Thomas Wakefield, M.D., has been appointed a director of the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, as James C. Stanley, M.D., resumes his role as professor of vascular surgery and associate chair of the U-M Department of Surgery.

EKOS Corporation, a BTG International group company, today announces the start of patient enrollment for the ACCelerated ThrombolySiS for Post-Thrombotic Syndrome using the EKOS System (ACCESS PTS) Study.

Moving toward U.S. market introduction of its novel medical device to treat peripheral artery disease, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that it recently submitted the final module of its pre-market approval (PMA) application for the IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The application includes data that demonstrates superior clinical outcomes compared with conventional angioplasty, with the lowest rates of repeat procedures (target lesion revascularization) and the highest rate of uninterrupted blood flow (primary patency) at 12 months ever reported for the interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease.

Boehringer Ingelheim today announces that Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment and prevention of recurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pradaxa for DVT and PE patients earlier this year. DVT and PE can be very dangerous; almost one in three PE patients dies within three months and four out of 10 patients suffer a repeat blood clot within 10 years of the first.

Cook Medical launched its Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent in Canada at the Canadian Interventional Radiology Association (CIRA) meeting in Montreal, Canada. It’s the first drug-coated stent in Canada indicated to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA).

A presentation by principal investigator Eric J. Dippel, MD, of Genesis Heart Institute in Davenport, Iowa, at the annual New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) conference in New Orleans last week demonstrated significant procedural advantage of laser atherectomy in the largest randomized trial of atherectomy ever conducted.

Tufts University announced today that Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., has been named dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R.  Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy effective July 1. Mozaffarian joins the Friedman School from Harvard University, where he currently serves as associate professor and co-director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Bleeding into the brain following a stroke doesn't have to be big to be bad, says a researcher exploring a therapy to eliminate the major risk of minor bleeding.