Death by Licorice; Prone Position ECG; Inhaled Aspirin

A man died of cardiac arrest after eating too much licorice. (New England Journal of Medicine)

Kids' hearts are literally working harder during the pandemic. (STAT)

Autopsies of COVID-19 cases showed lymphocytic myocarditis in 14% but increased macrophage infiltration into the heart in 86%, perhaps because of systemically elevated proinflammatory cytokines. (European Heart Journal)

Abdominopelvic ultrasound or CT showed thromboembolism in 11% of COVID-19 patients in one large series. (American Journal of Roentgenology)

The Cleveland Clinic reported a 5.2% rate of symptomatic thromboembolic events in its hospitalized COVID-19 patients. (Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology)

Prone positioning for severe COVID-19 changes ECG readouts in a way that can be interpreted as anteroseptal infarct, so notation is critical and vectorcardiograms are useful. (JAMA Internal Medicine)

It may be moot given hydroxychloroquine's lack of proven efficacy, but a modest-sized study suggested arrhythmic safety for the drug in short-term COVID-19 treatment. (EP Europace)

A summary of COVID-19's impact on cardiology is in JAMA.

Early data with inhaled aspirin suggested it works faster for platelet inhibition than chewing and swallowing it. (Circulation)

The rich are getting healthier while the poor are getting sicker when it comes to cardiovascular disease prevalence trends. (JAMA Network Open)

Former Texas congressman Ron Paul was hospitalized as a precaution after appearing to have a stroke during a livestream, although he later tweeted that he felt "fine." (New York Post)

Philips's QuickClear Mechanical Thrombectomy system got FDA clearance for peripheral arterial and venous blood clot removal. (FierceBiotech)

Gilead Sciences agreed to pay up over alleged kickbacks for pulmonary arterial hypertension drug ambrisentan (Letairis), the Justice Department announced.

Heart disease in young adults and teenagers was linked to maternal diabetes exposure in utero. (CMAJ).

SGLT2 inhibitors were linked to lower major adverse cardiovascular event risk in a large real-world use database. (The BMJ)

A scientific statement from the American Heart Association backed SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists for their heart and kidney disease benefits and suggested a more multi-specialty approach to prescribing that gets nephrologists and cardiologists involved.

High ongoing costs and healthcare use by adults with congenital heart disease were detailed in a study in JAMA Network Open.

Preventing coronary disease makes economic sense. (ESCardio.org)

The FDA cleared Avinger's Ocelaris Tigereye image-guided chronic total occlusion-crossing catheter system. (FDANews)

The agency also cleared Surmodics's Pounce Thrombus Retrieval System for peripheral artery disease. (Seeking Alpha)

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