Hosts Mitsuaki Sawano, MD, and Satoshi Shoji, MD welcome Dr. Hiroshi Tsunamoto to discuss his JACC study from the OCEAN-Mitral Registry, examining how transmitral pressure gradients (TMPG) and residual mitral regurgitation (MR) jointly determine outcomes after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) for functional MR. In over 2,300 patients, higher postprocedural TMPG (≥5 mmHg) was consistently associated with worse 2-year outcomes, regardless of residual MR severity, while patients achieving MR ≤ mild with TMPG <5 mmHg had the best prognosis. This episode highlights a practical, nuanced concept for M-TEER success—optimizing the balance between MR reduction and mitral gradient, rather than focusing on MR alone.

Hosts Mitsuaki Sawano, MD, and Satoshi Shoji, MD welcome Prof. Kosuke Inoue (Kyoto University) and Dr. Yuichiro Mori (Kyoto University) to discuss their JACC Brief Report, "Evaluation of the PREVENT Equations in a Nationwide Cohort of 7.7 Million Korean Adults." Using one of the world's largest national health databases, the study externally validates the AHA-developed PREVENT risk equations in an East Asian population, showing good discrimination and calibration for ASCVD, outperforming the traditional Pooled Cohort Equations, while highlighting persistent overestimation of heart failure risk, particularly in men. This episode explores why risk prediction models often behave differently across regions, what PREVENT gets right in East Asia, where recalibration may still be needed, and how global collaboration is reshaping cardiovascular risk assessment.

Hosts Mitsuaki Sawano, MD, Kentaro Ejiri, MD, welcome Dr. Takahiro Suzuki to discuss his JACC paper, "Blood Pressure After Changes in Light-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption in Women and Men: Longitudinal Japanese Annual Checkup Analysis." Using a two-cohort design—cessation among habitual drinkers and initiation among nondrinkers—the study demonstrates dose-dependent blood pressure effects when alcohol intake is reduced or begun, and importantly fills a major evidence gap for women and for light-to-moderate drinking, areas long underrepresented in prior research. These timely findings challenge assumptions about "safe" drinking levels and inform evolving hypertension guidelines and lifestyle counseling.