BARCELONA -- The ڴŮ editorial team has selected five stand-out videos from this year's European Society of Cardiology meeting here. Among the highlights: CANTOS lead investigator talks about findings that were decades in the making, a stranded Houston cardiologist speaks about his family's rescue efforts back home, and two experts go head-to-head over the findings of a major diet study. Here are our top picks:
1) CANTOS: 25 years in the making
Paul Ridker, MD, of Harvard University, has been chasing the inflammatory hypothesis of heart disease for some 25 years, and in this video, he details that history to ڴŮ editor-in-chief Peggy Peck. He also talks about his next steps: exploring the potential role of generic methotrexate (in place of expensive canakinumab) for reducing cardiac events, though the cheapest solution of all, he says, is exercise.
2) Stranded Houston cardiologist finds crisis brings out caring
While Christie Ballantyne, MD, was preparing to co-present CANTOS, his colleagues back home were sleeping at the hospital, and his family was using their boat to rescue folks from flooded homes. Ballantyne told ڴŮ that the crisis reminded him of why he chose to go into medicine: "It's a caring profession. We see in times in crisis it tends to bring out the best in people."
3) Experts square off over PURE study findings
The PURE study offered results that run counter to many dietary recommendations: high-fat diets (even with saturated fat) are healthy, and fruits and veggies are best in moderation. The AHA, which recently reiterated its stance against saturated fats, sees things differently, as evidenced in this point-counterpoint from PURE study author Salim Yusuf, MD, DPhil, of McMaster University, and AHA spokesperson Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, of Northwestern University.
4) A different heading for COMPASS
Attendees were enthusiastic about findings that adding low-dose rivaroxaban (Xarelto) to aspirin in stable CVD cut cardiovascular events, but Raymond Gibbons, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said that should be tempered by greater bleeding risk and societal costs. "By my analysis, one would have to treat 140 patients for 3 years with rivaroxaban -- 400 patient-years of the drug -- to save one life," he said. "If I estimate the cost of the drug at $3,000 a year, that is more than $1.2 million for one life saved."
5) Key questions about CANTOS
Haven't had your fill of CANTOS yet? In this video, six experts answer six key questions about the study. Hear opinions from Ballantyne as well as Barbara Casadei, MD; Anthony DeMaria, MD; Stephen Nicholls, MD; Eric Peterson, MD; and Jennifer Robinson, MD.