This post was authored by Anthony A. Bavry, MD, MPH, FACC, and Dharam J. Kumbhani, MD, SM, MRCP, FACC, members of the editorial board for ACC.org.

March is here! Time for the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session in sunny San Diego! As in previous years, ACC.15 will see the presentation of landmark late-breaking clinical trials (LBCTs) in our field. These span the breadth of clinical cardiology, ranging from interventional cardiology to preventive cardiology.

As team leaders for clinical trials and members of the ACC.org editorial board, we have been present at the majority of LBCT presentations over the past eight years. We have shared in the enthusiasm during the presentation of some truly practice-changing trials, such as PARTNER Cohort A (ACC.11), EINSTEIN PE (ACC.12), MASSCOM and PARTNER II (ACC.13) and HEAT-PPCI (ACC.14). We have also experienced the disappointment when long-held and newly emerging beliefs were dispelled by rigorously conducted clinical trials – for example, HPS2-THRIVE during ACC.13 and SYMPLICITY-HTN3 during ACC.14. This year’s presentations promise to be as exciting, if not even more, than prior years.

Probably the most eagerly awaited presentation will be the TOTAL trial, scheduled for the morning of Monday, March 16 and presented by Sanjit S. Jolly, MD, MSc. The benefit of aspiration thrombectomy has become debatable after the TASTE trial; therefore, the results of this trial may help to clarify the use of this technology. Another major trial at ACC.15 will be the results of the MATRIX trial. This trial is a factorial design, comparing radial versus femoral catheterization and comparing bivalirudin versus unfractionated heparin. The optimal anti-coagulation during percutaneous coronary intervention is also debatable.

There will be many great trials; however, other notables include PROMISE and SCOT-HEART (computed tomography angiography in the evaluation of low-risk patients with chest pain), updates on transcatheter heart valve procedures (balloon and expandable valves), and BEST (drug-eluting stents versus coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary disease). Thus, ACC.15 LBCT presentations promise to provide some important insights and potential breakthroughs for the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease. We can’t wait to hear these presentations, and hope to see you in San Diego! For those who are unable to make it for these presentations, visit the meeting coverage page at ACC.org/ACC15 for in-depth same-day coverage and commentaries on these clinical trials.

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