Insights on Innovation: Craig Beavers Previews AHA 2024 and Emerging Trends in Cardiovascular Care

In anticipation of the American Heart Association (AHA) 2024 Scientific Sessions, Pharmacy Times® spoke with Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, CACP, cardiovascular clinical pharmacist, adjunct associate professor with the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, and vice president of professional services with Baptist Health Paducah in the Baptist Health System, about the upcoming meeting and the trends in cardiovascular care that will be popular topics of discussion.

Pharmacy Times: What is your name and what will you be doing at the AHA 2024 Scientific Sessions?

Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, CACP: My name is Craig beavers. I'm a cardiovascular clinical pharmacist and work with Baptist Health System, as well as the University of Kentucky. And I'll be attending both to moderate a session on Sunday that is looking at heart failure-based studies in social determinants of health. And then also, we'll be doing several meetings has a member of a variety of a variety of different committees, including the Clinical Pharmacology committee.

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Pharmacy Times: What are you most looking forward to at this year's AHA Scientific Sessions? Any particular presentations or studies you think will be of note?

Beavers: I'm always excited to get together with our community in the cardiovascular space to be able to network and see friends and colleagues, and to be able to continually to learn and expand our own knowledge base, but also to be able to continue to cleverly think up solutions for our patients.

In terms of clinical trials, I have a variety of different things that I'm excited about. A few items that I'm super excited about are the OPTION trial, which will be on Saturday, November 16, at 1:30pm time frame, central standard time. And that's a randomized trial comparing left atrial appendage closure with oral anticoagulation after catheter ablation. Think it'll be interesting to see what the left atrial [sic] device does.

In terms of safety, and comparatively with direct acting oral agents, this will be potentially a change in terms of what we could be doing for these patients or providing more assurance with these agents. I'm definitely excited about, from a pharmacist perspective, the PHARM-HFAF study, which is Saturday as well at 3:15, which is looking at an evaluation of randomized audit and feedback to increase heart failure medication optimization amongst primary care pharmacists in a veteran fare system. So really looking at the role of the pharmacist using a feedback loop cycle, and what the impact of that is. So that's going to be exciting to see.

And then lastly, I'm also excited to see the summit trial with this the tide for patients with heart failure, preserved injection fraction obesity. The Summit data was released earlier that tells us that we could see some big things in terms of the HFPEF trial with those agents, we know that it met its primary endpoint, not sure what the details are. And then, one more thing, is the REALIZED case study, which looks at using sodium zirconium cyclosilicate in terms of optimizing MRA in patients with heart failure in terms of their potassium management.

So, lots of great studies and things that will be coming out, and more data from other trials that have been presented earlier this year, like TOPCAT and so forth. So, all in all, it's going to be a very exciting conference.1

Pharmacy Times:What trends or topics in cardiovascular research and treatment seem to be gaining the most traction?

Beavers: I think a lot of the conversation and dialogue that is occurring in the space is really around the concept of cardiorenal metabolic, or cardio metabolic. And as I alluded at the summit, the trial really looking at that bridge and overlap between obesity and heart failure [HF] and where we combine to further optimize and reduce risk. Other studies that are going to be in that space that are looking at the overlap in that area. I think that's a big messaging that the AHA is working through is continually to promote. I think they have several other sessions that are tied specifically or focused on cardiac metabolic. Of course, we're always looking at improvement of social determinants health and management of cardiovascular disease in a rural health care setting.

So, I think that's exciting to be part of and listen to from that perspective. But I think the big things that are definitely on the radar are, [HF], or have path treatment, Cardiorenal, metabolic which can include and encompass things like hypertension, diabetes, things that we've traditionally thought about, but really thinking about how we approach them and the overlapping disease and risk from that standpoint. Then, continuing looking at implementation science and novel ways to improve the care processes.

Pharmacy Times:Can you share some insight into your presentation “Socioeconomic Insights and Innovations in Heart Failure” at the meeting?

Beavers: I'm going to be moderating the session. It's a moderated poster session, or abstract session, where several different investigators have come up with a variety of different studies to look at our augmentation studies that are looking at improving heart failure management, whether that be the implementation of guideline directed medical therapy, or really focusing on a lens of removing or enhancing the process around social determinants of health.

So that's the kind of main focus of that. I'm not one of the main presenters, I'm just moderating, but it's going to be a great session on Sunday morning at 9:30. There's a lot of amazing investigators, well known investigators, that are presenting their data and their research. I think there's some, for example, follow up from the EPIC study and other data points that are going to be there. So, it's definitely going to be impactful and meaningful, especially when you think about ways that we can bridge the gap or the treatment disparities that are occurring in our cardiovascular population.

Pharmacy Times: How do meetings like the AHA 2024 Scientific Sessions contribute to advancing patient care and addressing gaps in clinical practice?

Beavers: The very clear thing that occurs at these meeting is new data that is coming out, but you also get to hear different perspectives. Sometimes you hear updates to data, or people's perspective says they've had time to digest the data or put it in practice and what the barriers are. Of course, being able to network and meet people is always important and solid to really understand how we're going to implement things and ideas.

I think the other piece is you really get to see a lot of the impact with the AHA of things that have done because patients are there, their experiences and stories, and how this data has impacted them, how we're doing in efforts to support the patient-based community, whether it be education. So, you really get to see the other side of this from a patient perspective or a community awareness journey. And so that's what I always appreciate about the [AHA] meeting from that standpoint.

And then the layer that's a little bit different than compared to maybe some other meetings, is you have a lot more basic science as well, which is often the starting point that we have for things that are going to be coming down the line, to think through, and trials to be designed. So, it's very exciting meeting. It's a very busy time at a meeting like this, but very important. You have time to digest and debrief afterwards and, knowing Pharmacy Times, there will be lots of great content around it, and we'll be following up with some of that throughout the year.