Publications by Year: 2026

BACKGROUND: Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) (i.e., chronic PHTN) have right ventricular hypertrophy, elevated right-sided heart pressures, and frequently have pericardial effusions. When evaluating these patients for cardiac tamponade, the hypertrophy and elevated pressure in right heart may be protective from tamponade by counteracting the pressure from the pericardial effusion. However, these patients may be harmed if echocardiographic signs of tamponade (e.g., right ventricular diastolic collapse) are obscured.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The effect of PHTN on patients with cardiac tamponade remains unclear. We aimed (1) to evaluate whether PHTN influences the echocardiographic findings of tamponade, and (2) to examine whether PHTN is associated with in-hospital mortality among patients undergoing pericardial drainage primarily for cardiac tamponade.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of adult patients who underwent pericardial drainage within 48 h of emergency department presentation at two academic centers. PHTN probability was classified using the 2022 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society (ESC/ERS) guidelines. We classified patients in four categories: no PHTN, low probability, intermediate probability, and high probability of PHTN. PHTN parameters were manually extracted from cardiologist-interpreted echocardiography reports. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included the prevalence of echocardiographic findings of cardiac tamponade and their associations with mortality.

RESULTS: A total of 249 patients met the inclusion criteria. In-hospital mortality did not significantly differ across PHTN probability categories: no PHTN (63.8%), low probability (9.3%), intermediate probability (20.9%), and high probability (5.3%) (p-values all >0.2). Among patients who died, 50.0% were in the no PHTN group compared to 7.1% in the high probability group (p = 0.222). The echocardiographic impression of cardiac tamponade was significantly lower among patients with high PHTN probability compared to those with no PHTN (64.3% vs. 85.4%, p = 0.041), with a weak negative correlation (r = -0.493) between increasing PHTN probability and tamponade impression.

CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients undergoing pericardial drainage primarily for cardiac tamponade, PHTN was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. However, patients with a high probability of PHTN showed fewer echocardiographic signs of tamponade, suggesting that PHTN may obscure typical sonographic findings of tamponade.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension affects nearly half of U.S. adults. The 2025 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline adopts the Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events (PREVENT) risk equations and updates treatment recommendations for stage 1 hypertension, potentially altering eligibility for antihypertensive therapy.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to quantify changes in antihypertensive treatment eligibility under the 2025 vs 2017 guidelines. Secondary objectives were to characterize adults newly meeting treatment thresholds, assess concordance and discordance in eligibility, and evaluate robustness across PREVENT model variants.

METHODS: We conducted a simulation-based analysis using nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2017-2020) among adults aged 30 to 79 years. Treatment eligibility was assigned using 2017 and 2025 guideline criteria. Survey-weighted estimates quantified population-level eligibility, newly eligible adults, and concordance patterns. Analyses were repeated using PREVENT Base, Full, hemoglobin A1c, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio variants, and multivariable models identified predictors of eligibility.

RESULTS: Among 5,578 adults (weighted population 160 million), 36.4% were eligible for treatment under the 2017 guideline and 36.6% under the 2025 guideline, representing a minimal net increase of 0.7% (approximately 400,000 adults). Most adults were consistently ineligible (63.3%), whereas one-third were consistently eligible (36.3%). Newly eligible adults were predominantly older women with higher body mass index and borderline glycemic measures but without established cardiovascular disease. Eligibility patterns were stable across racial and ethnic groups. Analyses were repeated across all PREVENT risk equation variants, and multivariable models identified predictors of eligibility.

CONCLUSIONS: Adoption of the 2025 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline results in a minimal expansion of antihypertensive treatment eligibility. Results were robust across PREVENT model variants, supporting risk-based guideline implementation.

In this issue of Neuron, Sun, Peng, et al.1 identify two separate mechanisms that together provide a brain-wide noradrenergic control of cerebral blood flow in larval zebrafish.

Imaging and intervention for spinal facetogenic pain has evolved continuously, with radiologists at the helm of several new advanced techniques including CT-guided interventions to ensure accurate needle placement, biologic therapies including platelet-rich plasma, and new noninvasive therapies such as MR-guided focused ultrasound. Though advances have been made in both imaging localization of painful facet joints and therapies offered, awareness of these techniques and the reimbursement landscape are varied. We hope to elucidate the current state of practice for both diagnosis and treatment of this common painful ailment, and highlight the ways that radiologists are at the forefront of advancement in these techniques.

BACKGROUND: Infectious intracranial aneurysms (IIAs) are highly morbid vascular lesions, and the comparative effectiveness of medical management (MM), surgery, and endovascular treatment (EVT) remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis comparing the three main interventions for IIAs: MM, open surgery, and EVT.

METHODS: A systematic review and frequentist network meta-analysis were conducted. Studies comparing MM, open surgery, and EVT in patients with IIAs were included. The primary outcome was treatment success, defined according to study-specific definitions and operationally harmonized as the absence of treatment failure. Secondary outcomes included mortality, rupture or re-rupture, recurrence, neurological deficits, and complications. Random-effects models estimated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Treatment ranking was assessed using P scores, and heterogeneity was quantified using I².

RESULTS: Thirteen observational studies were included. In an exploratory network meta-analysis, both EVT (OR=2.51; 95% CI 1.22 to 5.15) and surgery (OR=7.29; 95% CI 2.00 to 26.55) were associated with higher odds of treatment success compared with MM. EVT was associated with a lower risk of aneurysm rupture or re-rupture compared with MM (OR=0.42; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.96), whereas no statistically significant differences were observed between EVT and surgery. Given the non-randomized nature of the evidence and methodological heterogeneity across studies, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

CONCLUSIONS: EVT and surgery were associated with higher odds of treatment success compared with MM, whereas EVT was additionally associated with a lower risk of rupture or re-rupture. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the observational nature of the available evidence.