St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark approval and first use of the FlexAbility Ablation Catheter, a novel ablation technology used by electrophysiologists for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Designed with feedback from physician thought-leaders around the world, the FlexAbility catheter combines a unique, irrigated flexible catheter tip with a state-of-the-art handle and catheter design. The next-generation flexible tip technology was designed to reduce complications associated with ablation procedures through its ability to bend and conform to the cardiac anatomy, decreasing the amount of pressure distributed to a patient’s heart wall while simultaneously increasing the stability of therapy delivery.

Medtronic and Lifetech Scientific Corporation today announced an expansion of their strategic alliance to include jointly produced Lifetech pacemakers manufactured in and for China.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc.  today announced that the first patient has been enrolled into a Phase IV clinical trial called EMANATE (Eliquis evaluated in acute cardioversion coMpared to usuAl treatmeNts for AnTicoagulation in subjEcts with NVAF) assessing the effectiveness and safety of Eliquis in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) undergoing cardioversion.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles tested a “biological pacemaker” in pig hearts using gene therapy. The approach is at least three years away from human trials, the New York Times reports.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to idarucizumab, an investigational fully humanized antibody fragment, or Fab, being studied as a specific antidote for Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate).

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark and commercial launch of the Advisa and Ensura SR MRI(tm) SureScan single chamber pacemaker devices in Europe. Both pacemakers are approved for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans positioned on any region of the body. These devices are not approved in the United States.

eCardio Diagnostics, LLC (eCardio), a leader in remote cardiac arrhythmia monitoring services in the United States, and Shandong Yocaly Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Yocaly), a remote, real-time medical cardiac monitoring solution provider headquartered in Jinan, China, have recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement focused on furthering the advancement of remote cardiac monitoring products and services in the United States, China and beyond.

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the results from the first prospective randomized clinical trial to show that Medtronic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can safely extend detection times before triggering therapy in secondary prevention patients. The results of the PainFree SST sub-study, unveiled today as a late-breaking presentation at the Heart Rhythm Society's 35th Annual Scientific Sessions, demonstrate that physicians can choose to program ICDs with delayed detection interval settings without compromising safety for high-risk patients.