Cardiac Imaging

While cardiac ultrasound is the widely used imaging modality for heart assessments, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging are also used and are often complimentary, each offering specific details about the heart other modalities cannot. For this reason the clinical question being asked often determines the imaging test that will be used.

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New expert guidelines highlight the importance of quickly diagnosing and treating CIED infections

Though removal of the affected CIED is typically the smartest treatment option—and one supported by specialty groups all over the world—a majority of patients keep living with the device, often resulting in hospitalization or even death.

Affera Inc Medtronic $925 million catheter ablation atrial fibrillation (AFib)

Medtronic completes acquisition of heart rhythm tech company in a deal reportedly worth $925M

Affera’s portfolio includes interventional solutions such as the Affera Prism-1 mapping and navigation platform, designed to help electrophysiologists diagnose heart rhythm issues, and the Sphere-9 cardiac ablation catheter. 

The Medtronic CoreValve Evolut and the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien 3 TAVR valves.

TAVR's success has changed how cardiologists and surgeons view aortic valve replacement

The standard-of-care thinking on TAVR has shifted from getting a valve implanted and managing immediate complications to looking decades down the road and considering the patient's long-term health. 

Christine Albert, MD, MPH, cardiology chair for the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Rethinking arrhythmias: Women may face a higher AFib risk than men

New research, published in JAMA Cardiology, challenges the common belief that AFib is more likely to develop among men than women. The key problem, it seems, is that prior research teams did not understand the significance of certain risk factors.

CCTA a helpful tool for interventional cardiologists planning coronary procedures

A new consensus statement from the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography emphasized the increasing importance of CCTA among interventional cardiologists. It is no longer seen as “a mere diagnostic tool," the group observed. 

Medtronic EV ICD clinical trial safety endpoints ESC Congress 2022

Medtronic’s first-of-its-kind ICD meets safety endpoints in global clinical trial

The promising results were presented at ESC Congress 2022 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Medtronic's new-look device is not yet approved for sale or distribution. 

ESC Congress 2022 European Society of Cardiology

6 key sessions from ESC Congress 2022: TAVR mortality, AI vs. sonographers, radial vs. femoral access and more

ESC Congress 2022, the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, was jam-packed with eye-opening new research from many of the leading voices in cardiovascular and vascular medicine. These six sessions were just some of the weekend's many highlights. 

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Very low doses of edoxaban are safe and effective for frail, elderly AFib patients

Elderly patients are often not eligible for oral anticoagulant therapy due to the risk of bleeding events or other adverse outcomes. A very low dose of edoxaban, however, appears to be a safe treatment option, even for especially frail patients.

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.