Cor Cardiovascular Specialists, Inc., Arrhythmia Specialists, Inc., and Walter Savage, M.D., announced today that they will join John Muir Health’s medical foundation. They become the first cardiology groups and cardiologists to join the foundation. John Muir Health's Physician Network currently provides services to patients through more than 900 independent and foundation-based physicians.

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) today announced FDA approval of its Lead Integrity Alert (LIA) software for use with non-Medtronic leads. Proprietary and exclusive software that resides in Medtronic defibrillators, LIA is now approved to report performance issues on Durata® and Riata® defibrillator leads (St. Jude Medical) and Endotak® (Boston Scientific) defibrillator leads when connected to a Medtronic device.

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical technology, announced the launch of the new Idova 7 series today. Idova 7 ICDs (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) and CRT-Ds (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators) offer ultrahigh-energy therapy without compromising on short charge times (10 sec), smaller size (34 cc), and outstanding longevity of more than eleven years. Designed to stop life-threatening arrhythmias with the very first shock, Idova 7 gives patients valuable peace of mind.

UC Davis Health System researchers have identified for the first time a biological pathway that is activated when blood sugar levels are abnormally high and causes irregular heartbeats, a condition known as cardiac arrhythmia that is linked with heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

A cardiovascular research team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), led by BIDMC Principal Investigator Saumya Das, MD, PhD, has been awarded a $4 million Common Fund grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a newly formed program on Extracellular RNA Communication. The five-year grant will focus on identifying microRNA biomarkers in heart disease.

Cardiologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center are launching a new study in an effort to improve the treatment of a very common form of heart disease in the Asian population.

eCardio Diagnostics, a leader in remote arrhythmia monitoring services, has promoted John H. Untereker to President, effective immediately. He will remain COO.

Boston Scientific Corporation has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for the Rhythmia™ Mapping System, a next-generation 3D mapping and navigation solution for use in cardiac catheter ablations and other electrophysiology (EP) procedures to diagnose or treat a variety of conditions in which the heart beats abnormally.