Patient files lawsuit over recall | Heart teams playing a major role | Abbott TAVR valve impresses | Preventing heart failure

The FDA finalized four Class I recalls related to safety concerns first reported by Abbott in November. Meanwhile, a Florida man who uses these sensors to manage his diabetes has already filed a lawsuit over the issue.

Sunil Rao, MD, discusses the heart team approach in the context of deciding what is best for the patient between bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention.

The intra-annular, self-expanding Navitor valve gained FDA approval in 2023 for the treatment of high-risk heart patients with severe aortic stenosis. This analysis explores its early impact on patient care. 

Cardiology has been shifting from reactionary treatment strategies to a greater emphasis on prevention. This is an especially important trend in heart failure, which is associated with high costs and rising hospitalization rates. 

CMS has made it a priority to increase payments for procedures performed by office-based labs and ambulatory surgical centers. This was reflected in policy changes made as part of the 2026 Medicare Physicians Fee Schedule.

This is a cash and stock transaction that values Penumbra at $374 per share. The move helps Boston Scientific expand its vascular and neurovascular portfolios, gaining new treatments for pulmonary embolism, stroke, deep vein thrombosis and many other critical cardiovascular conditions. 

TAVR has already transformed care for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Will it make a similar impact on the treatment of aortic regurgitation?

“Coronary calcium revealed long ago that atherosclerosis begins well before symptoms. AI-CVD extends that insight by enabling systematic identification of patients who are unaware of their cardiovascular risk using CT scans that already exist,” said Arthur Agatston, MD.

Cytokinetics has secured FDA approval for aficamten, its new drug for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM. Aficamten will be sold under the brand name Myqorzo. 

PAD in patients with diabetes is common and associated with an increased risk of several adverse events. A new guidance from the American College of Cardiology reviewed this topic at length, identifying areas where care needs to improve.

The Volt Pulsed Field Ablation System from Abbott has been approved by the FDA. The technology, which gained CE mark approval in March, features a one-of-a-kind catheter design and allows patients to be treated under conscious sedation.

The California-based health system faced multiple accusations of upcoding diagnoses to receive additional risk-adjusted payments from the Medicare Advantage program. Its payer plan and providers were implicated in what the DOJ described as systemic fraud. Kaiser Permanente denies any wrongdoing.

Boston Medical Center has sought to have patients self-identify for lung cancer screening, administering multilingual surveys while they wait for imaging appointments.