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. 

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TAVR comparable to surgery for patients with rheumatic aortic stenosis

The new analysis, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, included findings from more than 1,000 Medicare patients with rheumatic aortic stenosis.

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TAVR outperforms surgery for low-risk patients after 2 years—but the gap may be shrinking

After two years, TAVR was still linked to a reduction in the study’s primary endpoint, but it was also associated with a greater risk of valve thrombosis.

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Edwards shares ‘encouraging’ 5-year data on RESILIA tissue aortic valve

According to new data from the ongoing COMMENCE clinical trial, patients showed no signs of structural valve deterioration after five years.

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Cardiac surgery outcomes in UK improve when patients pay for procedure, skip government-funded option

Researchers noted that these patients received care in the same hospitals and were treated by the same physicians. So why the difference in outcomes? 

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TAVR stands tall as ‘the dominant form of aortic valve replacement,’ specialty groups declare

Specialists from the American College of Cardiology and Society of Thoracic Surgeons explored data from more than 276,000 patients who have undergone a TAVR procedure in the last nine years. 

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Shear wave imaging ‘extremely promising’ for assessment of myocardial stiffness in heart transplant recipients

The noninvasive technique shows potential where cardiac magnetic resonance imaging falls short.

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Heart transplants provide value for patients with AL, ATTR cardiac amyloidosis

With the disease becoming more and more common in the United States, researchers have been hard at work determining the best possible treatment options.

Cardiothoracic surgeons satisfied with their careers, but risk of burnout remains

Heart and lung surgeons are as satisfied with their jobs as ever, according to new survey results published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Around the web

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.

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