Week in Review: How the MPFS impacts cardiology | New recalls | PE thrombectomy on the rise | Stem cell patch impresses

The new, negative 2.5% efficiency adjustment will be applied to the vast majority of Medicare payments for physician services. It was opposed by cardiology and most other medical societies. 

The new Class I recall covers nearly 18,000 insulin pumps distributed throughout the United States. While this is not a product removal, users are being urged to update their devices immediately. 

The new findings, presented during a late-breaking presentation, focused on 110 PAD patients treated with Shockwave Medical's Javelin Peripheral IVL Catheter.

Prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) is the phenomenon that occurs when the effective orifice area of a prosthetic heart valve isn’t adequately sized to meet a patient’s blood flow requirements. More is known today about PPM than ever before—but there is still so much to learn. 

"We need telehealth the way we had it for COVID," Cathie Biga told Cardiovascular Business at TCT 2025. "We don't want to go back to having it so restricted."

The shunt device being reviewed showed a 52% reduction in hospitalizations and favorable trends in mortality in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. 

Medicare claims submitted between 2017 and 2022 showed a 712% increase in thrombectomy for pulmonary embolism (PE) and a 137% increase in thrombectomy for deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains one of the leading causes of cardiovascular death in the United States. TriStar Health, part of HCA Healthcare, has made PE a priority by bringing together a multidisciplinary team and adopting AI-enabled workflows to support timely diagnosis and treatment. This approach is designed to drive consistent, high-quality care – whether patients are seen at a large hospital or a community ER.

The new patch is implanted through a tiny incision and held in place with a biocompatible adhesive. It then helps the heart recover over time, replacing dead tissue that would typically never be able to regenerate. 

Dexcom recalled its G6 smartphone app after a software error was causing it to stop working with no warning. This is a Class I recall, which means failing to follow the company's instructions could result in a serious adverse event.