Press Releases

A University of Illinois at Chicago researcher will test whether brain stimulation combined with gait training can improve patients’ ability to walk after a stroke, under a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

A team of cardiovascular researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the University of California, San Diego, have identified a small but powerful new player in the onset and progression of heart failure. Their findings, published in the journal Nature on March 12, also show how they successfully blocked the newly discovered culprit to halt the debilitating and chronic life-threatening condition in its tracks.

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical devices, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expansion of BIOTRONIK's ongoing ProMRI® trial. The new phase of the trial (Phase C) will study the company's ProMRI® technology in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices. BIOTRONIK is the only company in the world with an ICD that is approved for investigational use in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner. The ongoing ProMRI® study is the first step in making this standalone technology available in the United States.

Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation, a pioneer in integrating next-generation diagnostics into personalized nutrition and lifestyle programs for patients with or at risk for heart disease, announced the commercial launch of an FDA-cleared MPO (myeloperoxidase) test, a key biomarker for inflammation. Studies show that MPO levels are useful predictors of near-term (one to six months) risk of heart attack or stroke.

AngioDynamics (Nasdaq:ANGO), a leading provider of innovative, minimally invasive medical devices for vascular access, surgery, peripheral vascular disease and oncology, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared an expanded indication for its AngioVac cannula for venous drainage during extracorporeal bypass for up to six hours to include removal of fresh, soft thrombi or emboli.

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSII) (CSI), announced today it has received FDA clearance of its new Diamondback 360®60cm Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy Systems (OAS) for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Cardiovascular Care Group, Inc. (CCG), a specialty hospital operator focusing on developing regional delivery networks to care for patients with cardiovascular disease, has announced the appointment of Warren E. Beck as chief executive officer.

Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business and the new WMU School of Medicine have designed a dual-degree program allowing medical students to complete both a medical degree and master's in business administration with a concentration in healthcare in just five years of study.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, today announced the successful completion of the first three human implants of its FORTIS mitral transcatheter heart valve, which were performed in February and March by the Heart Team at St. Thomas' Hospital in London.

Cordis Corporation announced today that it has received European CE Mark for its RENLANE™ Renal Denervation System for the treatment of patients with resistant hypertension and has completed the first successful cases in Europe. The RENLANE™ System consists of a unique, helical shaped, irrigated, multi-electrode ablation catheter with a multi-channel radiofrequency (RF) ablation system.

In the presence of Quebec Premier, Pauline Marois, ministers Nicolas Marceau, Jean-François Lisée and Élaine Zakaïb, Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre, and the representatives of international pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Research Centre of the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), announced today the launch of ARTERIA, a research program aimed at developing ground-breaking treatments for cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death worldwide.

Brenda Keene had a history of heart disease in her family, but she still didn't anticipate all the health problems she would face. After battling first breast cancer and then coronary artery disease beginning in her late 20s, she has made it her mission to fight for her health and encourage others to do the same.

Scripps Green Hospital has become the first hospital in the United States to implant the world’s smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device. Scripps Clinic cardiologist John Rogers, M.D., successfully completed the first implant of the Reveal LINQ™ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) in 71-year-old San Diego resident Chuck Beal on Saturday.

OrbusNeich today announced that patient enrollment has been initiated in Japan in the pivotal clinical trial of the COMBO Dual Therapy Stent(tm) (COMBO Stent) employing a single Japan-U.S. protocol conducted as a Global Clinical Trial "proof-of-concept" under the framework of the joint Japan-U.S. Harmonization-By-Doing [HBD] initiative. The first patient was enrolled at Shonan Kamakura General Hospital, Japan, by Dr. Shigeru Saito, M.D., the vice director of the hospital and co-principal investigator of the study.

Congenital heart disease is the most common form of birth defect, affecting one out of every 125 babies, according to the National Institutes of Health. Researchers from the University of Missouri recently found success using a drug to treat laboratory mice with one form of congenital heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - a weakening of the heart caused by abnormally thick muscle. By suppressing a faulty protein, the researchers reduced the thickness of the mice's heart muscles and improved their cardiac functioning.

The American Heart Association has awarded Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine $438,740 for cardiac research in 2013, bringing the lifetime total the organization has awarded to Loyola to $10.6 million.

Continuing its leadership in advanced pacing technology and device miniaturization, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced the first U.S. implant of the world's smallest pacemaker: the Micra(tm) Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS). The device was successfully implanted at NYU Langone Medical Center by Larry Chinitz, M.D., director of the Heart Rhythm Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, as part of the Medtronic global pivotal clinical trial. The Micra TPS is an investigational device worldwide.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have set-up a new 'cluster' on pharmacovigilance (medicine safety) topics. Clusters are regular collaborative meetings between the EMA and regulators outside of the European Union, which focus on specific topic areas that have been identified as requiring an intensified exchange of information and collaboration. Building on the experience of previous regular videoconferences between the FDA and the EMA in this area and on the recent creation of the EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, this cluster will provide a forum for a more systematic and focused exchange of information on the safety of medicines.

Christiana Care Health System is one of 15 hospitals selected out of 132 eligible hospitals nationwide by the American College of Cardiology to participate in a new program designed to keep patients healthy at home after discharge from the hospital.

Corindus Vascular Robotics, a leading developer of precision vascular robotics, today announced that in addition to a talk focusing on robotics in the future of the cath lab, cases submitted by users of its CorPath Vascular Robotics System have been accepted for presentation at the Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) conference on February 22 – 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C.