Press Releases

Neil J. Stone, MD, a Northwestern Medicine cardiologist for more than four decades, was named the American Heart Association's 2014 Physician of the Year, the organization's honor given annually to a physician who has rendered "outstanding accomplishments."

EKOS Corporation, a BTG International group company, today announces the start of patient enrollment for the ACCelerated ThrombolySiS for Post-Thrombotic Syndrome using the EKOS System (ACCESS PTS) Study.

Moving toward U.S. market introduction of its novel medical device to treat peripheral artery disease, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that it recently submitted the final module of its pre-market approval (PMA) application for the IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The application includes data that demonstrates superior clinical outcomes compared with conventional angioplasty, with the lowest rates of repeat procedures (target lesion revascularization) and the highest rate of uninterrupted blood flow (primary patency) at 12 months ever reported for the interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease.

Privately-held ReliantHeart, a leading innovator in mechanical circulatory support therapies, today announced the first advanced stage heart failure patient received its next generation HeartAssist5 Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) since the company earned CE Mark approval for design enhancements just weeks ago.  Cardiologists at the Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin (DHZB - German Heart Institute) in Germany performed the life-saving procedure.

Boehringer Ingelheim today announces that Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment and prevention of recurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pradaxa for DVT and PE patients earlier this year. DVT and PE can be very dangerous; almost one in three PE patients dies within three months and four out of 10 patients suffer a repeat blood clot within 10 years of the first.

To demonstrate the ease of performing advanced pediatric procedures, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.’s Infinix-i bi-plane cardiovascular X-ray system will be used during a live pediatric case at the Pediatric and Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS-AICS), June 7–10, 2014, in Chicago.

Cook Medical launched its Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent in Canada at the Canadian Interventional Radiology Association (CIRA) meeting in Montreal, Canada. It’s the first drug-coated stent in Canada indicated to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA).

A presentation by principal investigator Eric J. Dippel, MD, of Genesis Heart Institute in Davenport, Iowa, at the annual New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) conference in New Orleans last week demonstrated significant procedural advantage of laser atherectomy in the largest randomized trial of atherectomy ever conducted.

LUMEDX Corporation, a leading provider of cloud-based cardiovascular imaging and information systems (CVIS), and Scientific Software Solutions, Inc., (SSS), maker of PedCathcongenital catheterization (cath) reporting software, announced today that they are partnering to create an innovative solution for congenital cardiac data and image management.

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark and commercial launch of the Advisa and Ensura SR MRI(tm) SureScan single chamber pacemaker devices in Europe. Both pacemakers are approved for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans positioned on any region of the body. These devices are not approved in the United States.

eCardio Diagnostics, LLC (eCardio), a leader in remote cardiac arrhythmia monitoring services in the United States, and Shandong Yocaly Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Yocaly), a remote, real-time medical cardiac monitoring solution provider headquartered in Jinan, China, have recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement focused on furthering the advancement of remote cardiac monitoring products and services in the United States, China and beyond.

The Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) is proud to announce the participation of every ACE Board Member at the 2014 Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) Scientific Sessions in Las Vegas, NV, May 28-31, 2014. First, Charles E. Chambers, MD, FSCAI, President-Elect of SCAI and ACE Board Member, will kick-off SCAI's inaugural Cath Lab Leadership Boot Camp, a unique two-day educational event designed to address the needs of cath lab managers and directors and those who aspire to those roles.

Innovative treatments for heart failure are lacking, leaving the nearly six million Americans who suffer from the condition with little hope for a cure. But thanks to an $11.5-million Program Project Grant (PPG) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), scientists at Temple University School of Medicine are now set to further their investigation of key molecular mechanisms in heart failure, an effort that is expected to lead to the development of new heart therapies.

Covidien today announced nine-month data from the VISIBILITY Iliac study, which confirms the safety and effectiveness of the treatment of lesions of the common and external iliac arteries with the Visi-Pro(tm) balloon-expandable stent system. Results were presented by co-National Principal Investigator John Rundback, MD, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, N.J., during an oral presentation this week at EuroPCR Scientific Congress in Paris.

Tufts University announced today that Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., has been named dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R.  Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy effective July 1. Mozaffarian joins the Friedman School from Harvard University, where he currently serves as associate professor and co-director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Further validating its advanced transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) technology, the Boston Scientific Corporation Lotus Valve System continued to demonstrate impressive performance at six months, according to new data presented at EuroPCR 2014 in Paris.

Abiomed, Inc., a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today announced it has received approval for implementation of a Continuous Access Protocol (CAP) from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for RECOVER RIGHT, an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study of the Impella(R) RP (Right Peripheral) System.

Medtronic, Inc. today revealed new data showing that patients treated with the CoreValve System experienced positive clinical outcomes in the rigorous "real world" Medtronic CoreValve ADVANCE Study. Presented at EuroPCR 2014, the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) study revealed low rates of mortality and stroke, and showed exceptional valve performance through two years.

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Daiichi Sankyo) today announced they have entered into a three-year comprehensive alliance to develop first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular-metabolic diseases. The collaboration is built on an open-innovation model to bridge the gap between target discovery and pre-clinical drug development.

Continuing its commitment to bringing advanced and clinically relevant interventional technologies to market, Medtronic, Inc. today announced CE (Conformité Européene) mark and launch of the NC Euphora(TM) Noncompliant Balloon Dilatation Catheter. The NC Euphora Balloon Catheter is now available in Europe and other countries outside of the United States that recognize the CE mark. It is not yet available in the United States.

The Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) is proud to announce that Emory University Hospital and Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, GA, are the latest facilities recognized with provisional accreditation by ACE. Both academic hospitals successfully completed the ACE accreditation review and succeeded in demonstrating quality in cardiovascular care.