A Brazilian soccer fan died after experiencing an MI at the close of a dramatic World Cup match between Brazil and Chile that allowed Brazil to advance to the quarter finals.

Radiation exposure to the operator was nearly half when performing PCI by a left radial approach rather than right, according to a study published online June 18 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions. 

While fractional flow reserve (FFR) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) may reduce the need for repeat revascularization, they apparently don’t make a dent in long-term mortality compared with angiography-guided PCI. But FFR may help reduce stent use, according to results published online June 23 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The latest study to examine the preoperative use of beta-blockers in CABG found no mortality benefit combined with an uptick in postoperative atrial fibrillation. Still, it probably is not time to take an eraser to related quality metrics or guidelines. 

With penalties for higher-than-expected 30-day readmissions for CABG on the horizon, concerns about how hospitals will be measured have been growing. A method that linked clinical data to administrative data may provide an answer.

Moving toward U.S. market introduction of its novel medical device to treat peripheral artery disease, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that it recently submitted the final module of its pre-market approval (PMA) application for the IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The application includes data that demonstrates superior clinical outcomes compared with conventional angioplasty, with the lowest rates of repeat procedures (target lesion revascularization) and the highest rate of uninterrupted blood flow (primary patency) at 12 months ever reported for the interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease.

Hospitals that readily embraced transradial PCI over a three-year period were more likely to see reduced bleeding rates, an analysis of CathPCI data showed. But even facilities that had modest increases in radial PCI use achieved lower access site and overall bleeding rates.

Patients who underwent off-pump CABG surgery were less likely than on-pump patients to experience postoperative acute kidney injury, based on an analysis of CORONARY data published in the June 4 issue of JAMA. But kidney function remained similar between the groups at one year.