CNN reported that the blockage in former President George W. Bush’s coronary artery was “in the ballpark of 95 percent.” He underwent PCI in August, which at the time was criticized as possibly a case of overuse of stenting.

The Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary has made a $500,000 donation to benefit cardiovascular services at Greenwich Hospital. The generous gift was made during the Auxiliary’s 63rd annual meeting on Sept. 30.

No other health concern affects more people in Hunterdon County than cardiovascular disease.  It is the County’s leading cause of death and its incidence is on the rise due, in part, to the growing number of area residents between the age of 45 and 64 – a time in life in which the onset of cardiovascular disease is most likely to occur.  Hunterdon Medical Center has begun construction on its new Cardiovascular Center. The expansion will centralize all acute care cardiovascular services.

Methodist Mansfield Medical Center has received Cycle IV Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

Based on what they describe as a review of several studies and interviews with 37 cardiologists, 33 patients or their survivors, three Bloomberg reporters explored overuse of stenting, particularly in elective procedures. The report covers several investigations and describes cases that culminated in patient deaths. It also includes a map of “coronary stent hot spots.”

Micell Technologies, Inc. today announced that a peer reviewed article discussing imaging and clinical results of the DESSOLVE I trial of its MiStent Sirolimus Eluting Absorbable Polymer Coronary Stent System (MiStent SES®) was accepted for publication on the JACC Cardiovascular Interventions website. The paper, "First-in-Human Evaluation of a Bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stent: Imaging and Clinical Results of the DESSOLVE I Trial (DES With Sirolimus and a Bioabsorbable Polymer for the Treatment of Patients With De Novo Lesion in the Native Coronary Arteries)", is planned to also appear in the October 2013 issue of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions.

The Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) unveiled its lineup of clinical trials to be presented at its 2013 scientific sessions. The conference, TCT’s 25th, is scheduled to take place Oct. 28-Nov. 1 in San Francisco.

Marc Cribbs, M.D., has joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Cardiovascular Disease as director of the new Alabama Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program.