for cardiology, and it's time again to provide you with our top stories of the year, chosen by our board of editors. Several trials made the list, leading with the much-anticipated PARADIGM-HF study, which gave hope to those frustrated by a string of negative trials about heart failure. Similarly anticipated, but humbling and much less exciting, was the SYMPLICITY HTN-2 trial. Many thought that the benefit of renal denervation for resistant hypertension was a foregone conclusion — until the results were shown. The DAPT trial had an unsurprising result: Dual antiplatelet therapy had a benefit after stenting, but at the cost of increased bleeding. In CORP-2, we learned that colchicine is a safe, effective adjunct to NSAIDs for the treatment of acute pericarditis and first recurrences. Several early trials whetted our appetite for the outcomes trials to come on the efficacy of PCSK-9, which markedly reduces LDL cholesterol. An extended follow-up of MADIT-CRT showed that the benefit of cardiac resynchronization therapy seemed to be concentrated in patients with left bundle-branch block. And two trials of transcatheter aortic valve replacement showed that this treatment option is here to stay.
Sometimes analyses of the literature make our list, primarily because they can help guide practice. A network meta-analysis showed that treatment of venous thromboembolism has many equivalent options but that unfractionated heparin was not as good as the others. Even a case series made the list, as concerns were raised about the HeartMate II markedly increasing the risk for thrombosis. Finally, my favorite was a study that showed that many Class I recommendations in the guidelines do not persist for more than 10 years, showing the importance of keeping up with the literature.
We'd like to hear what articles you thought were most important last year. Please let us know by adding a reader comment below. Thanks very much for your interest, and best wishes for 2015.
Our Cardiology Top Stories of 2014 are:
A PARADIGM Shift in Heart-Failure Treatment?
Prolonged Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Stent Implantation: What Are the Risks and Benefits?
Catheter-Based Renal Denervation for Resistant Hypertension
Two Studies of a Self-Expanding Bioprosthesis for Severe Aortic Stenosis
How Durable Are the Strong Recommendations Made in Practice Guidelines?
Treatment of VTE — Is There an Optimal Anticoagulation Strategy?
Update on the Evidence for PCSK9 Inhibition to Lower LDL Cholesterol
Mounting Evidence Supports Colchicine for Pericarditis
Cardiac Resynchronization in Patients with Mild Heart Failure: Equal Benefit for All?