This review article gives an overview on a number of novel clinical trials and registries in the field of cardiovascular medicine. Key presentations made at the 75th annual meeting of the German Cardiac Society, held in Mannheim, Germany, in April 2009 are reported. The data were presented by leading experts in the field with relevant positions in the trials and registries. These comprehensive summaries should provide the readers with the most recent data on diagnostic and therapeutic developments in cardiovascular medicine similar as previously reported (Rosenkranz et al. in Clin Res Cardiol 96:457-468, 9; Maier et al. in Clin Res Cardiol 97:356-363, 3).