AHA Conference News

Inpatient heart failure costs are $20K+ more than other Medicare patients
NEW ORLEANS—Adults with severe heart failure see almost three times as many Medicare providers each year compared to a typical beneficiary, according to a poster presented this week at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

Hospitals to lose $10K-$20K per CV procedures under Medicare program
NEW ORLEANS—The initial financial impact of Medicare's new Value-based Purchasing initiative, which took effect Oct. 1, will be relatively small for U.S. hospitals in regard to hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) for five of the most common cardiovascular procedures, according to research presented Monday at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

Safety in numbers for community hospitals performing emergency angioplasty
NEW ORLEANS—Life-saving coronary angioplasty at community hospitals is safer when physicians and hospital staff have more experience with the procedure, according to a study presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

Cancer risk from cardiac CT overstated
NEW ORLEANS—The risk of radiation-induced cancer from cardiac CT is substantially lower than previously reported for general populations, according to a poster presentation at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions this week.

Interferon shows hope for chronic viral cardiomyopathy
NEW ORLEANS—Giving interferon to heart failure patients with evidence of a chronic viral infection safely eliminated two viruses from their systems and reduced levels of a third virus, according to a late-breaking clinical trial presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

Home monitoring of blood thinners is as safe as clinic testing, but not superior
NEW ORLEANS—Home monitoring of clotting speed is as safe as clinic monitoring in patients taking warfarin, but researchers failed to find any superiority for home testing, according to the THINRS trial presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

Philips unveils easy-to-use and smart ECG system
NEW ORLEANS—Philips Healthcare introduced PageWriter TC70, its new cardiograph with DXL 16-lead ECG algorithm, that may help clinicians deliver faster diagnosis and treatment during heart attacks, while also supporting door-to-balloon and hospital quality initiatives, at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions this week.

GE launches ECG product to improve workflow, others for smaller hospitals
NEW ORLEANS—EMR Gateway from GE Healthcare enables resting ECGs to be transmitted directly to a patient's electronic medical record. The software can be set up on any PC and is compatible with most EMR systems. The company launched the new product at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions this week.

Industry News

FDA: No link between a-fib and osteoporosis drugs
The FDA reported Wednesday that the occurrence of atrial fibrillation was rare in patients treated with a bisphosphonate drug, used primarily to increase bone mass and reduce the risk for fracture in patients with osteoporosis, slow bone turnover in patients with Paget's disease of the bone and to treat bone metastases and lower elevated levels of blood calcium in patients with cancer.

Amylin cuts 340 jobs, reinforces commitment to Byetta
Amylin Pharmaceuticals is reducing its San Diego workforce by approximately 25 percent, or 340 employees, and reducing its anticipated 2009 cash expenditures by more than $80 million.

Nuclear imaging patient visits increase 3% after 12% decline
An estimated 15.7 million patients received nuclear imaging procedures in the United States in 2007, in 7,320 hospital and non-hospital sites—a 3 percent increase in patient visits from 15.2 million in 2006, according to a report by IMV Medical Information Division.

ASE recommends contrast agent usage in echoes
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) has issued a consensus statement, supporting the use of contrast agents used to enhance echocardiogram images, and providing a guide for physicians who may be hesitant to use the contrast agents following a 2007 FDA black-box warning. The statement was published in the November issue of Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.

Glycotek settles into new Pennsylvania lab, seeking heparin alternative
Glycotek has established its new laboratory at Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR) in Hershey, Pa., in hopes of developing a technology that will contribute to clinical medicine a long-sought alternative to heparin, which currently must be administered in a hospital setting.

Financial News

MPI agent market down overall, but Cardiolite outsells Myoview
Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), a provider of market data for the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries, has reported that Lantheus Medical Imaging's Cardiolite has 15 percent more market share than GE Healthcare's Myoview for September.

AtriCure sees losses narrow in Q3
AtriCure, a provider of cardiac surgical ablation systems, has reported its 2008 third quarter fiscal results, which ended Sept. 30.

Teva posts net gains for Q3
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has reported gains for its 2008 third quarter results, which ended Sept. 30.

Clinical Studies

AIM: Long-term secondary prevention program may reduce CV risks after MI
A secondary prevention program lasting up to three years after cardiac rehabilitation appears to reduce the risk of a second non-fatal heart attack and other cardiovascular events, according to a study in the Nov. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Regulatory News

FDA approves Ranexa for anti-anginal use
The FDA has approved a new, first line indication for CV Therapeutics' Ranexa (ranolazine extended-release tablets) for the treatment of chronic angina.

Boston Scientific's Apex PTCA dilatation catheter receives FDA approval
Boston Scientific reported that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its Apex percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) dilatation catheter.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Medtronic completes acquisition of CryoCath for $380M
Medtronic has been successful in its bid, through an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, to acquire CryoCath Technologies at $8.75 Cdn per share under its previously announced offer dated October 3, 2008.

Executive Announcements

Stereotaxis swaps out Hogg as CEO
Stereotaxis, a manufacturer of cardiology instrument control systems, has announced that Michael Kaminski, currently president and chief operations officer (COO) and a member of the board, will assume the title and responsibilities of CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

Cardiac Science shifts around board of directors
Cardiac Science, a provider of cardiac diagnosis, resuscitation, rehabilitation and informatics products, reported that its board of directors accepted the resignation of two directors, and appointed a new director, at its regularly scheduled meeting last week. As a result of the changes, the total number of directors on the board will be seven.