Heart Surgery News and Research

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Heart surgery is done to correct problems with the heart. More than half a million heart surgeries are done each year in the United States for a variety of heart problems. Heart surgery is used to correct heart problems in children and adults. This article discusses heart surgeries for adults. For more information about heart surgeries for children, see the Diseases and Conditions Index articles on congenital heart defects, holes in the heart, and tetralogy of Fallot.

The most common type of heart surgery for adults is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During CABG, surgeons use healthy arteries or veins taken from another part of the body to bypass (that is, go around) blocked arteries. CABG relieves chest pain and reduces the risk of heart attack.

Parents opt for emergency room visits to help children attend child care

Substantial proportions of parents chose urgent care or emergency department visits when their sick children were excluded from attending child care, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers.

23 Jun 2014

New mobile app can measure respiratory rate in children 6 times faster than manual method

A new mobile app developed by researchers at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia can measure respiratory rate in children roughly six times faster than the standard manual method.

20 Jun 2014

VA scandal prompts closer look at VA health care around nation

News outlets examine wait times and poor service at clinics in North Carolina, Colorado and Minnesota.

18 Jun 2014

Children's Hospital Los Angeles ranked among nation's top 5 again

For the third straight year, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is ranked among the top five children's hospitals in the country, a distinction that recognizes the hospital's clinical expertise and the quality and breadth of its patient care.

11 Jun 2014

CardiAQ performs first-in-human Trans-Apical TMVI procedure

CardiAQ Valve Technologies (CardiAQ), which performed the first ever Trans-Femoral, Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation procedure in June of 2012 with its self-conforming, self-anchoring implant technology, announced today that it has achieved another milestone in cardiovascular medicine by successfully implanting its Second Generation Transcatheter Mitral Valve in an 88-year-old female suffering from severe mitral regurgitation (MR 4+) using the company's newly added Trans-Apical Delivery System.

20 May 2014

Minimally invasive TAVR procedure saves more lives than open-heart surgery, shows study

For the first time, a minimally invasive transcatheter valve - tested by Baylor Research Institute in Dallas (BRI) - has been shown to save more lives than open-heart surgery, according to new research revealed at the American College of Cardiology's 2014 Scientific Sessions and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

From Medtronic 14 May 2014

Results from Sorin Group's study on Freedom Solo presented at AATS 2014

Sorin Group, a global medical company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, is proud to announce the results of its trial on the Freedom Solo for approval on the US market presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Toronto, Canada.

12 May 2014

Recycling patients' red blood cells during heart surgery better than banked blood transfusion

Patients whose own red blood cells are recycled and given back to them during heart surgery have healthier blood cells better able to carry oxygen where it is most needed compared to those who get transfusions of blood stored in a blood bank, according to results of a small study at Johns Hopkins.

9 May 2014

Sorin Group's Mitroflow Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve with PRT gets approval from FDA

Sorin Group, a global medical company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the Mitroflow Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve with PRT.

28 Apr 2014

Jersey Shore opens new CVICU to provide post-operative care for cardiac surgery patients

Jersey Shore University Medical Center recently unveiled the new CardioVascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) - a twelve bed critical care unit providing post-operative care for cardiac surgery patients, including those who receive traditional open heart surgery and newer, complex interventional cardiovascular procedures.

22 Apr 2014

Le Bonheur Children's takes aggressive steps to minimize blood loss during heart surgery

More than 20 percent of Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's open heart surgeries are now bloodless, meaning no blood or blood products given during surgery. The Memphis, Tenn., hospital's Heart Institute has been taking aggressive steps to minimize blood loss during surgery and reduce perioperative blood transfusions over the last 18 months.

18 Apr 2014

Wal-Mart exec who led health care expansion steps down

News emerged Monday in an internal staff memo that John Agwunobi would leave his post running the retailer's health and wellness division.

16 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 15, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate of the costs for expanding health insurance.

15 Apr 2014

Hospital sees success by temporarily connecting major blood vessels

Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital reached a medical milestone April 3, performing the 25th successful transcatheter valve replacement using a novel way to access the heart.

15 Apr 2014

RWJUH offers new alternative to open up blocked arteries

Treatment options for high-risk heart patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease (CAD) have been limited for more than 20 years. Now, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital offers a new alternative to open up blocked arteries.

11 Apr 2014

Compressyn Band selected as finalist in Medical Design Excellence Awards for Implant and Tissue-Replacement Products Category

Dallen Medical, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Compressyn™ Band has been selected as a finalist in the Implant and Tissue-Replacement Products Category of the 17th Annual Medical Design Excellence Awards competition.

10 Apr 2014

Spike in mortality after cardiac surgery is associated with 30 days survival measurement

Analyzing a national database of hospital inpatient records, a team of researchers reports an expected spike in mortality six days after cardiac surgery, but also a more surprising and potentially troubling jump in deaths at the 30-day mark.

10 Apr 2014

Aortic valve replacement now possible without open-heart surgery

Loyola University Medical Center is the first hospital in Illinois to implant a newly approved aortic heart valve device that does not require open surgery.

From Medtronic 4 Apr 2014

Study of non-surgically implanted replacement pulmonary valve shows strong results

The first post-FDA approval study of a non-surgically implanted replacement pulmonary valve showed strong short- and mid-term results for the device in patients with certain congenital heart defects, according to research presented by a U-M pediatric interventional cardiologist at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session Sunday.

1 Apr 2014

Study shows administering steroids during cardiac surgery requiring bypass can cause harm

Giving patients steroids at the time of heart surgery does not improve health outcomes and appears to put them at greater risk of having a heart attack in the days following surgery, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.