This Week in Cardiology

Early aortic valve replacement in aortic stenosis, left atrial appendage occlusion in JAMA Cardiology, and a big preview of the upcoming American College of Cardiology meeting are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast.
This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only.
To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit:
https://www.medscape.com/twic
I Early AVR
RECOVERY Trial at 10 Years https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2511920
II Major Bleeding with Amulet and Watchman in JAMA Cardiology
Amulet IDE Trial https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2847047
5-year Results From Amulet IDE  https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2024.10.101
III ACC Preview
Mandrola's Top 4 Trials from ACC 2026: Details Matter
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/mandrolas-top-4-trials-acc-2026-details-matter-2026a10008ti
CHIB-BCIS3 Trial https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.123.013367
Champion-AF Protocol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2023.05.022
ORBITA-CTO Protocol Paper https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1172763/full
SPIRIT-HF Clinical Trials.gov  https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04727073
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The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington
Questions or feedback, please contact [email protected]

Listener feedback, the huge CLOSURE-AF trial of LAAC vs best medical therapy, previews of CHAMPION AF, and the controversial ACC/AHA lipid treatment guidelines are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast.
This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only.
To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit:
https://www.medscape.com/twic
I Listener Feedback
COBRRA Trial https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2510703
Closure AF published in NEJM
CLOSURE-AF Trial https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2513310
CHAMPION AF Rationale - Watchman FLX vs DOACs in Patients With AF https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37279840/
LIPID Guidelines
ACC/AHA Joint Committee Guideline on Management of Dyslipidemia https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2025.11.016
You may also like:
The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington
Questions or feedback, please contact [email protected]

Beta-blocker in non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a head-to-head apixaban vs rivaroxaban RCT, diltiazem vs metoprolol combined with DOAC, and the accuracy of smart watches for AF are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast.
This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only.
To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit:
https://www.medscape.com/twic
I Listener Feedback
EMPATICC trial https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/47/9/1034/8242490
II Beta-blocker in Non-obstructive HCM
BB vs Calcium Channel Blocker in Non-obstructive HCM https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2025.11.028
RCT of Metoprolol in Patients With Obstructive HCM https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2021.07.065
III Apixaban vs Rivaroxaban for Bleeding Risk
COBRRA Trial https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2510703
AMPLIFY Trial (Apixaban) https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1302507
EINSTEIN Trial (Rivaroxaban) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1007903
IV Diltiazem vs Metoprolol When Combined with DOAC
Risk for Bleeding in AF Patients Using Apixaban or Rivaroxaban With Diltiazem https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-01408
V Actual Clinical Use of Smart Watches
CIRCA-DOSE Original Trial https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042622
Wearable Smartwatches for AF Detection After Ablation https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euaf280
You may also like:
The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington
Questions or feedback, please contact [email protected]

Listener feedback, urgent AF ablation, AF ablation as a stroke-reducing therapy, implantable loop recorder accuracy, and HF management in the setting of serious disease are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast.
This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only.
To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit:
https://www.medscape.com/twic
I Urgent AF ablations
Urgent vs Elective AF Ablation in the US  https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.12.030
II AF Ablation Is Not Likely a Good Therapy for Stroke Reduction
STABLED Trial https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2845745
Catheter Ablation for AF Associated With Lower Incidence of Stroke https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehw087
III Loop Recorders
ILR Accuracy - Multicenter, Multidevice Comparison https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.12.039
IV Heart Failure Therapy when there is Cancer
EMPATICC Trial https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf705
You may also like:
The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington
Questions or feedback, please contact [email protected]

A superb note on CPR and DNR orders, patients' vs doctors' preferences for statins, more on GLP-1s, another LAAC story, and some closing cautionary notes on PFA are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast.
This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only.
To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit:
https://www.medscape.com/twic
I Listener Feedback
Addressing Inadequate Documentation of Unilateral DNR https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2829203
Video: Can We Talk About CPR? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCRfY3ETvI
Personal Reminiscences of CPR's Origin https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(03)00977-9/pdf
II Public Preferences for Statin Therapy
Measuring Public Preferences for Statin Therapy https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2844660
III GLP-1 RA News
ACHIEVE Trial https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00202-3
IV New Trial in GLP-1 for Patients with AF
Seminal-AF Trial https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06499857
V Relationship between Spontaneous Echo Contrast and LAAC Outcomes
OCEAN-LAAC Trial https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.09.028
News Release on Upcoming LAAOS-4 trial  https://www.phri.ca/watchman/
Reading the "Smoke" -- Editorial on OCEAN-LAAC https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.10.029
VI Concluding Remarks on My Talk at Western AF
Delayed Myocardial Ischemia and Malignant Arrhythmias After PFA https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077983
You may also like:
The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington