Cardiology News

Abiomed Receives 510(k) Clearance from FDA for Impella 2.5 Device

World's Smallest Heart Pump Available to Doctors and Patients in the U.S. Abiomed, Inc. announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Impella 2.5 Cardiac Assist Device. This 510(k) clearance allows Abiomed to begin selling the device to the estimated 14,000 interventional cardiologists at approximately 1,700 heart hospitals in the United States.


New Terumo Glidecath® Catheter Yashiro Tip Shape Improves Access to Celiac Artery: FEATURING UNIQUE SHAPED THREE-DIMENSIONALTIP DESIGN

Terumo Interventional Systems’ proven Glidecath Hydrophilic Coated catheter product line makes way for the Yashiro tip shape; a new, three-dimensional U-shape tip for optimal entry to the celiac trunk.


Medical Simulation Corporation and the American Board of Internal Medicine Introduce New Simulation for Physician Assessment and Evaluation

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) will offer Interventional Cardiology Simulations, using Medical Simulation Corporation’s (MSC) SimSuite® technology, for credit toward completion of Maintenance of Certification. This is the first time ABIM is incorporating medical simulation technology into its programs to evaluate physician competence.


Diet and Regular Soft Drinks Linked to Increase in Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Drinking more than one soft drink daily - whether it’s regular or diet - may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease, Framingham researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association..

A Novel Molecular Dictator “With a Conscience” Discovered

University of New South Wales (Australia) researchers have uncovered an important, naturally-occurring mechanism in the body where “bad” cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while “good” cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected. The discovery is expected to benefit those who will need heart coronary bypass surgery, an angioplasty or will undergo hemodialysis.


Same-Day Coronary Angiography and Surgery Safe for Many Patients

Mayo Clinic researchers discovered it is safe — and much more convenient and less costly — for many patients to undergo coronary angiography and elective valve surgery on the same day, as reported in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Abbott Announces Positive Nine-Month Results From Clinical Trial Of A Fully Bioabsorbable Drug Eluting Coronary Stent

Abbott announced positive results from ABSORB, the world's first clinical trial evaluating the safety and performance of a fully bioabsorbable drug eluting stent platform for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Group Questions FDA on Other Avandia Risk

U.S. health authorities were aware of a type of heart risk linked to GlaxoSmithKline Plc's widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia and another competitor nearly five years ago, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said.

Abbott Initiates First Clinical Study of Everolimus Eluting Stent System for Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease

STRIDES Trial Designed to Study Innovative Next-Generation Drug-Eluting Stent Technology for Patients with Superficial Femoral Artery Disease

ARRIVE Registry Analysis Identifies Predictors of Stent Thrombosis in Real-World Use of Drug-Eluting Stents

Boston Scientific Corporation announced results from an analysis of more than 7,000 patients from its ARRIVE 1 and 2 registries, designed to assess the performance of the TAXUS® Express2™ paclitaxel- eluting coronary stent system in "real-world" practice.

Newer Implantable Defibrillator Leads May Be More Fragile Than Older Ones

The annual rate of defect of the newest wires used in implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) reaches up to 20 percent in 10-year-old leads, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Boston Scientific Announces Two-Year Results From Study of Patients With Renal Artery Disease

RENAISSANCE trial demonstrates durable results for Company's Express® SD Renal Stent in treating hypertensive patients with severe renal artery stenosis

Collaboration For The Discovery Of Novel Biomarkers For Unstable Atherosclerotic Plaques

No Reliable Markers Currently Available for Leading Cause of Death in CAD and Stroke Compugen Ltd. announced a collaboration with Mayo Clinic targeted at discovering and validating novel biomarkers for diagnosing the presence of unstable atherosclerotic plaques in coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Streptokinase Improves Heart Blood Flow After Angioplasty

Infusing the clot-preventing drug streptokinase improved blood flow in the tiniest heart blood vessels of people who had artery-opening procedures such as angioplasty, a small Turkish study found.

Common Genetic Variation Is Linked To Substantial Risk In Heart Attack

A common genetic variation on chromosome 9p21 is linked to a substantial increase in risk for heart attack, according to a new international research study. The findings are published in the online edition of Science, and will appear in an upcoming printed edition of the journal.

ACC Releases List of Hospitals Participating in “D2B: An Alliance For Quality”

Program experiences rapid growth since November 2006 launch
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) released the list of hospitals that have joined “Door-to-Balloon: An Alliance for Quality” since the program launch in November 2006. To date, 833 hospitals have registered for the D2B program; the list of participating hospitals can be found at http://www.d2balliance.org/ParticipatingHospitals/tabid/159/Default.aspx.

SCAI Leaders Say COURAGE Results Unlikely to Change Use of PCI

The Goal of Therapy in Patients With Chronic Stable Angina Is the Relief of Symptoms Results of the COURAGE trial, presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session, are unlikely to alter the approach that interventional cardiologists take in treating most patients with chronic stable angina, say leaders from the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the leading professional society for interventional cardiologists in the United States.

Ibuprofen Puts High Risk Cardiac Patients at Risk

Drug Interaction May Cause Heart Attacks
Doctors who treat the painful condition of osteoarthritis in patients with increased cardiovascular risk need to be cautious. A team lead by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, are the first to study outcomes in high cardiovascular risk patients with osteoarthritis. The researchers compared combination treatments of low-dose aspirin with the drugs ibuprofen, naproxen and the cox-2 inhibitor lumiracoxib.

Doctors Aggressively Treat Early Heart Attacks, Research Shows

An international study involving 467 hospitals in 12 countries found that doctors do a good job of aggressively treating the early stages of heart attacks – even before laboratory tests confirm the diagnosis.

Volcano Corporation Reports Use of IVUS Increasing as Physicians Refocus on Stent Technique

Volcano Corporation summarized the role of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in a shifting drug-eluting stent (DES) market. Use of DES has decreased from 89% of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in the U.S. down to an estimated 70% over the past year, driven by concerns over stent thrombosis, and confidence in bare metal stent (BMS) safety.