Medtronic, Inc. today revealed the results of a new study which found that atrial fibrillation (AF) and bradycardia-two common heart rhythm disorders-occurred at higher than expected, and clinically significant, rates in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology collection continues to grow with the launch of JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, which will feature original research and review articles regarding cardiac rhythm disorders. David J. Wilber, MD, FACC, will serve as Editor-in-Chief of the new journal, which will begin publishing in March 2015 on a bimonthly basis.

Physicians try to balance the tradeoff between bleeding and stroke risks when prescribing anticoagulants to patients with atrial fibrillation. But from the patient’s perspective, it seems new trumps old and death by bleeding is the worst, according to one study.

Robotic catheter ablation required less fluoroscopy time and appeared to reduce operator fatigue compared with manual procedures in a randomized trial. But a comparable success rate and technical problems may make uptake a rough slog.

Cardiac mortality risks fell at the one-year mark for patients who underwent primary PCI following acute STEMI. A study published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that while 30-day risks for cardiac death were elevated, the longer a patient survived, the more risk moved away from cardiac toward noncardiac death.

Medtronic today announced Japanese regulatory approval and launch of the Evera MRI(TM) SureScan® implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) System for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans positioned on any region of the body. Reimbursement also was approved by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). The Medtronic Evera MRI ICD is currently limited to investigational use in the United States.

The device maker Biotronik agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the company’s cardiac rhythm business committed fraud by “improperly inducing” cardiologists and electrophysiologists to implant its devices in patients.

Risks for silent cerebral infarctions were two times greater in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to a meta-analysis published Nov. 4 in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers noted that this increased risk remained regardless of whether the atrial fibrillation was paroxysmal or persistent.