A new study of young heart attack sufferers revealed a sobering, albeit unsurprising, finding: More than 90 percent had at least one modifiable risk factor. What’s equally concerning, according to the authors, is the prevalence of most of these risk factors increased over the decade-long study.

UnitedHealthcare partnered with Medtronic Feb. 1 to make the device company’s MiniMed 670G insulin pump system its preferred pump for diabetics aged 7 and up—a move the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) calls “an unacceptable step backward” and says effectively limits patients’ choices to one product.

WASHINGTON (Feb 04, 2019) — The American College of Cardiology Foundation has acquired MedAxiom, a cardiovascular membership, services and consulting firm, adding the company’s recognized leadership in cardiovascular operations, performance improvement, and business acumen to ACC’s world class science, education, registry, quality improvement and advocacy work.

Although octogenarians undergoing transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement (TAVR or SAVR) experienced similar rates of in-hospital mortality and vascular complications, a recent analysis from the National Inpatient Sample concluded patients who received the less-invasive procedure had shorter hospital stays and fared better for a range of other outcomes.

Optimizing hemodynamics for heart failure (HF) patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) significantly reduces the rate of those patients’ hospital readmissions, according to a study published Feb. 1 in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Nearly a quarter of physicians who develop, draft and author clinical guidelines could have potentially relevant undisclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, a team of Australian researchers reported Feb. 5 in BMJ Open.

ProvideGx, a subsidiary of Premier, will begin its offerings with metoprolol, a beta-blocker that can treat blood pressure and angina and is commonly given to heart attack patients.

Biologic treatment favorably modifies coronary plaque characteristics for patients with severe psoriasis, suggests a study published Feb. 5 in Cardiovascular Research. The findings raise the possibility that the anti-inflammatory drugs can both treat psoriasis and reduce cardiovascular risk.

The lifetime cumulative risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is much higher in black patients than in whites, according to an analysis of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study published in Circulation Feb. 4.

Spending growth per Medicare beneficiary has slowed considerably since 2005, and 56 percent of that decline can be linked to reduced spending on cardiovascular disease and related risk factors, researchers reported Feb. 4 in Health Affairs.