In September, the FDA warned that certain Impella heart pump controllers may need hardware, firmware and/or software updates. The agency has now categorized the issue as a Class I recall. The devices should be removed from where they are used or sold until they can be serviced.
Self-expanding valves, a history of stroke, renal dysfunction and nontransfemoral access were all linked to an increased risk of in-hospital stroke after TAVR. “Despite advances in valve design and technique, the overall stroke rate has plateaued,” researchers wrote.
The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform believes many physicians participating in the new Ambulatory Specialty Model could end up experiencing a pay cut. In addition, it could drive some specialists to stop treating heart failure patients altogether.
Medtronic identified an issue with its CareLink SmartSync device manager providing inaccurate longevity estimates for certain leadless pacemakers. Customers can download a software update to resolve the issue going forward.
The Heart Failure Society of America has shard a new scientific statement calling for right heart failure to be recognized as its own distinct clinical syndrome instead of a secondary complication of left-sided heart disease.
Abbott's Amplatzer Paraclose PVL Occluder is the first heart device of its kind approved by the FDA to treat paravalvular leak. The agency made its decision after reviewing data from 200 patients who had undergone aortic or mitral valve replacement surgery.
Researchers tracked data from more than 50 million hospital discharges. Overall, legalizing recreational cannabis was linked to more patients being hospitalized for myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation and heart failure.
Cardiologists with Henry Ford Hospital recently performed pulmonary artery denervation on two adults with pulmonary hypertension. These were the first patients in the United States to undergo treatment as part of the global PULSE-LHD trial.
The American Heart Association and three other leading medical societies want clinicians to consider the heart health of women during all stages of life, from adolescence to menopause and beyond.
Traditionally, the interventional cardiologist first visualizes the coronary anatomy in detail when contrast is injected in the catheterization laboratory. For many patients, however, that anatomy has already been captured, often in considerable detail, by coronary CT angiography (CCTA) performed earlier in the clinical pathway. This article considers how this dataset can be used to plan the procedure, an approach referred to as CT-guided PCI.
