Interventional Cardiology

This cardiac subspecialty uses minimally invasive, catheter-based technologies in a cath lab to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD). The main focus in on percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) to revascularize patients with CAD that is causing blockages resulting in ischemia or myocardial infarction. PCI mainly consists of angioplasty and implanting stents. Interventional cardiology has greatly expanded in scope over recent years to include a number of transcatheter structural heart interventions.

American Heart Association and Joint Commission launch new Comprehensive Heart Attack Center certification.

Heart attacks after TAVR: New AMI data ‘reassuring’ at first glance, but questions remain

Hoping to gain a better understanding of how TAVR may impact a patient’s long-term cardiovascular health, researchers explored data from more than 200,000 patients and shared their findings in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

March 28, 2024
artificial intelligence robot evaluates healthcare data. Novo Nordisk announced a new collaboration with Valo Health, a healthcare technology company focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify new drug treatments for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

New data registry will track how AI-powered plaque assessments impact cardiologist decisions

HeartFlow hopes to gather real-world data from up to 10,000 patients with suspected CAD.

March 27, 2024
money business cash flow dollar. Kingsway Financial Services, a Chicago-based holding company with subsidiaries in several industries, has acquired New Jersey-based Digital Diagnostics Imaging (DDI) for $11 million. The transaction was funded with $5.4 million in cash and $5.6 million in debt financing.

Report: Johnson & Johnson once again considering deal to acquire Shockwave Medical

Healthcare giants Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic were all reportedly interested in acquiring Shockwave Medical in 2023. Now, new rumors suggest a deal could be finalized within weeks. 

March 27, 2024
doctor comparing the costs of different medical treatments

TAVR is often more cost-effective than SAVR—but not always

Average lengths of stay and common complications are just some of the factors care teams should consider when evaluating the costs of aortic valve replacement. 

March 26, 2024
Virtual reality (VR) can help cardiologists plan for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures and predict the presence and severity of post-TAVR paravalvular leak (PVL), according to new research published in the Journal of Invasive Cardiology.[1]

VR before TAVR predicts paravalvular leak in high-risk patients

Performing virtual reality simulations before TAVR may help cardiologists anticipate when PVL could be an issue in patients with severe BAV AS.

March 25, 2024
Biosense Webster gained CE mark approval for its Varipulse pulsed field ablation (PFA) system in Europe

Biosense Webster takes key step toward FDA approval for Varipulse PFA system

The company already received CE mark approval for its new PFA offering and hopes it will soon be approved for sale in the United States.

March 25, 2024
The most popular selfie spot at ACC 2023. At one point the first day of the conference, there were about 1,0000 attendees waiting in a line about two football fields long to get a photo in front of the logo. A testament to the first post-COVID pandemic ACC and large numbers of returning clinicians to the in person event. ACC.23 had more attendees and vendor booths than in 0re-pandemic 2019. #ACC23 #ACC

ACC.24 to make the business side of cardiology a priority

While the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting has historically had a more clinical focus, presentations at this year's conference in Atlanta will spend much more time looking at the business side of things. 

March 22, 2024
Powering down angiography and fluoroscopy systems at night and on weekends could significantly reduce cardiology department energy bills, new study finds.Photo by Jose Arellano

Going green in the cath lab makes economic sense

New research explored the potential savings of turning off angiography systems at night and on weekends.

March 22, 2024

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

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