Latest Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine research

The 10 most useful cardiology and cardiovascular medicine studies published this week, chosen from Q1 journals and graded on the Oxford CEBM evidence hierarchy. Each paper links to a short summary and the original on PubMed. Updated 22 September 2026.

Top 10 this week

Week of 20 September 2026

1
Effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors in slowing chronic kidney disease progression and reducing mortality: a meta-analysis
Frontiers in pharmacology · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 31 August 2026
Meta‑analysis of SGLT2 inhibitors on CKD and mortality
2
Intracoronary Imaging-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Updated Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials
Journal of the American College of Cardiology · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 10 September 2026
ICI‑guided PCI meta‑analysis, directly impacts interventional practice
3
Ultrashort vs Standard-Duration Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients Undergoing PCI: A Meta-Analysis
JACC. Cardiovascular interventions · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 14 September 2026
Meta‑analysis of ultrashort vs standard DAPT in ACS PCI patients
4
Intravascular Imaging-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Calcified Coronary Lesions: A Network Meta-Analysis
JACC. Advances · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 17 September 2026
Intravascular imaging‑guided PCI for calcified lesions
5
Factor XIa Inhibitors for Secondary Prevention After Noncardioembolic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Neurology · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 16 September 2026
Factor XIa inhibitors for secondary stroke prevention, antithrombotic relevance
6
Effect of Yoga on Ventricular Premature Complex Burden and Quality of Life: The VPC-Yoga Study
JACC. Advances · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 15 September 2026
Yoga effect on ventricular premature complexes
7
Five-Year Follow-Up of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement With Self-Expanding Intra-Annular Versus Commercially Available Valves
JACC. Cardiovascular interventions · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 1 September 2026
Five‑year outcomes of self‑expanding TAVR valve
8
Effectiveness of nurse-led mHealth-based self-care management for patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 1 September 2026
Nurse‑led mHealth improves HF readmissions
9
Metabolic syndrome severity and the effects of intensive blood pressure lowering: Results from the STEP randomized trial
Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 16 September 2026
Intensive SBP lowering in metabolic syndrome patients
10
Colchicine in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials
Journal of clinical medicine · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 24 August 2026
High-quality evidence in a top journal

Paper of the day, last two weeks

Clopidogrel monotherapy versus aspirin monotherapy in females and males after percutaneous coronary intervention: a sex-stratified analysis of the SMART-CHOICE 3 trial
EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 21 September 2026
Clopidogrel vs aspirin after PCI, sex‑stratified RCT
Comparative Outcomes of Transcatheter Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Heart Failure and Chronic Kidney Disease
Journal of the American Heart Association · Q1 journal · Retrospective cohort · Evidence level 3 (Low) · 18 September 2026
Transcatheter vs surgical AVR in HF and CKD
The LEDA Score: An Integrated Echocardiographic Score for the Diagnosis of HFpEF
JACC. Advances · Q1 journal · Prospective cohort · Evidence level 2 (Moderate) · 18 September 2026
Prospective diagnostic score for HFpEF
Ten-year outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents for bifurcation lesions: insights from the DECADE cooperation
Cardiovascular intervention and therapeutics · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 10 September 2026
10‑year DES PCI outcomes for bifurcation lesions
Ten-year outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents for bifurcation lesions: insights from the DECADE cooperation
Cardiovascular intervention and therapeutics · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 10 September 2026
10‑year DES PCI outcomes for bifurcation lesions
Clinical outcomes of early vs. late extubation following cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Frontiers in medicine · Q1 journal · SR/MA of RCTs · Evidence level 1 (High) · 26 August 2026
A meta-analysis of 19 studies found that patients extubated within six hours had roughly one-tenth the odds of dying compared with later extubation, and also saw far lower rates of reintubation, pneumonia, renal failure requiring dialysis, tracheostomy and readmission. The data are mainly from observational cohorts, so prospective trials are needed before changing protocols.
Sex differences in computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve-guided management of stable coronary artery disease: a subgroup analysis of the TARGET trial
EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 7 September 2026
In the TARGET trial subanalysis, women whose care was guided by CT-derived fractional flow reserve experienced about a 50% lower rate of major cardiovascular events over two years compared with standard care, while men showed no significant benefit. The result suggests a sex-specific advantage of CT-FFR, but the analysis is exploratory and needs confirmation.
Sex differences in computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve-guided management of stable coronary artery disease: a subgroup analysis of the TARGET trial
EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 7 September 2026
In the TARGET trial subanalysis, women whose care was guided by CT-derived fractional flow reserve experienced about a 50% lower rate of major cardiovascular events over two years compared with standard care, while men showed no significant benefit. The result suggests a sex-specific advantage of CT-FFR, but the analysis is exploratory and needs confirmation.
Sex differences in computed tomography-derived fractional flow reserve-guided management of stable coronary artery disease: a subgroup analysis of the TARGET trial
EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 7 September 2026
In the TARGET trial subanalysis, women whose care was guided by CT-derived fractional flow reserve experienced about a 50% lower rate of major cardiovascular events over two years compared with standard care, while men showed no significant benefit. The result suggests a sex-specific advantage of CT-FFR, but the analysis is exploratory and needs confirmation.

Evidence summaries in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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For healthcare professionals. Summaries are generated by AI from the published abstract and are not medical advice. Read the original paper before changing practice.