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[Gaps in evidence in recent cardiovascular guidelines: uncertainties in chronic coronary syndrome]
Pier Luigi Temporelli, Alessandro Boccanelli1, Roberta Rossini
1Università UniCamillus, Roma.
Insights
Clinical guidelines have evidence gaps. Experts discussed controversies in ischemic cardiomyopathy, including ischemia testing, anti-ischemic therapy, and antithrombotic strategies, to guide clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Clinical Practice
Context:
- Clinical guidelines offer references for therapeutic choices but contain grey zones lacking solid evidence.
- The fifth National Congress Grey Zones convened experts to address these ambiguities in Cardiology.
- This manuscript details symposium statements on ischemic cardiomyopathy controversies.
Purpose:
- To highlight key grey zones in Cardiology, specifically concerning ischemic cardiomyopathy.
- To facilitate expert comparison and derive shared conclusions for clinical practice.
- To review current guidelines and present expert pros and cons on evidence gaps.
Summary:
- The symposium addressed evidence gaps in ischemic cardiomyopathy, including the validity of ischemia testing post-ISCHEMIA trial.
- Discussions focused on modifying European guidelines for anti-ischemic therapy in chronic coronary syndromes.
- Comparisons of long-term antithrombotic strategies in chronic coronary syndromes were also evaluated.
Impact:
- Provides practical take-home messages for everyday clinical practice.
- Aims to illuminate clinical decision-making in areas of limited evidence.
- Facilitates informed therapeutic choices by clarifying guideline ambiguities.
Abstract:
The clinical guidelines, while representing an objective reference to perform correct therapeutic choices, contain grey zones, where the recommendations are not supported by solid evidence. In the fifth National Congress Grey Zones held in Bergamo in June 2022, an attempt was made to highlight some of the main grey zones in Cardiology and, through a comparison between experts, to draw shared conclusions that can illuminate our clinical practice. This manuscript contains the statements of the symposium concerning the controversies regarding ischemic cardiomyopathy. The manuscript represents the organization of the meeting, with an initial review of the current guidelines on this topic, followed by an expert presentation of pros (White) and cons (Black) related to the identified "gaps of evidence". For every issue is then reported the "response" derived from the votes of the experts and the public, the discussion and, finally, the highlights, which are intended as practical take home messages to be used in the everyday clinical practice. The first gap in evidence discussed regards the validity of the indication to search for ischemia in light of the data from the ISCHEMIA trial. The second examines the possibility of modifying the algorithm proposed by the European guidelines on anti-ischemic therapy in chronic coronary syndromes. The last gap in evidence evaluates the comparability of long-term antithrombotic strategies in chronic coronary syndromes.
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