Janssen Pharmaceuticals acquired a university spinout company that develops an antithrombin antibody, adding another potential therapy to its portfolio.

The FDA approved a pacemaker system that allows patients with single-chamber pacemakers to undergo full-body cardiac or thoracic MRI scans.

The FDA approved Boston Scientific’s Emblem subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) system, which is expected to be available in the U.S. by the third quarter of this year.

Analyzing the link between obesity and arrhythmia, LEGACY confirmed that among obese patients, weight loss greatly influenced freedom from atrial fibrillation, particularly among those who lost weight and maintained it. However, more than 5 percent fluctuation in weight over one year increased patient risks.

Performing an ablation along with mitral valve surgery is more likely to keep cardiac patients free of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) at one year, according to results unveiled March 16 at the American College of Cardiology scientific session. But it also increased the risk of needing a pacemaker.

Full results from a Phase 3 study examining Portola Pharmaceutical's developmental compound andexanet alfa found it rapidly and significantly reversed the blood thinning (anticoagulant) effects of XARELTO (rivaroxaban). These results, from the first part of the ANNEXA-R (Andexanet Alfa a Novel Antidote to the Anticoagulant Effects of fXa Inhibitors – Rivaroxaban) study, will be presented at the 64th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) on March 16, 2015. Additional findings to be presented at the meeting include new 24-month results from an ongoing, five-year, observational study of people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation taking XARELTO, which showed the rates and patterns of major bleeding in routine clinical practice were generally consistent with those observed in Phase 3 clinical trials used to approve the medicine for this indication.

To test or not to test? It’s a challenging question. With implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) technology now providing more efficacious and frequent shocks, some electrophysiologists have begun to question whether standard threshold testing is necessary for all implantations.

Newly published research led by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) and Tufts Medical Center in Boston shows that implantable defibrillators (ICDs), along with other modern treatments, have reduced mortality rates and are helping patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) live longer, including normal life expectancy. This research “changes our perceptions of HCM from a grim, unrelenting, and largely untreatable condition to a contemporary disease with effective treatment options and a low rate of death,” states Dr. Barry Maron, lead researcher and Director of the HCM Center at MHIF. Dr. Maron will present the results of the study at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference in San Diego, CA on March 14.