American Heart Association Scientific Sessions Feature Mass General Brigham Research and Advancements

Beginning November 11, Mass General Brigham experts will be sharing the latest advancements in cardiovascular science and clinical care at the American Heart Association’s 2023 Scientific Sessions. The studies highlighted below represent only a sample of the cutting-edge research that our investigators will present at the conference. Please contact Ryan Jaslow for more details about these sessions.

Late Breaking Science (all times ET)

Late-Breaking Science: Heart Failure - VADS, Kids, and Money

Sat, Nov 11, 1:35 p.m.

Avoidance of Aspirin With Left Ventricular Assist Devices in Advanced Heart Failure: Primary Results of the International, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled ARIES HM3 Clinical Trial

Presenter: Mandeep Mehra, MD, Medical Director, Heart and Vascular Center, William Harvey Distinguished Chair in Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Late-Breaking Science: Shocking Decisions in AFib Care

Sun, Nov 12, 8:15 a.m.

Abelacimab, a Novel Factor XI/XIa Inhibitor, vs Rivaroxaban in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Primary Results of the AZALEA-TIMI 71 Randomized Trial

Presenter: Christian Ruff, MD, MPH, Director, General Cardiology, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Late-Breaking Science: Future of Lipid Lowering Therapy - Novel Mechanisms and Approaches

Sun, Nov 12, 4:15 p.m.

Effects of Pitavastatin on Coronary Artery Disease and Inflammatory Biomarkers in HIV: Mechanistic Substudy of the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE)

Presenter: Michael Lu, MD, MPH, Director of Artificial Intelligence, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center
Co-Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital

Noteworthy Presentations

Real World Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence Enabled Digital Stethoscope for Detecting Undiagnosed Valvular Heart Disease in Primary Care

Moshe Rancier, MD, senior medical director of Mass General Brigham Community Physicians, will present results from a study detecting heart valve disease. The study compares the use of a standard stethoscope to an artificial intelligence program using sound data from a digital stethoscope.

“This study demonstrates that healthcare professionals can screen patients for valvular heart disease more effectively and quickly using a digital stethoscope paired with high-performing AI that could detect cardiac murmurs associated with significant valvular heart disease,” said Rancier.

Depression and Anxiety Accelerate the Rate of Gain of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Mechanism Leading to Increased Risk of Cardiac Events

Giovanni Civieri, M.D., a research fellow at the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, will present results from a study examining how mental health affects heart health. Researchers found that anxiety and depression sped the development of new cardiovascular disease risk factors.

“While it is known that depression and anxiety increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke, the mechanism underlying this is not completely known,” said Civieri. “In our study, we identified a mechanism that appears to largely account for the link between these psychological factors and cardiovascular disease.”

Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential Predicts Incident Cardiac Arrhythmias

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will present results and have a simultaneous publication in the European Heart Journal. The team identified a novel age-related risk factor for arrhythmias in middle-aged adults. The study focused on the accumulation of mutations in blood cell precursors mutations acquired with aging known as clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP).

“Our findings indicate that CHIP represents a novel, clinically relevant risk factor for arrhythmias,” said senior author Michael Honigberg, MD, MPP, of the Department of Cardiology at MGH. “Given the falling cost of next-generation sequencing, CHIP could be a potential target for future approaches in arrhythmia management.”

Awards and Honors

• Dr. Marc A. Pfeffer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital to receive the 2023 Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award
• Dr. Pradeep Natarajan of Massachusetts General Hospital to receive the 2023 Joseph A. Vita Award
• Post-doctoral fellow Anurag Jamaiyar, PhD, receives the 2023 Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award in recognition of the Top Ranking Abstract in the United States