The Tell-Tale Heart: The Pharmacist's Cardiovascular Digest

This was a collaboration with the National Lipid Association's Lipid Insights podcast. You can listen to more Lipid Insights on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Michael J. Wilkinson, MD, FACC, FNLA, is an associate professor of medicine and director of the advanced lipid treatment program at UC San Diego Health. You can find him on Linkedin.

Dr. Morris and Dr. Beavers discuss the 2026 American College of Cardiology (ACC) expert consensus decision pathway for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. You can read the report here.

About the Guest

Alanna Morris, MD, MSc, is a heart failure cardiologist and the Executive Medical Director, US Medical Affairs at Bayer.

Upcoming Meeting

The Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 takes place October 9–12, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Trials Discussed:
STAREE (NCT02099123)
REACT (NCT06692127)
AMUNDSEN (NCT04951856)
ENRICH-AF (NCT03950076)
LIBREXIA-ACS (NCT05754957)
PREMIUM (NCT05709626)
SWITCH SWEDEHEART (NCT05183178)
EMAIL-HF (NCT05890131)
ADHERE-ASCVD (NCT07522645)
TIME-HF (CTRI/2021/11/037797)
H-HeFT & Met-HeFT (DANHEART, NCT03514108)
ACASA-TAVI (NCT05035277)

CARDIO-TTRansform — eplontersen in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
http://ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04136171

SINGLE-AF — direct oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation at intermediate stroke risk.
http://ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04437654

POET II — response-tailored, shortened antibiotic therapy in left-sided infective endocarditis.
http://ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03851575

Management of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: 2026 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee

Learn more about the AHA scientific statement here.

In this episode of The Tell-Tale Heart, host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, welcomes back Lavinia Salama, PharmD, BCACP, BCGP, BC-ADM, CDCES, for an in-depth look at the new cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) guidelines and how they translate into everyday practice. Salama says she's encouraged that CKM recommendations have evolved from a conceptual framework into a formal, multisociety guideline, with new emphasis on albuminuria, the PREVENT risk equation, and routine screening for obstructive sleep apnea, MASLD/MASH, and social determinants of health.

In this solo episode of the Tell-Tale Heart podcast, host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, delivers an immediate reaction to the newly released 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN guidelines for cardiovascular kidney metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Beavers calls the document a landmark framework that formally unites obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease into a single disease continuum — a shift he argues changes everything about how clinicians should approach prevention.

In this mini news episode of the Tell-Tale Heart podcast, host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, highlights three major developments in cardiovascular and cardiometabolic medicine that pharmacists should have on their radar.

In this episode of The Tell-Tale Heart, host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, speaks with Rhonda Monroe, MBA, a heart failure survivor and lead advocate at HeartLife, about her lived experience with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and the systemic failures that nearly cost her life. Following the birth of her third child, Monroe experienced classic cardiac symptoms but was repeatedly misdiagnosed as having indigestion or "hysterical motherhood" despite an EKG confirming an acute myocardial infarction.

• SPIRIT-HF
• CHAMPION-AF
• SMART-DECISION
• VESALIUS-CV (sub-study)
• CORAL REEF
• Ez-PAVE

You can learn more about the 2026 dyslipidemia guidelines here: 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline Hub | JACC

You can reach the guests on this episode here:
Kristen Campbell, PharmD

Learn more about the HI-PEITHO trial here.
You can reach the guest on this episode here:
Allison Burnett, PharmD, PhC, CACP, on LinkedIn

Learn more about the OCEANIC-STROKE trial here.

In this Heart Month solo episode of the Tell-Tale Heart podcast, host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, examines the “hypertension control paradox” outlined in a recent New England Journal of Medicine perspective, exploring why blood pressure control in the United States remains suboptimal despite effective therapies and long-standing clinical guidelines. Beavers reviews national trends showing stalled progress in hypertension control and contrasts them with higher-performing systems that rely on protocol-driven, team-based care models.

Learn more about the POLY-HF trial here.

You can reach the guests on this episode here:

Nick Miller, PharmD, on LinkedIn

• Nick Miller can be reached at nick@rxcompound.com

Ambarish Pandey, MD, on LinkedIn

Join us for a deep dive into hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with Andrew Williford, PharmD, an assistant professor and cardiology specialist at UC San Diego Health. In this episode, we break down the genetics, diagnosis, and clinical impact of HCM, explore how management strategies have evolved, and discuss the emerging role of cardiac myosin inhibitors in treating obstructive disease. Dr. Williford also shares insights from his telehealth GDMT titration clinic and offers practical guidance for pharmacists encountering HCM across care settings.

Show notes:

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Guideline Hub
•

Aficamten or Metoprolol Monotherapy for Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

•

Mavacamten in Symptomatic Nonobstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

•

Mavacamten for treatment of symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (EXPLORER-HCM): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial

Happy New Year from The Tell-Tale Heart! We'll be back in 2 weeks with a new episode. In the meantime, check out the recent episode of Drugstore Dialogue with host Barry Newman, who spoke with Craig Beavers about cardiology pharmacy.

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/dr-craig-beavers--67706988

In this episode, host Craig Beavers sits down with Marc Baines, cofounder and executive director of the HeartLife Foundation, to explore heart failure care through the lens of lived experience. Diagnosed with heart failure at just 23 years old, Baines shares his path from sudden diagnosis to heart transplant and the critical role pharmacists played as consistent, trusted members of his care team. From medication education and adherence to quality-of-life conversations and continuity across care settings, this discussion offers pharmacists practical insights into how their everyday interactions can profoundly shape patient outcomes, empowerment, and long-term cardiovascular care.

Have feedback on this episode or ideas for future topics you’d like us to cover? Let us know—we’d love to hear what matters most to your practice. Email AAntrim@pharmacytimes.com with your feedback and ideas!

Show notes:
· Learn more about the HeartLife Foundation