The proportion of women who have cardiac arrest while in the hospital to give birth is much higher than previously believed, based on an analysis of 13 years of data published in the April issue of Anesthesiology. The research found that 1 in 12,000 pregnant women hospitalized for delivery experience cardiac arrest. Most women survive, and survival is increasing over time. 

The federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) ruled that an Illinois cardiologist engaged in misconduct by bullying fellows and asking attending physicians to falsify information in research records.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announces CE Mark approval and European market launch of the INGEVITY™ family of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible pacing leads. Pacing leads are insulated wires that connect an implantable pacemaker to the heart for treatment of bradycardia, a condition in which the heart beats too slowly.  Pacemakers work in conjunction with leads to sense and stimulate (or pace) the heart.

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical devices, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expansion of BIOTRONIK's ongoing ProMRI® trial. The new phase of the trial (Phase C) will study the company's ProMRI® technology in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices. BIOTRONIK is the only company in the world with an ICD that is approved for investigational use in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner. The ongoing ProMRI® study is the first step in making this standalone technology available in the United States.

Physicians may want to consider prescribing antibiotics other than azithromycin and levofloxacin to older patients, based on the findings of a study published in the March/April issue of Annals of Family Medicine. Researchers found that both antibiotics increase the risk of mortality and arrhythmia during different time frames.

A newer generation cryoballoon allowed for shorter ablation procedures with a high success rate in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation compared with the first-generation device but it also had a higher rate of phrenic nerve palsy, a serious complication, in a study published in the March issue of HeartRhythm.

Four patients who received the HeartMate II left ventricular assist system pocket system controller have died and five more patients have either lost consciousness or experienced other problems, Thoratec announced in a safety advisory.

Compared with non-users, Swedish patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and atrial fibrillation who received warfarin therapy were less likely to die, have an MI or stroke at no added risk of bleeding in an observational study published March 5 in JAMA.