At EuroPCR in Paris, investigators of the controversial ORBITA trial presented two previously unreported benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the study population.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR) was associated with a 54 percent reduction in the composite endpoint of death, myocardial infarction and urgent revascularization when compared to medical therapy alone, according to five-year data from the FAME 2 trial.

Edwards Lifesciences has received CE mark approval for its Cardioband Tricuspid Valve Reconstruction System, making it the first commercially available transcatheter therapy to treat tricuspid valve heart disease.

DUBLIN — April 9, 2018 — Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to begin an investigational device exemption (IDE) pivotal trial to evaluate the Symplicity Spyral(TM) renal denervation system in patients with high blood pressure (hypertension).

Patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) actually fare better when some of the top minds in interventional cardiology are away at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting, suggests a study published March 9 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

By targeting inefficiencies, a quality improvement program led to gains of approximately five or more hours per day in cath lab time. The approach could work as a model for other practices.

Could the ORBITA trial’s enduring value be in prompting the cardiology community to rethink how it diagnoses, treats and even defines angina?

A team of healthcare professionals from the Cleveland Clinic detailed in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions how they improved efficiency in their cardiac catheterization lab, providing a potential blueprint for other practices.