UC Davis Health System researchers have identified for the first time a biological pathway that is activated when blood sugar levels are abnormally high and causes irregular heartbeats, a condition known as cardiac arrhythmia that is linked with heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Abiomed, Inc. (Nasdaq:ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today reported its donation of an unrestricted grant in the amount of $375,000 to Boston Children's Hospital Heart Center, a newly dedicated cardiovascular care center founded within Boston Children's Hospital.

New research reveals the advantages of new, more accurate risk assessment methodologies over the basic lipid panel. Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in advanced cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, will highlight recent evidence for improved cardiovascular disease assessment and prevention at the eighth annual Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) October 2-5, at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston.    

Based on what they describe as a review of several studies and interviews with 37 cardiologists, 33 patients or their survivors, three Bloomberg reporters explored overuse of stenting, particularly in elective procedures. The report covers several investigations and describes cases that culminated in patient deaths. It also includes a map of “coronary stent hot spots.”

Micell Technologies, Inc. today announced that a peer reviewed article discussing imaging and clinical results of the DESSOLVE I trial of its MiStent Sirolimus Eluting Absorbable Polymer Coronary Stent System (MiStent SES®) was accepted for publication on the JACC Cardiovascular Interventions website. The paper, "First-in-Human Evaluation of a Bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stent: Imaging and Clinical Results of the DESSOLVE I Trial (DES With Sirolimus and a Bioabsorbable Polymer for the Treatment of Patients With De Novo Lesion in the Native Coronary Arteries)", is planned to also appear in the October 2013 issue of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center has named Dr. Garret FitzGerald, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; chair of the Department of Pharmacology and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, the recipient of the 2013 Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Prize in Cardiovascular Sciences.

An American Heart Association/American Stroke Association sponsored study comparing which stroke therapies work best has received a $2 million research award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Bayer HealthCare today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development has granted two separate orphan drug designations for its investigational, oral medication riociguat, proposed trade name Adempas®, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics that are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases and disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.