Antiplatelet therapy in addition to a vitamin K antagonist in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and stable coronary artery disease  may not lower the risk of recurrent coronary events or thromboembolism, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in Circulation. 

A federal judge ruled that five product liability claims against St. Jude Medical over its Riata defibrillator leads can move forward.

About half of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent cryoballoon-based pulmonary vein ablation in the STOP AF trial experienced early recurrences of AF. Within that early recurrence subset, those who chose repeat ablation were more likely to be AF-free at one year.

Using implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) was more effective than not using ICDs at lowering the risk for mortality and SCD, a meta-analysis published online Jan. 21 in Annals of Internal Medicine found. However, evidence from multiple studies was too weak to suggest a mortality or SCD benefit among different subgroups. 

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced that the Medtronic SureScan(r) pacing systems - the first and only pacing systems in the United States that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - are now approved for MRI scans positioned on any region of the body. Patients implanted with the Advisa DR MRI(r) or Revo MRI(r) SureScan pacing systems now can have MRI scans without positioning restrictions, including the chest area, which previously had been restricted.

Modifications in many of the cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) currently used in clinical practice were approved through processes that did not require new clinical data, a study published in the Jan. 22-29 issue of JAMA found.

Antibiotics may increase the risk of excessive anticoagulation among patients with warfarin, according to a study published online Jan. 20 in JAMA Internal Medicine. The absolute risk, however, was low.

What options do physicians and hospitals have when reimbursement rules are out of sync with current clinical guidelines and appropriate use criteria? Cardiologists used implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to illustrate this disconnect in the Jan. 7-14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.