Balloon Angioplasty News and Research

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Balloon Angioplasty is a procedure to enlarge the opening in a blood vessel that has become narrowed or blocked by plaque (a buildup of fat and cholesterol on the inner wall of the blood vessel). A small balloon is filled with air inside the blood vessel to push the plaque against the blood vessel wall and increase the opening.

Adoption of standby intra-aortic balloon pump strategy during high-risk PCI needed: Study

High-risk patients undergoing a coronary procedure such as placement of a stent who electively received an intra-aortic balloon pump (a device that can help improve blood flow) prior to the procedure did not experience a significantly lower overall rate of events such as heart attack, revascularization or death, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Aug 2010

Reducing patient body temperature with cold salt beneficial for patients undergoing balloon angioplasty

Treating heart attack patients with hypothermia reduces the amount of heart damage by more than one third after balloon angioplasty. Researchers in Lund, Sweden have today released the results of a study showing that the amount of heart damage in heart attack patients whose body temperature was lower than 35˚C (95˚F) was reduced by more than one third after they were treated with balloon angioplasty to open their clogged heart vessel.

25 Aug 2010

Health care system delay increases death risk in heart attack patients

For patients with a certain type of heart attack, delay in the time between first contact with emergency medical service to initiation of therapy such as balloon angioplasty is associated with an increased risk of death, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Aug 2010

New optical imaging technique holds potential to improve angioplasty

A new optical imaging technique described in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, which is published by the American Institute of Physics, holds the potential to greatly improve angioplasty, a surgery commonly performed to treat patients with a partially or completely blocked coronary artery that restricts blood flow to the heart.

11 Aug 2010

SIR and 41 international societies issue first global statement defining interventional radiology

The Society of Interventional Radiology, with the support of 41 international societies representing 10,000 interventional radiology doctors, has issued the first global statement defining interventional radiology-one designed to benefit medical treatment for individuals. The statement addresses the evolution, impact and future direction of this minimally invasive specialty, emphasizing the worldwide availability of this specialized medical care.

8 Jul 2010

Researchers to study interventional endovascular therapy on symptoms and progression of MS

Buffalo medical researchers led by a team from the University at Buffalo Department of Neurosurgery, will embark on a landmark prospective randomized double-blinded study to test the safety and efficacy of interventional endovascular therapy -- dubbed "liberation treatment" -- on the symptoms and progression of Multiple Sclerosis.

1 Jul 2010

Boston Scientific adds 22 new balloon sizes to PolarCath Peripheral Dilatation System

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that 22 new balloon sizes have been added to the PolarCath® Peripheral Dilatation System, including balloon lengths of 120 and 150 mm. The PolarCath System is used to restore blood flow in patients with critical limb ischemia (severe blockages in the arteries below the knee) and blockages in the femoral and popliteal (behind the knee) arteries. Both conditions result from peripheral artery disease.

21 Jun 2010

Spectranetics plans multi-center, randomized clinical trial program for in-stent restenosis

The Spectranetics Corporation today announced its clinical trial plans related to the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) in arteries above the knee, which remains a major unsolved medical problem. There is no device currently cleared or approved by the FDA to treat ISR.

10 Jun 2010

Patients at greatest risk of post-PCI bleeding least likely to receive bleeding avoidance strategies

In a study that included data from more than 1.5 million patients, use of vascular closure devices and the anticoagulant bivalirudin were associated with significantly lower bleeding rates for patients following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that patients who may benefit most from these treatments, those at greatest risk of bleeding, were least likely to receive them.

2 Jun 2010

PIONEER trial evaluates new safe concept of stent-drug combination

Blue Medical today announced a major step forward in its quest to improve the quality of life of patients with cardiovascular disease, with the start of the PIONEER trial, in which a new safe concept of stent-drug combination is evaluated.

26 May 2010

CSI announces completion of enrollment in CALCIUM 360° clinical trial for PAD

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI), has completed patient enrollment in its prospective, randomized CALCIUM 360° clinical trial, part of the company's 360° Clinical Series. The CALCIUM 360° feasibility study is evaluating the treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) behind and below the knee using CSI's Diamondback 360® System, a minimally invasive catheter for treating PAD anywhere in the leg. Dr. Nicolas Shammas, an interventional cardiologist at Trinity Medical Center, Bettendorf, Iowa, is the study's principal investigator.

30 Apr 2010

ev3 completes enrollment in study of EverFlex Self-Expanding Stent System for SFA

ev3 Inc. today announced the completion of patient enrollment in the DURABILITY II trial, a prospective, multi-center, single-arm study evaluating the EverFlex® Self-Expanding Stent System for the treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) and proximal popliteal lesions. The DURABILITY II study will support a planned Premarket Approval (PMA) filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to obtain approval of the EverFlex Self-Expanding Stent System for use in the SFA.

26 Apr 2010

Patent applications continue to alter medical landscape to improve patient care

Over the past 40 years, more than 2,400 patents and patent applications-pioneering modern medicine with the devices and drugs that advance minimally invasive treatments-have been filed by members of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

17 Mar 2010

Drug-eluting stents offer new hope to patients with critical limb ischemia

In the United States, more than 100,000 amputations are performed each year on individuals with critical limb ischemia, the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The number one priority in treating these patients is to re-establish blood flow to avoid limb amputation.

16 Mar 2010

Platelet function tests may predict heart attack, says study

An analysis of six tests that are used to measure platelet function and help gauge the effectiveness of antiplatelet drugs for patients undergoing a cardiac procedure such as a coronary stent implantation found that only three of the tests were associated with a modest ability to predict outcomes such as heart attack or death, according to a study in the February 24 issue of JAMA.

25 Feb 2010

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

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

UC San Diego bioengineering professor receives 2009 Presidential Science Prize

For Shu Chien - a pioneer in the growing field of bioengineering - understanding and learning the marvels of how the human body works has been the foundation of his decades-long quest to advance science and technology worldwide. The UC San Diego bioengineering professor's significant scientific endeavors have paved the way for recognition of his renowned work at the university's Jacobs School of Engineering and abroad.

6 Jan 2010

ART publishes impressive data on its bioresorbable stent

Arterial Remodeling Technologies (“ART”) announced today that it has disclosed impressive in vivo and in vitro data related to its bioresorbable stent platform—data that validates the Company’s approach to simultaneously balance biocompatibility, biomechanics and bioresorption in a bioresorbable PLA (polylactic acid) stent without altering healing by drug elution from the stent platform.

5 Jan 2010