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Edwards Lifesciences updates on its SAPIEN valve clinical programs

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the world leader in the science of heart valves, today announced new clinical data demonstrating 100 percent freedom from structural deterioration of the Edwards SAPIEN valve at 18 months, as well as positive midterm patient outcomes resulting from the application of learnings from earlier clinical programs.

22 Sep 2009

Ross Procedure to be discussed by cardiovascular surgeons

CryoLife, Inc.- Elite cardiovascular surgeons from around the world will travel to suburban Atlanta this week for the two-day Ross Summit to review and discuss current peer-reviewed data relating to the survival advantage of the Ross Procedure and to practice the technical nuances required to perform this heart surgery successfully.

22 Sep 2009

Osteoporosis a growing concern in Asia

A new audit report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) today shows that osteoporosis is a serious and growing problem throughout Asia.

22 Sep 2009

Intubation training could help improve emergency care

Virtually anyone has the skills to safely insert a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) to keep a patient's airway open during resuscitation, and medical expertise isn't required - perhaps just a familiarity with ER, House or Grey's Anatomy.

22 Sep 2009

Importance of residual thymopoiesis in aged adults

Doctor Manuel Leal is managing the Experimental Immune Virology Laboratory (in Virgen del Rocío University Hospital and Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), where clinic and basic science researchers work) where he leads a project to establish the functional nature of the thymus gland in adults. So far, it has been proven that this gland keeps on producing lymphocytes in the old age (Ferrando-Martínez et al. AGE, in press), which is a novelty because until very recently it was considered that this organ lost its immune capacity after the puberty.

22 Sep 2009

Transcatheter valve implantation is an effective treatment for patients with aortic stenosis

Research presented at the 21st annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), demonstrated an "exceptionally low" rate of complications one year after implantation of transcatheter aortic valve prostheses.

22 Sep 2009

New wireless Fractional Flow Reserve system to evaluate blood flow blockages in the arteries

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) today announced the first use of the PressureWire™ Aeris technology, an interventional tool which measures Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) to evaluate the severity of blood flow blockages in the arteries. This first-to-market technology helps interventional cardiologists better determine the ideal treatment option for their patients during coronary interventions, such as stent procedures.

22 Sep 2009

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

22 Sep 2009

XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System exhibits its advantages over the TAXUS system

Long-term data presented today from the SPIRIT III pivotal U.S. clinical trial demonstrated that the observed clinical advantages of Abbott's market-leading XIENCE V(R) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System continued to increase as compared to the TAXUS(R) Express2 Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System (TAXUS).

21 Sep 2009

Some religious groups seek health care for illegal immigrants

NPR reports: "In the Hispanic community, there are issues in the debate over health care that spill over into the debate over immigration policy."

21 Sep 2009

NIDDK grants HealthPartners Research Foundation $7.3M to study childhood obesity

Three new HealthPartners Research Foundation studies will examine ways to prevent and treat childhood obesity and hypertension. One study will look at interventions to prevent obesity in children ages 5-9, another will focus on obesity prevention in children ages 2-5, while another will examine hypertension in children and adolescents, including the quality and cost of care.

21 Sep 2009

Many Australians at risk of having a heart attack are not receiving the best possible care: Study

The research suggests that GPs are still managing individual risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol in isolation of one another, and are not adopting recommendations to treat a patient's overall or absolute risk. Absolute risk management is based on the principle that the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease act together. By taking this approach treatment can be targeted to those most likely to benefit.

21 Sep 2009

Medicare round up: News coverage of cost issues and leadership gap

"The national average for Medicare spending on such patients was $46,412, including outpatient care," the Times reports. "But in Los Angeles County, the average cost was nearly double that, $84,179, according to a Los Angeles Times review of Dartmouth data. In seeking to explain why, some researchers have concluded that doctors in areas such as Los Angeles, with more hospitals and other resources, are more likely to have patients admitted, order tests and schedule visits, largely because they can."

21 Sep 2009

Vitae Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1 clinical trial of its novel cardiovascular agent

Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated discovery and development company, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of its novel cardiovascular agent, VTP-27999.

21 Sep 2009

QualityMetric announces new tool to measure pain accurately

According to the National Centers for Health Statistics, 76.2 million Americans report problems with chronic pain; more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. The same report notes that the annual cost of chronic pain in the United States, including healthcare expenses, lost income, and productivity, is estimated to be $100 billion.

21 Sep 2009

Columbia University Medical Center performs the 100th ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis implant

ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services, today announced that Columbia University Medical Center has achieved 100 implants of the ATS 3f(R) Aortic Bioprosthesis. Based on the precept that 'Form Follows Function,' the ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis is a revolutionary next generation stentless pericardial aortic tissue valve that is unlike any other valve.

21 Sep 2009

Research counters criticisms of Canadian health care system

Bloomberg reports that allegations that the Canadian health care system offers inferior treatment, rationing and long lines are wrong, according to wide-ranging and long-standing research.

21 Sep 2009

Identification of nitric oxide using lasers and sensors

Nitric oxide, a gas well known to scientists for its myriad functions, has proven challenging to measure accurately outside the laboratory. A team of Princeton and Rice University researchers has demonstrated a new method of identifying the gas using lasers and sensors that are inexpensive, compact and highly sensitive. Such a portable device, suitable for large-scale deployment, could be of great value to atmospheric science, pollution control, biology and medicine.

21 Sep 2009

AFib ablated using visually-guided laser balloon catheter

Physicians at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York became the first in the U.S. to ablate atrial fibrillation using a visually-guided laser balloon catheter.

21 Sep 2009

CT-guided tube pericardiostomy, an effective treatment for pericardial effusion

Pericardial effusion, the collection of fluid around the heart, typically occurs in patients following heart surgery and is usually treated using an invasive surgical drainage technique. However researchers have discovered that a minimally invasive procedure called CT-guided tube pericardiostomy is just as effective - requiring no recovery time, fewer resources, and provides an 89 percent cost savings over the surgical drainage technique, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

21 Sep 2009

Heart News and Research

Edwards Lifesciences updates on its SAPIEN valve clinical programs

Ross Procedure to be discussed by cardiovascular surgeons

Osteoporosis a growing concern in Asia

Intubation training could help improve emergency care

Importance of residual thymopoiesis in aged adults

Transcatheter valve implantation is an effective treatment for patients with aortic stenosis

New wireless Fractional Flow Reserve system to evaluate blood flow blockages in the arteries

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System exhibits its advantages over the TAXUS system

Some religious groups seek health care for illegal immigrants

NIDDK grants HealthPartners Research Foundation $7.3M to study childhood obesity

Many Australians at risk of having a heart attack are not receiving the best possible care: Study

Medicare round up: News coverage of cost issues and leadership gap

Vitae Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1 clinical trial of its novel cardiovascular agent

QualityMetric announces new tool to measure pain accurately

Columbia University Medical Center performs the 100th ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis implant

Research counters criticisms of Canadian health care system

Identification of nitric oxide using lasers and sensors

AFib ablated using visually-guided laser balloon catheter

CT-guided tube pericardiostomy, an effective treatment for pericardial effusion

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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