Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc

Founder of / Experienced Pharma Exec / Medical Engineering / Medical Affairs / Cardiac Surgery

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

There is a lot of interesting debate on the #Staree results published at #ESCCongress. Positive on reducing CV events, but with no mortality benefit, the discussion is about that. But old patient cohort and not powered for mortality. This is by design: https://t.co/OQrr1TqyOH

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@strauss_matt @drpablocorral @NEJM Besides not being powered for mortality, this is a very unique patient collective - very old and with that age it is difficult to show any mortality difference, because people will die for many reasons... I have put in some discussions on Luminary: https://t.co/OQrr1TqyOH

[NEJM @NEJM]

Original Article: Atorvastatin, Cardiovascular Events, and Disability-free Survival in Older Adults (STAREE trial) https://t.co/4r9qs4DicU

#ESCCongress | @escardio

[Dr. Martha Gulati ♥️🫀❤️‍🩹🇨🇦 @DrMarthaGulati]

🫀 #STAREE at #ESCCongress

Do statins benefit healthy adults ≥70 years? Yes!

Atorvastatin 40 mg vs placebo, ~6 years.

❤️ Major CV events: 10.9 vs 15.5/1,000 person-years
HR 0.70 (95% CI 0.61–0.82) ✅

🧠 Disability-free survival (death, dementia or persistent disability): 21.6 vs 23.0/1,000 person-years
HR 0.94 (0.84–1.05) ❌

Takeaway: In older adults without established CVD, statin therapy produced a substantial 30% relative reduction in major CV events, but did not significantly prolong disability-free survival.

📄 @NEJM
https://t.co/L7G1zbMGfQ

#Statins #Prevention #CardioTwitter

[Dr. Martha Gulati ♥️🫀❤️‍🩹🇨🇦 @DrMarthaGulati]

A major step forward for women at #ESCCongress 🫀

The new 5th Universal Definition of MI explicitly requires sex-specific 99th-percentile troponin thresholds recognizing that using the same cutoff in women and men can systematically underdiagnose myocardial injury in women

It also recognizes SCAD, coronary vasospasm & embolism as causes of primary MI—mechanisms especially important in women.

Women’s heart attacks don’t always look like men’s. Our definitions finally reflect that. We wanted to enforce this in the Cheat Pain guidelines but we didn’t have enough data in the US at that time. Glad this has changed!

#CardioTwitter #WomensHeartHealth #MyocardialInfarction

[European Society of Cardiology @escardio]

NEW 2026 #ESCGuidelines for the management of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, in collaboration with the European Renal Association (ERA) 👇
https://t.co/40igAzAnvb

#ESCCongress

[European Society of Cardiology @escardio]

NEW 2026 #ESCGuidelines for the management of heart failure 👇https://t.co/taZLUcDktf

#ESCCongress

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@DrMarthaGulati @DrDerekConnolly @DLBHATTMD @ESC_President @PZoungas @vass_vassiliou @mmartinezheart @ShelleyZieroth @robmentz @JennaSkowronski @noshreza @gabrielsteg @co_kobo @elmir1omerovic @Aspirinbk @RizosKonsta @escardio PREMIUM is a Japanese study, and maybe a chance to simplify PCI protocols. I have posted on Reddit, quite some discussion on this topic https://t.co/pADH50V2tI

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@DrMarthaGulati @DrDerekConnolly @DLBHATTMD @ESC_President @PZoungas @vass_vassiliou @mmartinezheart @ShelleyZieroth @robmentz @JennaSkowronski @noshreza I am really looking forward to the results of STAREE. I have written a short summary why this is exciting on Luminary, in case you want to learn more> https://t.co/I4S8c03tkk

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

Impressive.. And what’s the clinical implication…?

[Borge G Nordestgaard @BNordestgaard]

In 10,000 asymptomatic women and men, the presence of obstructive subclinical coronary atherosclerosis conferred a 4-fold and 12-fold risk of myocardial infarction. Eur Heart J by AF Larsen, KF Kofoed et al in Copenhagen General Population Study:
https://t.co/HBJmYBHtcv

[Borge G Nordestgaard @BNordestgaard]

In 10,000 asymptomatic women and men, the presence of obstructive subclinical coronary atherosclerosis conferred a 4-fold and 12-fold risk of myocardial infarction. Eur Heart J by AF Larsen, KF Kofoed et al in Copenhagen General Population Study:
https://t.co/HBJmYBHtcv

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

Another potential clinical practice changing trial during the Hot Line Session at #ESCCongress. PREMIUM is a Japanese trial to test upfront prasugrel monotherapy compared with standard 12-month DAPT in STEMI patients. Is Aspirin still needed?
https://t.co/8VVrGVabYJ
#Cardiology

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

STAREE is an interesting study on healthy elderlies and if statins can add as a preventive measure to their health. I summarized the backgrounds here, results expected on Friday at ESC in Munich:
https://t.co/I4S8c03tkk
#ESCCongress #Cardiology #STAREE #Statins

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@ihtanboga I am actually quite interested in the results of STAREE - will be interesting to see if statin usage in a healthy elderly population is beneficial.

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

Very excited to see the results of the Hot Line Session 2. Still one week to go, but two trials which are generally interesting are STAREE and REACT. I summarized session 2 here:
https://t.co/3rk644GBP1

#ESCCongress #Cardiology #STAREE

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

I continue to share some pre-session thoughts on #ESCCongress. Hot Line 1 has 5 trials on discussion. Here are my thoughts for CARDIO-TTRansform, ACACIA-HCM, SINGLE-AF, POET-II - with POET-II being potentially impacting clinical practice and guideline: https://t.co/OLushZkG5b

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@CTCPR_ @escardio Congratulations, thats amazing.

[Radcliffe Cardiology @radcliffeCARDIO]

Which ESC 2026 Hot Line presentations could have the greatest impact on cardiovascular practice?

Ahead of ESC Congress 2026, Prof Nicolas Van Mieghem and Dr Philippe Bertrand highlight the trials most likely to shape cardiovascular practice.

Key topics include:
✨ Heart failure
✨ Prevention
✨ Structural heart disease
✨ Electrophysiology
✨ Coronary intervention

Watch the full discussion here 🔗 https://t.co/6j5V1uVPlI

#ESCCongress

[Daniel J. Ruzicka, MD, PhD, MSc @ruzicka_dan]

@radcliffeCARDIO Love the full video! Very informative!

[Kelly Anderson @kelly_archives]

The focus on heart failure, prevention, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, and coronary intervention highlights how emerging trial data could translate into meaningful changes in cardiovascular practice.

#ESCCongress #Cardiology #CardiovascularHealth