“There has never been a more exciting time to be a cardiothoracic surgeon,” the veteran surgeon said in a statement. 

The topic was explored at length in a new scientific statement presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

"The singular message to the public is that the optimal treatment for multivessel coronary artery disease—to improve not only long-term survival but also lower your risk of complications—is coronary artery bypass surgery," one specialist said in a statement. 

A team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons collaborated on the new analysis, reviewing data from more than 50,000 patients and developing a new risk model for clinicians.  

When Medicare made it easier for heart failure patients to receive a LVAD at a hospital that does not perform heart transplants, the change was intended to improve patient access. It turns out, however, that the policy shift could be linked to an unintended consequence. 

The new-look adjustable stents, not yet fully approved by the FDA, can be expanded as a child ages. The hope is that these stents will never need to be replaced.

“There is a crucial need to develop synthetic vascular graft materials that will increase the rate of long-term functions,” one researcher said. Could materials derived from seaweed help fill that need?

Nontraditional risk factors such as dementia, PTSD, bipolar disorder and low socioeconomic status are all important to consider when patients are candidates for aortic valve replacement.