After CMS received public comments, the agency announced on Jan. 18 that it is finalizing its proposal to cover leadless pacemakers.

CMS…

Nearly 80 percent of older adults who received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) survived at least two years, according to a registry analysis of Medicare beneficiaries.

A multivariable analysis found that the risk of death at…

After adjusting for multiple variables, adults who abused alcohol had increased risks of atrial fibrillation, MI and congestive heart failure, according to a longitudinal analysis. The relative risk for those outcomes were highest in adults who…

Although the number of randomized trials evaluating atrial fibrillation increased by more than 200 percent from 2001 to 2014, there was no significant increase in the use of level A evidence used in guidelines.

Lead researcher Adam S.…

The FDA cleared the EnSite Precision cardiac mapping system and the Advisor FL circular mapping catheter for patients with cardiac arrhythmias.

St. Jude Medical, which manufactures the mapping system and catheter,…

Nearly 13 percent of patients with atrial fibrillation did not receive the correct dose of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), according to a registry analysis.

After adjusting for doses, overdosing of the medications was…

A registry analysis found that patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation who received dabigatran (Pradaxa) had a 76.6 percent probability of remaining on treatment at one year and a 69.2 percent probability of remaining on…

Studies have shown that small amounts of alcohol could reduce the incidence of coronary disease. However, a recent review found that the benefits of alcohol do not apply to atrial fibrillation. In fact, the researchers noted that alcohol was a…

Biotronik announced Dec. 5 that the first patients had enrolled in the BioInsight trial, which is evaluating the use of the BioMonitor 2 in an office setting.

In April, the FDA…

Medtronic has signed a deal to operate the catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories at the University Hospitals…

Being extra thankful this Thanksgiving might give your heart health a boost, research suggests.

A study from the University of California-San Diego, studied 186 men and women with asymptomatic heat failure to see how gratefulness and…

More than 20 percent of patients with type I and type II myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD) had critically prognostic conduction abnormalities, according to a small study at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. In addition, more than 10 percent of…

Though marijuana is now prescribed by medical professionals to help some patients cope with their health conditions, a new study shows that the drug could still do harm if used too frequently.

A new study presented at this year’s American…

Patients who were implanted with a pacemaker after undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) had a 31 percent higher one-year mortality rate compared with patients who did not receive a pacemaker following TAVR, according to a…

A retrospective cohort analysis found that patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were newly treated with dabigatran (Pradaxa) had significantly lower all-cause hospitalizations, emergency room visits and physician office visits…

An observational, prospective study found that there was a 98.8 percent technical success rate with the investigational Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Within seven days of the procedure,…

More than 95 percent of implantations with the Watchman device for left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation were successful, according to an analysis of procedural data.

Although new operators…

Although St. Jude Medical recalled certain implantable cardioverter defibrillators in 2015, the company acknowledged that it had continued to ship the old devices for up to 17 months, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The…

The incidence of atrial fibrillation has grown in the past few years—and it is now the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in the world. Healthcare experts don’t see things getting much better, either. By 2050, the number of patients with…

Abbott and St. Jude Medical announced Oct. 18 that the companies agreed to sell a portion of their vascular closure and electrophysiology business for $1.12 billion to Terumo Corporation.

The…

Scientists have long thought that a human’s first heartbeat takes place on the 21st day after conception, but new research from the University of Oxford shows that it could be even earlier, at just 16 days after conception.

The findings…