Dr Arasi Maran explores practical strategies for integrating lifestyle interventions into the management of complex coronary artery disease, including how to prioritise modifiable risk factors, communicate recommendations effectively and support sustained behaviour change. She also discusses the role of imaging, reliable health information and patient-centred approaches to improving adherence.

Late-breaking clinical research will once again be a major focus at ESC Congress 2026, taking place in Munich, Germany, from August 28–31. This year, a record 59 trials have been selected for presentation across 12 Hot Line sessions, spanning new pharmacological approaches, diagnostic strategies, devices, imaging and digital technologies.

New clinical guidelines, late-breaking trials, artificial intelligence, and an increasing focus on cardiometabolic and precision medicine are set to shape discussions at ESC Congress 2026 in Munich.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Pasadena, CA) has reported topline results from two phase III trials evaluating plozasiran in adults with severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG), according to a recent press release.1 Plozasiran, an siRNA therapy directed against apolipoprotein C-III (APOC3) messenger RNA, is already approved as Redemplo for adults with familial chylomicronemia syndrome but remains investigational for the broader sHTG population.

The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to AFTX-201 (Affinia Therapeutics; Waltham, MA), an investigational gene therapy, for the treatment of BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (BAG3-DCM), according to the company. The designation follows a recent FDA Fast Track designation for the same program.

A new World Heart Federation (WHF) Roadmap proposes a broader, more adaptable model of cardiac rehabilitation designed to support people with cardiovascular disease over the long term.

The FDA has approved enlicitide (LIPFENDRA®; Merck, Rahway, NJ, USA) tablets, 20 mg, as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), according to a press release from Merck.1 Enlicitide is a novel macrocyclic peptide and the first FDA-approved oral proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor for lowering LDL-C.

Longer diagnosis-to-ablation time (DAT) was associated with a higher risk of atrial arrhythmia recurrence following de novo radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) for atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a prospective, multicenter cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.1

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Carlsbad, CA, USA) and AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK) have announced that the phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial (NCT04136171) of eplontersen (Wainua®; Ionis Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca) did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint in adults with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).