The editorial board and staff are pleased to present the latest issue of US Cardiology Review. The submissions include reviews, editorials, and perspectives based on recently published clinical trials. They have been selected based on relevance to daily practice of the general cardiologist and advanced internist.
The issue leads off with an important and timely review in the Risk Prevention section by Isiadinso and Wenger on assessment of cardiovascular risk in women. The paper highlights the burden of cardiovascular disease and discusses several unique factors related to risk assessment in women. Better understanding of these issues and current limitations is critical for improving outcomes in these patients.
Next are three papers in the Risk Prevention section on lipid management. Carreras and Polk present a general overview of current therapies for dyslipidemia and guideline-based approaches followed by a focused review from Prejean and Brown on the current status of PCSK-9 inhibitors. These papers are of special importance as we aim to optimize primary and secondary risk prevention based on the best available evidence. Podolec and Niewiara finish this section with a new feature in the Journal, providing the key learning points from a recent clinical trial, the GLAGOV trial of the PCSK9 inhibitor, evolocumab.
This is followed by a much needed review on cardiac toxicity of cancer chemotherapy by Asnani and Peterson. The aging of our population and increased survival rates for a number of cancers makes awareness of these sometimes late cardiac complications essential for the practicing general cardiologist and internist.
In the Interventional Cardiology section, Yang, Ahmed, and I review the data and current recommendations for optimal use of the recently approved absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold. There are next two articles centered on current controversies in dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) after coronary stenting. These include an editorial on the rationale for personalized therapy based on individual ischemic and bleeding risks followed by a perspective from Mehran and Faggioni on the key learning points from the recently published PIONEER-AF PCI clinical trial. The need to develop new approaches to the DAPT dilemma for optimizing the balance of bleeding and ischemia is especially critical in this substantial group of patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease.
Finally, in the Electrophysiology section Miller reviews the role of ablation techniques beyond pulmonary vein isolation for improving long-term success of atrial fibrillation management.
This issue is a busy one and has been the result of much effort. I thank the editorial staff, our reviewers, and the authors for their hard work in these contributions. We trust you will find the results informative for your practice.