Medtronic and Lifetech Scientific Corporation today announced an expansion of their strategic alliance to include jointly produced Lifetech pacemakers manufactured in and for China.

A team of researchers reviewing decisions to implant cardiac devices found that older patients with cognitive impairment were more often implanted with pacemakers, according to a study published online July 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

More than half of patients due for replacement of their implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) generator did not realize they could opt out and many underestimated the risks of ICD replacement, according to a research letter published online July 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

We haven’t always spoken the same language in acute MI studies, researchers found when trying evaluate differences and changes to mortality in male and female patients using 46 years of data. The meta-analysis published online July 22 in Circulation found that study differences made comparisons difficult.

Much of the information published this week in BMJ about the oral anticoagulant dabigatran has appeared piecemeal throughout the years. But putting individual events into a narrative paints a more comprehensive picture.

Researchers developed and validated a simple risk model that identifies implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICDs) patients at risk of an inadequate defibrillation safety margin during defibrillation testing. By predicting who is at risk, physicians may be able to avoid related complications and better manage patients.

Jack, Jim and Jose may be doing more than hurting heads; they may be breaking hearts. According to a study published July 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, what people drink is as important as how much and how often they drink in developing atrial fibrillation (AF).

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc.  today announced that the first patient has been enrolled into a Phase IV clinical trial called EMANATE (Eliquis evaluated in acute cardioversion coMpared to usuAl treatmeNts for AnTicoagulation in subjEcts with NVAF) assessing the effectiveness and safety of Eliquis in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) undergoing cardioversion.