CHICAGO -- Coming this weekend, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference will feature research exploring new frontiers for GLP-1 drugs in cardiovascular medicine, and foundational answers are expected for important questions about women, pulse oximeters, and athletes.
On Saturday, the opening late-breaking clinical trial session of ACC will include results of STRIDE, a randomized trial that will report whether once-weekly subcutaneous injections of the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) has any effect on functional capacity in people with type 2 diabetes and peripheral artery disease. The phase IIIb trial could mark another entry in the wave of evidence for an exciting class of injectables with approved cardiovascular and weight loss applications beyond glycemic control.
Meanwhile, oral semaglutide (Rybelsus) -- which has only one FDA approved indication for adjunctive glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes -- has its chance to show how it can do more in the SOUL study on the main stage Saturday afternoon. The presentation is expected to provide a fuller picture of oral semaglutide's 14% cardiovascular event reduction in patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular and/or chronic kidney disease, the phase III trial's topline result announced in the fall.
The late-breaking trials at ACC also cover understudied groups, starting with women who have ischemia and non-obstructive coronary artery (INOCA) disease in the WARRIOR trial. The highly anticipated results will show whether intensive medical therapy reduces major adverse cardiovascular events in women with INOCA chest pain, for whom the guidelines are mostly limited to symptom management for lack of stronger data.
As for the question of applying medical technologies across races and ethnicities, Sunday's late-breaking trial presentation of the EquiOx study will be notable for getting at pulse oximeter bias depending on skin color.
Additionally, the sparse data on cardiac arrest in long-distance runners gets a major contribution from a study spanning racers from 2010 to 2023, to be presented on Sunday as well.
Lastly, among the plethora of new research presented at ACC, attendees can also expect important updates in the sphere of structural heart disease:
Evolut Low Risk: 5-year results of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) vs surgery in low-risk patients with aortic stenosis
DAPA-TAVI: safety and efficacy of dapagliflozin (Farxiga) in patients undergoing TAVR
PROTECT-TAVI: routine cerebral embolic protection in TAVR and its effect on stroke rates at 72 hours
ALIGN-AR: clinical and echocardiographic outcomes among the first 500 patients treated with the Trilogy, a dedicated TAVR valve for pure aortic regurgitation
TRILUMINATE: 2-year outcomes of transcatheter tricuspid valve edge-to-edge repair for tricuspid regurgitation
ACC will be held in-person in Chicago starting on Saturday, March 29th, with late-breaking scientific sessions also available streamed online.
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Nicole Lou is a reporter for MedPage Today, where she covers cardiology news and other developments in medicine. Follow