The prices of implantable medical devices to treat heart patients are up to six times higher in the United States than Germany, according to a study published Oct. 1 in Health Affairs.

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2018 — Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) today announced positive data from a planned interim analysis of the ongoing open-label extension of the Phase 2 trial of its investigational drug candidate ralinepag, a next-generation, oral, selective and potent prostacyclin receptor agonist in development for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

GE Healthcare still plans to separate into an independent company after General Electric named a new chairman and CEO, according to a report by CNBC.

Same-day discharge following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was safe and resulted in more than $5,000 in savings per procedure, according to an analysis of operations performed from 2006 through 2015. Yet only 9.1 percent of interventions that were studied achieved same-day discharge, representing an opportunity to trim healthcare costs in the United States.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and a history of lower extremity revascularization (LER) face an increased risk of both cardiac and limb ischemic events and subsequent revascularization, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Oct. 2.

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2018 — Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in patient-focused innovations for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring, announced at a 60th anniversary educational event that the Every Heartbeat Matters initiative has exceeded the goal to impact the global burden of heart valve disease by supporting the education, screening and treatment of one million underserved people by 2020.

A Russian study that analyzed the process of blood coagulation in humans at different life stages has found hemostasis in newborn babies is particularly delicate—something that, paired with other common risks, can boost an infant’s risk of thrombosis early in life.

Metabolic parameters like body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels are established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. But a new study suggests it’s not just abnormal measures of these components that portend risk—significant fluctuations in these areas are independently linked to all-cause mortality, heart attack and stroke among otherwise healthy people.

An increased intake of vitamin B, paired with routine ACE inhibitor therapy, could help protect kidney function in kids and teens with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a study presented at the 57th annual European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Athens, Greece.

Abbott has received a CE mark for its High Sensitive Troponin-I test—a diagnostic test designed to predict heart disease even in patients without cardiac symptoms—the company announced this week.