The delayed healing of the coronary artery following physicians’ use of drug eluting stents (DES), which increases patients’ risks of developing thrombosis, is a top concern today of interventional cardiologists, according to the results of a survey announced at EuroPCR 2013 in Paris.

Today Ted A. Bass, M.D., FSCAI, announced that the focus of his term as the 36th President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions will be to expand SCAI’s commitment to quality improvement in invasive and interventional cardiology. Dr. Bass was inducted at the SCAI 2013 Scientific Sessions, where he led a Town Hall-style discussion among attendees about the opportunities and challenges facing the specialty. 

Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:VASC) today announced that it has re-launched the Venture catheter, a deflectable-tip catheter used to provide guidewire directional control in challenging coronary and peripheral interventional procedures. The device is available immediately in the United States and expected to become available in select international markets over the next few months.

NPR’s “All Things Considered” interviewed C. Michael Gibson, MD, about his experiences treating victims of the explosions at the Boston Marathon. Gibson, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, credited the medical teams in the field and the proximity of the emergency tent for stabilizing the wounded. “[They] may have saved innumerable lives,” he said.

OrbusNeich today announced that data from the REMEDEE (Randomized Evaluation of an abluMinal sirolimus coatED bio-Engineered stEnt) study published online in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions demonstrated that the COMBO Dual Therapy Stent met the study’s primary endpoint and was found to be effective in controlling neointimal proliferation.

A Q&A posted on CNN’s website featured John P. Reilly, MD, editor-in-chief of the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions’ secondscount.org and a vice chairman and cardiology fellowship program director at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems today announced that it has entered into a multi-year distribution agreement with Nonin Medical, Inc., a leader in noninvasive medical monitoring. Beginning May 1, 2013, Terumo CVS will distribute Nonin's EQUANOX™ Model 7600 Regional Oximetry System to adult and pediatric cardiovascular hospitals in the United States.

Thoracic surgeons may find that accurate coding and billing under ICD-10 may require a higher level of specificity than before.