9 Cardiology Headlines You Missed in Q2 2026

The second quarter of 2026 saw an influx of major cardiology news, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving some significantly beneficial drugs and a slew of conferences providing key clinician insights into ongoing and completed trials. Everything from heart failure to cardiomyopathy was highlighted over the last 3 months – in fact, an entirely new form of the former was established formally by the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) in May.

With things in cardiology moving at a breakneck pace, the editorial team at HCPLive has collected 9 of the most impactful headlines from the last 3 months. Catch up on any news you may have missed below.

FDA News

FDA Approves Baxdrostat for Uncontrolled Hypertension on Background Therapy

On May 18, 2026, the FDA approved baxdrostat as an add-on treatment for adults with hypertension inadequately controlled with other antihypertensive agents. Parent company AstraZeneca announced that the decision was based on positive data from the phase 3 BaxHTN trial, which showed substantially greater reductions in mean seated systolic blood pressure in patients treated with baxdrostat compared to placebo.

FDA Approves Olezarsen (Tryngolza) for Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

On June 24, 2026, 6 days ahead of its scheduled PDUFA date, the FDA announced its approval of olezarsen as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglycerides and the risk of acute pancreatitis in adult patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. This decision makes olezarsen the first therapy approved for this specific indication. The once-monthly, self-administered subcutaneous drug will be available in the US at some point in July, according to the announcement by parent company Ionis.

Mavacamten sNDA Gets FDA Priority Review for Adolescent Obstructive HCM

On June 1, 2026, Bristol Myers Squibb announced the FDA’s acceptance of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for mavacamten in adults with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM). A PDUFA target action date of September 30, 2026, was assigned on the same day. Additionally, the FDA granted mavacamten’s sNDA Priority Review status for patients aged 12 to <18 years. If approved, this application would expand mavacamten’s current indication beyond adults with symptomatic oHCM.

Trial Data

ACACIA-HCM: Aficamten Beats Placebo in Non-Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Announced on May 5, 2026, by parent company Cytokinetics, aficamten significantly outperformed placebo among patients with symptomatic non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM), based on topline data from ACACIA-HCM. The trial saw patients receiving aficamten display substantial improvements in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Clinical Summary Score and maximal exercise performance compared to placebo recipients.

Asundexian Reduces Stroke Incidence Without Increasing Bleeding, With Ashkan Shoamanesh, MD

The OCEANIC-STROKE trial has displayed asundexian’s significant efficacy in reducing stroke risk among patients who have recently experienced non-cardioembolic stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) without increasing bleeding. Topline results demonstrated that patients in the asundexian group exhibited significantly lower ischemic stroke incidence than the placebo group, with major bleeding incidence similar between both arms. This indicates asundexian’s revolutionary lack of bleeding increase among these patients.

SCOUT-HCM: Mavacamten Outperforms Placebo in Adolescents With HCM, With Joseph Rossano, MD, MS

Presented at ACC 2026 by Joseph Rossano, MD, MS, co-director of the Cardiac Center and chief of the division of cardiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as the Jennifer Terker Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology, new data from the SCOUT-HCM trial have demonstrated a greater reduction of left ventricular outflow with mavacamten compared to placebo in patients with obstructive HCM. The ongoing trial also saw adverse events in 18 (78%) patients receiving mavacamten, with only 2 experiencing severe adverse events in both the mavacamten and placebo arms.

Clinician Insights

Finerenone Efficacy in HF Unchanged by Ischemic Heart Disease, With Jawad Butt, MD, PhD

In a discussion with HCPLive at ACC 2026, Jawad Butt, MD, PhD, a research fellow in the department of cardiology at Copenhagen University Hospital and the University of Glasgow, discussed his prespecified analysis of the FINEARTS-HF trial. Finerenone’s beneficial effects were consistent irrespective of ischemic heart disease status in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFmrEF/HFpEF).

Triple-Combination Blood Pressure Pill Reduces Ischemic Stroke Risk, With Craig Anderson, PhD

Data from the TRIDENT phase 3 trial of GMRx2, a combination of 3 low-dose blood pressure medications into a single pill, substantially reduced stroke risk in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). ICH is a direct contributor to a disproportionate percentage of stroke-related morbidity and mortality – among its primary causes is chronic hypertension, which emphasizes the need for blood pressure reduction in these patients to avoid further strokes.

HFmrEF as a Unique Phenotype of Heart Failure, With Jane Wilcox, MD, MSc

The Heart Failure Society of America released in May an official scientific statement recategorizing HFmrEF as an individual, unique phenotype of HF, distinct from HFpEF or HFrEF. The document suggests that clinicians view HFmrEF as all patients with HF and a left ventricular ejection fraction between 40% and 49%. Given the similarity of their structure and symptoms, clinicians agree that HFmrEF is a milder form of HFrEF and