The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) announced on March 15 an alternative option for cardiologists to maintain their board certification. The Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP) will feature an annual performance assessment, each covering about 20 percent of the field of cardiovascular disease, so the entire span of general cardiology can be covered in five years.

The CDC has released a new fact sheet on the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the U.S., highlighting its relationship to cardiovascular disease and noting that 15 percent of American adults—or 37 million people—have CKD.

The FDA has expanded the indication for the MitraClip to include heart failure patients with moderate-to-severe secondary mitral regurgitation, the agency announced March 14. Abbott’s transcatheter mitral valve repair device was approved in 2013, but only for primary mitral regurgitation.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., March 14, 2019 — BIOTRONIK today announced FDA approval of the Acticor and Rivacor high-voltage cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device families for treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias. The six new tachycardia solutions include Rivacor VR-T, Rivacor DR-T, Rivacor HF-T QP, Acticor DX, Acticor CRT-DX Bipolar and Acticor CRT-DX.

Using MRI scans to measure iron content can help specialists learn more about stroke-related damage to the brain, according to a new study published by Radiology. Should such measurements be required after patients suffer a stroke?

Air pollution could be contributing to twice as many deaths as previously estimated, according to research published in the European Heart Journal. Cardiovascular disease often deals the final blow, with CVD events accounting for 40 to 80 percent of these deaths.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) will begin offering a new Transcatheter Valve Certification to U.S. hospitals in mid-2019, the College announced March 13.

The FDA fast-tracked the approval process for a new generic valsartan product (Diovan) amid an ongoing shortage of the blood pressure and heart failure medication.

Norman E. Sharpless, MD, director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since October 2017, has been announced as the new acting commissioner of the FDA. Sharpless replaces Scott Gottlieb, MD, who unexpectedly resigned from the position on March 5.

President Trump’s budget proposal for 2020 would negatively impact almost every institute at the NIH, including trimming the funding for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute by about $486 million.