Since former Vice President Dick Cheney had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted in 2012, general interest in the devices have increased and social media sites have included more information on them.

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced important new data presented during the Heart Rhythm Society's (HRS) 36th annual Scientific Session supporting improved outcomes and cost-effectiveness of the CardioMEMS™ HF System for the management of Class III heart failure patients.

SynCardia Systems, Inc. has received FDA approval to conduct an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study on the effective use of its 50cc SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart.

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced a new data analysis from the CHAMPION trial showing that heart failure (HF) patients with reduced ejection fraction on optimal doses of guideline directed medical therapy (GDMT) managed by pulmonary artery (PA) pressure monitoring with the CardioMEMS™ HF System had a 57 percent reduction in mortality and a 43 percent reduction in HF hospitalizations compared with patients on GDMT managed by the standard of care (SOC). These data show a strong improvement for patients managed by optimal GDMT and the CardioMEMS HF System in both mortality and hospitalizations over currently defined best practices.

The recipient of a total artificial heart implanted in August is home and “living a completely normal life now,” according to the French surgeon who invented the device. The patient exercises by “pedaling like crazy” on a stationary bike.

Patients awaiting heart transplants can continue on ventricular assist devices for longer periods now, thanks to smaller profile devices with improved functionality, the Boston Globe reports.

Researchers testing Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Inc. experimental HNO prodrugs presented data demonstrating that HNO improves cardiac function in animal models of diastolic heart failure, and separately that an orally administered HNO prodrug produces the same attractive hemodynamic improvements previously demonstrated with intravenous infusion.

The American Heart Association awarded its 2014 Population Research Prize to Vasan R. Ramachandran, M.D., of Boston University School of Medicine, “for brilliantly seizing upon opportunities to translate cutting-edge bench science into an epidemiological context, thereby making fundamental contributions to identifying systemic markers for cardiovascular risk, both here and in developing countries.”