It is with great energy and enthusiasm that I draft the Foreword of this issue of US Cardiology Review (USC) as its newly appointed Editor-in-Chief. I have immense responsibility on my shoulders, as I have been passed the baton by none other than Prof. Donald E. Cutlip, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chair for Clinical Care in the Community at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston, Massachusetts. I have had the privilege to work closely with Prof. Cutlip as his former interventional cardiology fellow. Personally, it’s very special to be at the helm of USC, and to have the opportunity to follow Don’s footsteps; it was Don who recruited me to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center interventional fellowship class in 2015. As Don has assumed new responsibilities at the Alma Mater, I wish him continued success in his administrative role at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I can only hope I do a good job in carrying forward his legacy, and what he has accomplished as Editor-in-Chief for USC.
This issue of USC has four traditional sections: interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, advanced heart failure, and general cardiovascular disease. We’ve worked hard in compiling topics that capture recent and relevant science in these respective subspecialties of cardiovascular medicine.
In the interventional cardiology section, Drs Padmanaban and Gersh discuss renal denervation and its current relevance in the management of resistant hypertension, Dr McBride and co-authors discuss the role of left atrial appendage occlusion devices for stroke prevention in AF, Dr Rozemeijer and colleagues discuss contemporary practices with regard to duration of dual antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention, and Dr Gogas and co-authors discuss the future of coronary bioresorbable scaffolds.
In the electrophysiology section, Dr Pothineni and co-authors discuss gender differences and disparities in AF, and Drs Goyal and Stambler discuss fluoroless catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias.
In the advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation section, Dr Santhanakrishnan discusses the etiology and management of functional iron deficiency in heart failure, and Drs Nemshah and colleagues discuss amyloid heart disease.
The Editor’s Pick for this issue of USC is a special article by Dr Nandita Scott (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School) on the management of cardiovascular disease during pregnancy.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for our readers.
The next issue of USC will be my inaugural issue as Editor-in-Chief.
Season’s Greetings, Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year.