Boston Scientific has signed a definitive merger agreement, under which the company will acquire Atritech, a privately held company based in Plymouth, Minn., which developed a device designed to occlude the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk for ischemic stroke.

Kate Berry is stepping into the leadership role at National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) at a time when coalition building is as essential to health IT as interoperability. Berry recently told CMIO of her plans to emphasize the Collaborative in NeHCs name, building on the organizations role in bringing together diverse stakeholders and perhaps expanding its educational offerings, among other things.

BOSTON--Implementing a hybrid approach to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation that forms a relationship with both surgeons and electrophysiologists could help improve outcomes, but reimbursement and workflow issues will remain a constant challenge, said James R. Edgerton, MD, during a presentation at the Boston AF Symposium (BAFS) Jan. 14.

BOSTON--The FDA faces a number of challenges regarding trial design for devices that seek to treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), said Randall Brockman, MD, from the division of cardiovascular devices at the FDA, during a Jan. 13 presentation at the Boston AF Symposium (BAFS).

The FDA is alerting healthcare professionals and patients about cases of rare, but severe liver injury, including two cases of acute liver failure leading to liver transplants in patients treated with the anti-arrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq, Sanofi-Aventis).

BOSTON--Novel anticoagulants--dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban--will begin replacing warfarin treatment for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, with dabigatran being the first; however, understanding how the agents compare with each other must still be determined, Jeffrey Weitz, MD, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said Jan. 14 during a presentation at the Boston AF Symposium (BAFS).

Endosense has announced the first patient enrollment in the TOCCASTAR (TactiCath COntaCt ForCe Ablation catheter STudy for Atrial fibRillation) clinical study to assess its catheter ablation technology for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

Dabigatran is a reasonable alternative to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) requiring cardioversion, according to a new subanalysis of the RE-LY trial published online on Jan. 3 in Circulation.