Innovative treatments for heart failure are lacking, leaving the nearly six million Americans who suffer from the condition with little hope for a cure. But thanks to an $11.5-million Program Project Grant (PPG) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), scientists at Temple University School of Medicine are now set to further their investigation of key molecular mechanisms in heart failure, an effort that is expected to lead to the development of new heart therapies.

Abiomed, Inc., a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today announced it has received approval for implementation of a Continuous Access Protocol (CAP) from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for RECOVER RIGHT, an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study of the Impella(R) RP (Right Peripheral) System.

On April 17, 2014, SynCardia Systems, Inc. received the CE Mark for the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart with SynHall valves, providing the company with control over the last key component required for heart manufacturing.

The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) announced today the first implant of the world's smallest pacemaker at the Minneapolis Heart Institute. The device was implanted as part of a global clinical trial and the procedure was the first of its kind in the Midwest.

A patient who is on a heart transplant waiting list became the first participant with a total artificial heart to complete the 4.2-mile course at the annual Pat’s Run event in Tucson, Ariz. AZ Central Channel i2 News reported on the accomplishment.

Celladon Corporation, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for patients with heart failure and other diseases characterized by SERCA enzyme deficiencies, today announced that its lead product candidate, MYDICAR, has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing hospitalizations for heart failure in NYHA class III or IV chronic heart failure patients who are NAb negative.

March 27, 2014—Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) will present sub-analyses from the global EXAMINE (EXamination of CArdiovascular OutcoMes: AlogliptIN vs. Standard of CarE in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Acute Coronary Syndrome) cardiovascular (CV) safety outcomes trial in a poster session at the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington, DC. These sub-analyses specifically investigated the effects of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i) alogliptin on rates of CV mortality and hospitalization for heart failure (HF).

Can treating depression in patients with heart failure help them live longer? That's one of the questions that University of Pittsburgh researchers hope to answer with a new five-year, $7.3 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).