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Treatments can help most HCM patients

Most of the 600,000 Americans with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) -- a genetic heart muscle disease -- can live normal life spans, according to the first science-based guideline for diagnosing and treating this disorder.

9 Nov 2011

TriVascular receives FDA approval for Ovation stent graft system to treat AAA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a stent graft system that provides patients with small arteries the option of less invasive surgery to repair their potentially life-threatening abdominal aortic aneurysm.

3 Nov 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's Assurant Cobalt stent to treat narrowed iliac arteries

Advancing the treatment of peripheral artery disease, Medtronic, Inc. today announced approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Assurant Cobalt Iliac Balloon-Expandable Stent System.

From Medtronic 1 Nov 2011

Simple blood test could quantify a smoker's lung toxicity and danger of heart disease

A simple blood test could someday quantify a smoker's lung toxicity and danger of heart disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Oct 2011

Simple test can save lives of infants with undiagnosed critical heart defects

The US Secretary of Health recently supported a recommendation that all babies born in the US are to be screened for critical heart defects, before leaving hospital. Behind this decision is a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, and the West Götaland Region's maternity units in Sweden which shows that a simple test can save the lives of newborns with these heart defects.

11 Oct 2011

Loyola surgeon performs minimally invasive emergency procedure to repair AAA

Jack Kory of Mokena, Il. was eating his breakfast oatmeal when he suddenly felt the worst pain in his life. The searing pain came on suddenly in his stomach and spread to his knees. It was caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that had suddenly burst, causing massive internal bleeding. Traditionally, few patients have survived such ruptures. But Loyola University Medical Center vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Hershberger was able to repair Kory's aneurysm with a minimally invasive emergency procedure.

10 Oct 2011

Engager Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation System pivotal trial to be conducted at 11 European centers

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the start of the Engager European Pivotal Trial to pursue CE Mark for the Engager Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation System in patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis.

From Medtronic 28 Sep 2011

Endologix develops Ventana stent graft system to treat aortic aneurysms

The Methodist Hospital has been chosen as a study site for a new type of stent graft device that is designed for the repair of certain types of aortic aneurysms near or involving the blood vessels that lead to the kidneys. The Ventana Fenestrated Stent Graft System is made by Endologix Inc., which is sponsoring both the feasibility and pivotal studies of the device.

27 Sep 2011

Study determines incidence of aortic complications in BAV and general population

While the incidence of the life-threatening condition of aortic dissection is significantly higher than in the general population, it remains low among patients with the congenital heart defect, bicuspid aortic valve; however, the incidence of aortic aneurysms is significantly high, according to a study in the September 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Sep 2011

Common genetic variant may predispose people to acute dissections

Richard Holbrooke, John Ritter, Lucille Ball, Jonathan Larson and Great Britain's King George II were all taken by the same silent killer: an acute aortic dissection. Now, scientists led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Baylor College of Medicine have found an association with a common genetic variant in the population that predisposes people to acute dissections and can approximately double a person's chances of having the disease.

12 Sep 2011

Medtronic initiates U.S. post-approval study of Endurant AAA Stent Graft System

Leading the development of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), Medtronic, Inc. today announced the start of its U.S. post-approval study of the Endurant AAA Stent Graft System, a medical device used to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms.

From Medtronic 2 Sep 2011

Balloon pump use prior to PCI does not reduce infarct size in STEMI patients without shock

Intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation prior to PCI in patients with ST segment elevation MI does not reduce infarct size as measured by MRI, according to results from the Counterpulsation Reduces Infarct Size Acute Myocardial Infarction (CRISP AMI) trial.

30 Aug 2011

Ivabradine reduces heart volume among patients with cardiac insufficiency

As guest speaker at the European Society of Cardiology's Congress currently under way in Paris, Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Montreal Heart Institute's Research Centre and professor of medicine at the Universit- de Montr-al, today presented the results of an analysis demonstrating that ivabradine, a medication used to reduce heart rate, also reduces heart volume (left ventricle) among patients with cardiac insufficiency.

30 Aug 2011

Sutureless method for reconnecting blood vessels

Reconnecting severed blood vessels is mostly done the same way today - with sutures - as it was 100 years ago, when the French surgeon Alexis Carrel won a Nobel Prize for advancing the technique.

29 Aug 2011

New ESC Guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of peripheral artery disease

For cardiologists, coronary artery disease is the most important presentation of atherosclerosis. Patients with coronary artery disease may also have symptomatic or asymptomatic atherosclerosis in other vascular areas (peripheral artery disease).

26 Aug 2011

Simvastatin may reduce spinal cord damage from ischemia/reperfusion injury

The cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin appears to reduce spinal cord injury caused by oxygen deprivation in experimental animals, according to a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Aug 2011

Cambridge Memorial Hospital installs Toshiba's CT and ultrasound system

Since quick and accurate diagnosis is critical in an acute setting, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, a critical care hospital in Nebraska operating as part of the integrated Tri Valley Health System, has installed the Aquilion 64 CT system and the Aplio XG ultrasound system from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

23 Aug 2011

Cardiac rehab can prolong patients' lives and reduce risk of second heart attack

Twenty-eight year-old Alex Holton is an active young Torontonian, but five years ago, shortly after receiving life-saving heart surgery, Alex Holton was unsure he'd ever be active again.

28 Jul 2011

Heart experts begin to test new device for treatment of blocked aortic valves

Heart experts at Johns Hopkins have begun testing a new device designed to replace blocked aortic valves in patients for whom traditional open-heart surgery is considered too risky, such as elderly patients and those with other serious medical conditions.

13 Jul 2011

First transcatheter aortic valve implantation performed at Loyola University Hospital

Toni Meyer's heart-valve disease was so severe that she suffered shortness of breath even while sitting in a chair. But after Loyola University Hospital physicians replaced her diseased aortic valve in a catheter procedure as part of a clinical trial, Meyer said she is feeling "100 percent better."

From Medtronic 7 Jul 2011