Summaries and commentaries on trials presented at the hotline sessions of the scientific sessions 2008 of the American Heart Association in New Orleans have been generated from the oral presentations and the webcasts of the American Heart Association. The following papers are discussed: APPROACH, ATLAS, BACH, BICC, HF-ACTION, I-PRESERVE, JPAD, JUPITER, Mass-DAC, Physicians' Health Study II, SEARCH, tailored clopidogrel loading to prevent stent thrombosis, and TIMACS.