Cardiology ·
Left bundle-branch area pacing beats right ventricular pacing in LEAP-Block; FDA approves paravalvular leak device; women's heart framework set
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A randomized trial in JAMA, LEAP-Block, found left bundle-branch area pacing lowered death, heart failure events or biventricular upgrade versus right ventricular pacing in 499 patients with atrioventricular block.
Abbott said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Amplatzer Paraclose PVL Occluder, the only U.S. transcatheter device designed to treat paravalvular leak. The American Heart Association and three other groups published a female life-stage framework for cardiovascular prevention.
THE DETAILS
- Research Oct 28, 2026In LEAP-Block, published Oct. 28 in JAMA, 499 patients with atrioventricular block, preserved left ventricular function and anticipated ventricular pacing above 40% at 14 Chinese hospitals were randomized to left bundle-branch area pacing or right ventricular pacing. The primary end point, all-cause death, heart failure events or upgrade to biventricular pacing at 24 months, occurred in 2.4% versus 12.5% of 482 analyzed (P = .003); Kaplan-Meier estimates were 5.0% versus 13.2% (hazard ratio 0.37, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.73; P = .004). Heart failure events were 3.4% versus 11.3%. Death, upgrade, device complications and pacing-induced cardiomyopathy did not differ significantly.
- FDA Oct 28, 2026Abbott said Oct. 28 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Amplatzer Paraclose PVL Occluder, implanted through a catheter inserted through an artery or vein in the leg to close leaks around surgical replacement heart valves. Physicians treating such leaks in the U.S. previously had no approved alternative to repeat open-heart surgery, the company said. Approval rested on PARADIGM, a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study of 200 patients; the release gave no outcome figures. Abbott said such leaks occur in 7% to 17% of mitral and 5% to 10% of aortic valve replacements.
- Guidelines Oct 26, 2026The American Heart Association (AHA), American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine published three Circulation papers Oct. 26: a presidential advisory defining four life stages from perimenarche to postmenopause, a scientific statement with consensus guidance and a science advisory proposing Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women's Cardiovascular Care. The papers treat menstrual cycle patterns as a female-specific vital sign and call for 10- and 30-year sex-specific risk estimation with the PREVENT equations. Only about 60% of U.S. women with pregnancy-related hypertension complications get follow-up within six months, the AHA said.Sources: American Heart Association, Healio
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