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Despite favourable results in pivotal clinical trials involving novel direct oral anticoagulants, vitamin K antagonists remain the most commonly prescribed anticoagulant. Newer oral anticoagulants are slated for a wide range of additional indications, and specific antidotes to neutralize associated bleeding complications are currently under development.
A number of studies in 2014 have enhanced our knowledge of the pathophysiology of hypertension, including the effects of a low-salt diet, hypertension in resource-poor countries, hypoxia-induced blood pressure elevation, antihypertensive therapies, the therapeutic role of renal denervation, and the effect of cardiovascular risk on adverse outcomes in patients with hypertension.
Decision-making between percutaneous and surgical revascularization in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) is challenging. Current guidelines recommend surgery as the preferred revascularization strategy in patients with multivessel disease, and the 5-year SYNTAX trial results published this year further validates this. However, last-generation drug-eluting stents might challenge surgery in the contemporary setting.
Combined inhibition of angiotensin receptor and neprilysin reduces mortality from chronic heart failure over the current gold-standard angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors. However, spironolactone treatment does not improve outcomes in patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Iron deficiency contributes to reduced morbidity in chronic heart failure.
