Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag219
Endrit Cekaj, Frederik Sand, David H V Vogel, Peter M Spieth, Benedikt Schrage, Aitor Uribarri, Frederic De Roeck, Jordi Riera, Federico Pappalardo, Norman Mangner, Guido Tavazzi, Tom Verbelen, Christian Jung, Andreas Schäfer, Dirk Westermann, Sebastian Zimmer, Malte Kelm, Stephan Baldus, Christian Hagl, Martin Neukirchen, Farhad Bakhtiary, Georg Nickenig, Steffen T Simon, Holger Thiele, Claudia Bausewein, Lukas Radbruch, Alexandra Philipsen, Enzo Lüsebrink
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. Although advances in prevention, diagnostics, and disease-modifying therapies have prolonged survival, many individuals now live longer with high symptom burden, functional decline, and complex decisional needs. Palliative care (PC) for adults with advanced cardiovascular disease can improve quality of life, support caregivers, and align treatments with patient values and goals. Core elements include symptom management, effective communication, shared decision-making, advance care planning, and integration of psychosocial and spiritual support across the disease trajectory and different care settings. Current evidence demonstrates that early PC intervention can improve symptom control, enhance quality of life, reduce psychological distress, and decrease high-intensity yet low-value care near the end of life. Nevertheless, outside of heart failure populations, gaps in widespread PC implementation across populations supported with cardiac devices as well as across diverse cultural and health systems remain. This state-of-the-art review (i) synthesizes conceptual foundations, referral triggers, and delivery models for PC in cardiovascular medicine; (ii) reviews disease-specific considerations across heart failure, valvular disease, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias, and congenital heart disease; (iii) outlines ethical and legal issues including advance directives and device deactivation; (iv) provides practical guidance for symptom management and communication frameworks; and (v) proposes a pragmatic algorithm to support clinical integration of PC into cardiovascular medicine.
{"title":"Palliative care in cardiovascular medicine.","authors":"Endrit Cekaj, Frederik Sand, David H V Vogel, Peter M Spieth, Benedikt Schrage, Aitor Uribarri, Frederic De Roeck, Jordi Riera, Federico Pappalardo, Norman Mangner, Guido Tavazzi, Tom Verbelen, Christian Jung, Andreas Schäfer, Dirk Westermann, Sebastian Zimmer, Malte Kelm, Stephan Baldus, Christian Hagl, Martin Neukirchen, Farhad Bakhtiary, Georg Nickenig, Steffen T Simon, Holger Thiele, Claudia Bausewein, Lukas Radbruch, Alexandra Philipsen, Enzo Lüsebrink","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag219","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cardiovascular disease remains the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. Although advances in prevention, diagnostics, and disease-modifying therapies have prolonged survival, many individuals now live longer with high symptom burden, functional decline, and complex decisional needs. Palliative care (PC) for adults with advanced cardiovascular disease can improve quality of life, support caregivers, and align treatments with patient values and goals. Core elements include symptom management, effective communication, shared decision-making, advance care planning, and integration of psychosocial and spiritual support across the disease trajectory and different care settings. Current evidence demonstrates that early PC intervention can improve symptom control, enhance quality of life, reduce psychological distress, and decrease high-intensity yet low-value care near the end of life. Nevertheless, outside of heart failure populations, gaps in widespread PC implementation across populations supported with cardiac devices as well as across diverse cultural and health systems remain. This state-of-the-art review (i) synthesizes conceptual foundations, referral triggers, and delivery models for PC in cardiovascular medicine; (ii) reviews disease-specific considerations across heart failure, valvular disease, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias, and congenital heart disease; (iii) outlines ethical and legal issues including advance directives and device deactivation; (iv) provides practical guidance for symptom management and communication frameworks; and (v) proposes a pragmatic algorithm to support clinical integration of PC into cardiovascular medicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147510789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag082
Lili Jiang, Wenqian Wu, Mingxing Xie
{"title":"A series of cardiac delayed complications following right upper quadrant trauma.","authors":"Lili Jiang, Wenqian Wu, Mingxing Xie","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag082","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147510823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag194
Giovanna Liuzzo, Carlo Patrono
{"title":"Weekly Journal Scan: Tirzepatide did not SURPASS the cardiovascular benefits of dulaglutide in type 2 diabetes.","authors":"Giovanna Liuzzo, Carlo Patrono","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag194","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147510826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag181
Daniela Pedicino, Rocco Vergallo
{"title":"Weekly Journal Scan: Improving symptoms and quality of life with endotype-guided management of patients with angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease.","authors":"Daniela Pedicino, Rocco Vergallo","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag181","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147510836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-24DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1038
Beatriz Castillo Rodriguez, Renzo Laborante, Affan Rizwan, Muzamil Khawaja, Stefano Elia, Noah Newman, Rehma Siddiqui, Daniel Berman, Giuseppe Patti, Hartzell V Schaff, Domenico D’Amario, Chayakrit Krittanawong
Myocardial bridging is the most common congenital coronary anomaly, characterized by an intramyocardial course of a segment of an epicardial coronary artery, with considerable variability in its depth and length. In most cases, MB is a benign anatomical variant without clinical significance, often asymptomatic and not requiring treatment. However, with the increasing use of coronary computed tomography angiography for coronary assessment, myocardial bridging is now more frequently identified during non-invasive imaging. It can also be diagnosed via invasive coronary angiography, where it appears as a dynamic systolic compression of the tunnelled artery segment, and further anatomical characterization can be enhanced by intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography. Growing recognition of myocardial bridging’s role in ischaemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries has heightened clinical interest in its prevalence, diagnostic strategies, and management approaches. As such, this narrative review provides clinicians with an updated, evidence-based guide to the diagnosis and therapeutic management of myocardial bridging, while also addressing ongoing controversies and areas of uncertainty.
{"title":"Myocardial bridging: a practical guide for clinicians","authors":"Beatriz Castillo Rodriguez, Renzo Laborante, Affan Rizwan, Muzamil Khawaja, Stefano Elia, Noah Newman, Rehma Siddiqui, Daniel Berman, Giuseppe Patti, Hartzell V Schaff, Domenico D’Amario, Chayakrit Krittanawong","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1038","url":null,"abstract":"Myocardial bridging is the most common congenital coronary anomaly, characterized by an intramyocardial course of a segment of an epicardial coronary artery, with considerable variability in its depth and length. In most cases, MB is a benign anatomical variant without clinical significance, often asymptomatic and not requiring treatment. However, with the increasing use of coronary computed tomography angiography for coronary assessment, myocardial bridging is now more frequently identified during non-invasive imaging. It can also be diagnosed via invasive coronary angiography, where it appears as a dynamic systolic compression of the tunnelled artery segment, and further anatomical characterization can be enhanced by intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography. Growing recognition of myocardial bridging’s role in ischaemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries has heightened clinical interest in its prevalence, diagnostic strategies, and management approaches. As such, this narrative review provides clinicians with an updated, evidence-based guide to the diagnosis and therapeutic management of myocardial bridging, while also addressing ongoing controversies and areas of uncertainty.","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":"235 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147502014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-24DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf860
Judith Ozkan
{"title":"Young investigator award in basic/translational cardio-oncology: José Enrique Ortega Sollero.","authors":"Judith Ozkan","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf860","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf860","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"1387-1388"},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145932881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-24DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag096
Michael A Borger,Fabien Praz
{"title":"The 'ten commandments' for the 2025 ESC/EACTS guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease.","authors":"Michael A Borger,Fabien Praz","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag096","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":"159 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147502454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-24DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf849
BuChun Zhang
{"title":"Pre-hospital vs Cath-Lab heparin in STEMI: a reappraisal based on the HELP-PCI trial findings.","authors":"BuChun Zhang","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf849","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf849","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"1491"},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145400188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}