December 17, 2020
The American Heart Association has released its annual top 10 list for leading cardiovascular-related research and “accomplishments” for 2020, offering the caveat that much of it took place in the shadow of COVID-19. The AHA has been compiling this list since 1996, a press release notes.
1)EXPLORER-HCM. Released at the virtual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2020, this small trial in the setting of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (just 251 patients) showed that the first-in-class myosin inhibitor mavacamten (MyoKardia), on top of medical therapy, significantly improved hemodynamics, functional capacity, and symptoms when compared with patients who received placebo. “A new molecule has emerged with a promise of targeted medical therapy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for the first time since the original description of the disease almost 60 years ago,” said lead investigator Iacopo Olivotto, MD (Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Careg