Angioplasty News and Research

RSS

In angioplasty procedures, a balloon is fed through a catheter and used to prop open an artery that has become narrowed or blocked. In cases where stenting is appropriate, a stent mounted on a balloon is inserted and inflation of the balloon expands the stent against the blocked artery wall to hold the vessel open. The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is withdrawn. Stent treatment of arteries holds them open and improves blood flow to the heart. In cases where post-dilatation is needed, a high-pressure balloon is inflated inside a stent to help better place the stent against the vessel wall.

Study shows benefits of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for patients who undergo dialysis

A randomized multicenter study of 190 patients at 13 medical centers shows-- for the first time-- the "superior" benefit of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for maintaining function of dialysis access grafts in kidney failure patients who undergo dialysis. Until now, no other therapy has proven more effective than angioplasty.

12 Feb 2010

Bard FLAIR Endovascular Stent Graft more effective than balloon angioplasty for failing dialysis grafts

C. R. Bard, Inc. today announced the publication of trial results by The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) showing the Bard FLAIR® Endovascular Stent Graft maintains the patency of dialysis access grafts more effectively than balloon angioplasty alone. The FLAIR® Endovascular Stent Graft is the only implant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of stenoses at the venous anastomosis of ePTFE or other synthetic arteriovenous access grafts.

11 Feb 2010

FDA expands indication for Crestor

On Feb. 8 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the cholesterol-lowering medication Crestor (rosuvastatin) for some patients who are at increased risk of heart disease but have not been diagnosed with it.

10 Feb 2010

Volcano acquires Xtract Thrombus Aspiration Catheter device from Lumen Biomedical

Volcano Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of precision intravascular therapy guidance tools designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular disease, announced today that it has acquired the Xtract™ Thrombus Aspiration Catheter device line from Lumen Biomedical.

9 Feb 2010

Tracking early signs of coronary artery clogs: CT perfusion vs. SPECT nuclear imaging tests

Cardiologists and heart imaging specialists at 15 medical centers in eight countries, and led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, have enrolled the first dozen patients in a year-long investigation to learn whether the subtle squeezing of blood flow through the inner layers of the heart is better than traditional SPECT nuclear imaging tests and other diagnostic radiology procedures for accurately tracking the earliest signs of coronary artery clogs.

5 Feb 2010

Texas Health Dallas offers heart and vascular screening program for women

When Mary Gill went to bed that night, nothing would have made anyone think heart disease — not even Mary. She was thin and 42 years old. She exercised regularly, ate a healthy diet and never smoked.

4 Feb 2010

Major study of perfusion imaging under way to assess value of alternative diagnostic methods

3 Feb 2010

Pervasis Therapeutics reaches agreement with FDA on pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for Vascugel

Pervasis Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the design of a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for Vascugel®, an investigational new drug for the prevention of hemodialysis access graft failure.

2 Feb 2010

Cardiologist provides heart-healthy tips for women

Heart disease is the single leading cause of death for American women. Nearly twice as many women in the United States die of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases than from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer.

30 Jan 2010

Lebanon Cardiology Associates and The Good Samaritan Hospital team up to implement hypothermia protocol for improved cardiac care

Lebanon Cardiology Associates teamed with The Good Samaritan Hospital to implement one of the top 15% performing emergency cardiac catheterization teams treating heart attacks in the United States.

29 Jan 2010

Invatec welcomes first clinical results of Drug Eluting Balloon

Invatec, a comprehensive innovator of interventional products, welcomed the first clinical results of the Drug Eluting Balloon (DEB), IN.PACT Amphirion, for complex Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) in Below the Knee (BtK).

29 Jan 2010

New report illustrates why cardiovascular disease is under-recognized and under-treated in women

Today, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) launched "WINHeart -- Score a WIN for Women," an initiative that raises awareness surrounding gender-based disparities in the diagnosis, treatment and survival of women with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

28 Jan 2010

NovaRay Medical and TRT develop real-time X-ray imaging system using Nethra Imaging’s MPPA devices

Nethra® Imaging, Inc. announced that NovaRay Medical and Triple Ring Technologies (TRT) have successfully developed a real-time X-ray imaging system using Nethra’s Am2045™ Massively Parallel Processor Array (MPPA) devices. The new system takes advantage of the highly scalable architecture of the Nethra devices by using 13,440 32-bit processors in parallel, contained in 40 Am2045 devices. The 40-TeraOPS system in an ATCA chassis has a sustained image reconstruction rate of 32 slices, each with 1000 x 1000 pixel resolution, every 1/20th second – helping to enable up to 10 times reduction in radiation exposure.

27 Jan 2010

Update on Cardium Therapeutics' plans for commercial development of Generx

Cardium Therapeutics reported today that its Cardium Biologics division provided an update on plans for the continuing commercial development of Generx™ (alferminogene tadenovec, Ad5FGF-4), a DNA-based angiogenic therapy product candidate for patients with coronary artery disease.

27 Jan 2010

Invatec launches Maris Plus self-expanding peripheral stent system

Invatec, a comprehensive innovator of interventional products, today launched its latest self-expanding peripheral stent system, Maris Plus in new 6, 7 and 8mm diameters, ideal for interventions involving the superficial femoral arteries (SFA). The 9, 10 and 12mm diameters of the stent are already marketed for the iliac artery.

27 Jan 2010

University of Kentucky's fast-track protocol reduces risk of death in heart attack patients

Heart attack patients won't go to the emergency room as part of a new University of Kentucky plan designed to reduce those patients' risk of dying by nearly 8 percent for every half hour shaved off the time between the ambulance and treatment at the hospital.

23 Jan 2010

Insertion of tiny heart pump without surgery

Cardiologists at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are leading the Midwest in offering improved treatment options to patients, from the most advanced techniques in angioplasty, to lowering the amount of radiation exposure during heart scans, to opening an innovative clinic that treats heart disease and depression together.

23 Jan 2010

Interventional cardiologist accesses coronary arteries through radial artery on the inside of wrist

In an innovative new procedure, interventional cardiologist Ramesh Mazhari, MD, is one of only a few in the Washington, DC, region to access the coronary arteries through the radial artery on the inside of the wrist.

23 Jan 2010

Post-Katrina stress contributes to three-fold increase in heart attacks

Chronic stress following Hurricane Katrina contributed to a three-fold increase in heart attacks in New Orleans more than two years after levee breaches flooded most of the city, according to researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine.

23 Jan 2010

UK Gill Heart Institute offers individualized fitness program for heart patients

How do you change health habits among a population with some of the highest heart disease rates in the world? Tackling heart disease in Kentucky - an epicenter of heart health problems - the University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is helping high-risk patients make radical, lasting changes to improve their heart health.

23 Jan 2010

Angioplasty News and Research

Study shows benefits of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for patients who undergo dialysis

Bard FLAIR Endovascular Stent Graft more effective than balloon angioplasty for failing dialysis grafts

FDA expands indication for Crestor

Volcano acquires Xtract Thrombus Aspiration Catheter device from Lumen Biomedical

Tracking early signs of coronary artery clogs: CT perfusion vs. SPECT nuclear imaging tests

Texas Health Dallas offers heart and vascular screening program for women

Major study of perfusion imaging under way to assess value of alternative diagnostic methods

Pervasis Therapeutics reaches agreement with FDA on pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for Vascugel

Cardiologist provides heart-healthy tips for women

Lebanon Cardiology Associates and The Good Samaritan Hospital team up to implement hypothermia protocol for improved cardiac care

Invatec welcomes first clinical results of Drug Eluting Balloon

New report illustrates why cardiovascular disease is under-recognized and under-treated in women

NovaRay Medical and TRT develop real-time X-ray imaging system using Nethra Imaging’s MPPA devices

Update on Cardium Therapeutics' plans for commercial development of Generx

Invatec launches Maris Plus self-expanding peripheral stent system

University of Kentucky's fast-track protocol reduces risk of death in heart attack patients

Insertion of tiny heart pump without surgery

Interventional cardiologist accesses coronary arteries through radial artery on the inside of wrist

Post-Katrina stress contributes to three-fold increase in heart attacks

UK Gill Heart Institute offers individualized fitness program for heart patients

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News