Cardiac Surgery

Cardiothoracic surgery includes coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), heart valve repair or replacement, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement, heart transplant, assisting in minimally invasive transcatheter valve structural heart procedures such as TAVR, left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion, septal myectomy, surgical ablation for arrhythmias, and reconstruction of the heart in congenial heart disease cases. 

RSS icon
The Vanderbilt Transplant Center, part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has set a world record by performing 174 adult and pediatric heart transplants in a single year.

‘A team effort’: VUMC sets world record for heart transplants in a single year

The center's 2024 total of 174 heart transplants represents an increase of 36% compared to 2023, and 10 of the patients receiving a new heart were young children. 

Thumbnail

Robotic mitral repair compares favorably to surgery—but some concerns remain

Robotic-assisted mitral valve repair is associated with short-term outcomes comparable to conventional surgery, according to a new analysis of more than 40,000 patients. Robotic treatment also helps patients spend less time in the hospital, but the costs are much higher.

FDA has now cleared more than 1,000 AI models, including many in cardiology

Cardiology is the medical speciality with the second most FDA clearances overall. 

doctor patient elderly check up hospital

Surgery outperforms PCI in NSTEMI patients with multivessel CAD

CABG was associated with a 41% lower risk of long-term mortality than PCI in a new study of more than 57,000 patients. The full analysis was published in European Heart Journal.

Semaglutide linked to ‘significant and consistent’ benefits for heart bypass surgery patients

The popular GLP-1 receptor agonist appears to help limit adverse events and new-onset diabetes in patients with a history of CABG. Researchers shared the full study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

From left to right: Sunita Ferns, MD; Mark Plunkett, MD; Harma Turbendian, MD. Images courtesy of OSF Healthcare.

History made: Young child treated with new heart device for very first time

A care team in Illinois has performed the first heart procedure of its kind on a two-year-old patient diagnosed with Brugada syndrome. 

Heart cardiologists doctors surgery

SAVR outperforms TAVR in patients with bicuspid aortic valves

BAV patients are often excluded from TAVR trials, creating uncertainty about the best way to treat that population when aortic valve replacement is required. To learn more, researchers tracked CMS data from 2018 to 2022, presenting their findings in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Surgeons in Houston have performed the world’s first successful human implant of BiVACOR’s Total Artificial Heart (TAH) technology. The procedure was completed July 9, 2024, at The Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. It was part of an early feasibility study (EFS) first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in December 2023.

‘Incredibly rewarding’: FDA expands total artificial heart study after early success

An additional 15 patients will now receive BiVacor's titanium total artificial heart technology as they wait for a permanent transplant.

Displaying 1 - 8 of 293

Around the web

Radiology Business
Key takeaways from RSNA 2024 for AI, CT, MRI and the radiology staffing shortage

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Health Imaging
Use of AI opportunistic screening in CT for cardiovascular disease

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