The European Society of Cardiology released four updated guidelines for management of various cardiovascular conditions at the ESC Congress 2024.
This year's congress took place between Aug. 30 and Sept. 2, in London. The meeting was attended by global cardiology leaders and aims to shape the future of cardiovascular medicine, according to the organization's website.
The updated guidelines were published Aug. 30 in the European Heart Journal. The guidelines are also available to clinicians on the ESC Pocket Guidelines App.
Here are the four updated guidelines:
- For Elevated Blood Pressure and Hypertension
- Changing the guideline title from "arterial hypertension" to "elevated blood pressure and hypertension."
- Categorizing "elevated BP" as an office systolic BP 120–139 mmHg or diastolic BP 70–89 mmHg.
- Recommendation to pursue a target systolic BP of 120–129 mmHg among adults receiving BP-lowering medications.
- For Atrial Fibrillation
- Recommendations to address comorbidities, risk factors to effectively manage associated health conditions.
- Avoiding stroke and thromboembolism with appropriate prescription of anticoagulants.
- Rate and rhythm control should be offered to reduce symptoms and improve prognosis.
- Evaluation, reassessment and treatment should be individualized to each patient, with a focus on patient education and empowerment.
- For Peripheral Arterial and Aortic Diseases
- Recommendations for different examination methods including ankle-brachial index and duplex ultrasounds. The new guidelines discuss different methods for examination of peripheral arteries and the aorta.
- Reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by ≥50% from baseline, with a goal of <1.4 mmol/L (<55 mg/dL), in patients with atherosclerotic PAAD.
- Updates on peripheral arterial disease, atheromatous disease, aortic aneurysms, acute thoracic aortic syndromes, aortic genetic and chromosomal diseases, and polyvascular disease are discussed.
- For Chronic Coronary Syndromes
- The update includes a four-step approach to the management of chronic coronary syndromes: general clinical evaluation, cardiac specialist examination, establishing a diagnosis and determining a risk of future events through testing, medication combined with lifestyle and risk-factor modifications.
- Recommendations on medication regimens and health interventions that focus on follow-up and long-term care.