Press Releases

Regenerative medicine experts at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have opened a new clinic to evaluate heart and vascular disease patients for participation in stem cell medical studies.

Providing hospitals with resources and support to develop and improve patient care programs, AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management announces the seventh year of its Putting Patients First Program. Putting Patients First grants enable healthcare facilities to fund programs, training or seminars aimed at improving patient care and safety and customizing treatment in CT, MR, Ultrasound, X-ray and Vascular imaging. The grants are funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

InspireMD, Inc., a leader in embolic protection systems, today announced that Professor Joachim Schofer, MD, at the Hamburg University Cardiovascular Center, will present the results of the CARENET (CARotid Embolic protection using microNET) trial at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday September 16, 2014.

The American College of Cardiology announced today that Rebecca Kelly has been named vice president for the Division of Advocacy. Kelly has held the position on an interim basis for several months.

Muscle physiologist Edward Debold at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's School of Public Health and Health Sciences recently received a three-year, $198,000 grant from the American Heart Association to support studies to uncover the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle fatigue.

Lombard Medical, Inc., a medical device company focused on Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), today announced that its lead product, Aorfix, an endovascular stent graft to treat AAA, has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Commercial sales will follow reimbursement approval, which the Company anticipates receiving in September. Aorfix will be exclusively distributed by Medico's Hirata Inc., one of Japan’s leading suppliers of vascular products with proven expertise in building significant market share for AAA stent grafts. Japan is the world’s second largest, standalone EVAR market.

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a New Technology Add-on Payment (NTAP) for the CardioMEMS HF System. The CardioMEMS HF System is the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved heart failure (HF) monitoring device that has been proven to significantly reduce hospital admissions when used by physicians to manage heart failure. The NTAP program, which recognizes new technologies that provide substantial clinical improvement over already available therapies, is designed to support timely access to innovative technologies for Medicare beneficiaries.

Kaiser Permanente and Johns Hopkins Medicine today announced plans to strengthen the successful collaboration between the two health care organizations. With the new agreement, Kaiser Permanente and Johns Hopkins Medicine will expand ways to deliver quality care by sharing evidence-based best practices, advancing population health programs, collaborating on education and research endeavors, and exploring how the organizations can work together to create better health care models for consumers and their communities.

Northwestern Medicine is pleased to welcome James D. Thomas, MD, the new director of the Center for Heart Valve Disease at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

Torrance Memorial Medical Center and USC's Keck School of Medicine have announced an affiliation to expand heart surgery services at the medical center in Torrance.

MidMichigan Health has recently implemented a new structure of Service Lines for Cardiovascular, Oncology and Musculoskeletal Services throughout MidMichigan. Three Service Line directors have been named to lead these services. They are Sunita Vadakath, M.D., F.R.C.A., M.P.A., Cardiovascular Services; Joan Herbert, Pharm.D., Oncology Services; and Ann Dull, P.T., M.B.A., D.P.T., Musculoskeletal Services.

Robert C. Hendel, M.D., professor of medicine and radiology, has been named interim Chief of the Cardiovascular Division at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Before this appointment, he was the Associate Chief of Clinical Cardiology, Director of the Cardiac Care Unit and Director of Cardiac Imaging at the Miller School.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced that the European Commission has approved Eliquis for the treatment of DVT and PE, and the prevention of recurrent DVT and PE in adults. The European Commission approval applies to all European Union (EU) member states as well as Iceland and Norway. Eliquis is also approved in the EU for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in adults who have undergone elective total hip or knee replacement surgery, and for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) with one or more risk factors.

The Detroit Medical Center will open its new Heart Hospital on August 4. The $78 million, state-of-the-art facility will offer patients comprehensive cardiovascular care, including a wide range of the latest minimally invasive treatment options and preventive services. The heart hospital expands DMC's role as a leading provider of cardiovascular care in the region and furthers its commitment to the people of Detroit, where heart disease is the leading cause of death.  

Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the positive results of a clinical trial demonstrating that CXL-1427, a novel potential treatment for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), was well tolerated in healthy volunteers. The company has now initiated dosing of hospitalized patients with decompensated heart failure in a Phase IIa clinical trial designed to further evaluate the drug’s safety and tolerability as well as its dosing levels.

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark approval and first use of the FlexAbility Ablation Catheter, a novel ablation technology used by electrophysiologists for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Designed with feedback from physician thought-leaders around the world, the FlexAbility catheter combines a unique, irrigated flexible catheter tip with a state-of-the-art handle and catheter design. The next-generation flexible tip technology was designed to reduce complications associated with ablation procedures through its ability to bend and conform to the cardiac anatomy, decreasing the amount of pressure distributed to a patient’s heart wall while simultaneously increasing the stability of therapy delivery.

Medtronic and Lifetech Scientific Corporation today announced an expansion of their strategic alliance to include jointly produced Lifetech pacemakers manufactured in and for China.

Boston Scientific Corporation has initiated full commercial launch of the new POLARIS Imaging System.  This system will support the Boston Scientific family of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheters, including coronary, peripheral and intra-cardiac echo products.  The POLARIS System offers enhanced ease-of-use and more powerful processing capabilities.  Its modular design would also support the planned release of new Boston Scientific imaging products including a fractional flow reserve (FFR) wire, a new family of IVUS catheters, enhanced software features and better system control tools.

Continuing to advance the development of innovative treatment options for coronary artery disease, Boston Scientific Corporation  has received CE Mark and begun the European market launch of the Agent Paclitaxel-Coated PTCA Balloon Catheter.  The Agent Drug-Coated Balloon (DCB) provides physicians with an additional alternative to treat both in-stent restenosis (ISR) and de novo small vessel coronary disease.

LSE Health and the European Heart Academy (EHA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are pleased to announce the launch of a new, executive-style MSc aimed at professionals working in the field of cardiovascular sciences.

Dr. Henry H. Ting, a nationally recognized leader and innovator in health care quality, has been appointed senior vice president and chief quality officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, effective July 21, 2014. In his new role, he will oversee the hospital's clinical quality and patient safety initiatives.