In a randomized clinical trial, biolumis-eluting stents emerged the victor over bare-metal stents (BMS) for treating patients with ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) undergoing PCI, according to results published Aug. 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The findings should put cardiologists more at ease about using new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES), the writers of an accompanying editorial proposed.

By implementing a combination of practice and x-ray system changes, cardiologists reduced the radiation dose administered to patients undergoing invasive cardiovascular procedures by 40 percent over a three-year period, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Major vascular complications were frequent after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery, based on an analysis of first-generation devices used in the PARTNER trial. But in the lower-risk population, the incidence and impact on one-year mortality appeared to decrease, according to results published online Aug. 8 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Physician assistants work safely and efficiently as assistant surgeons during cardiac surgery, according to a small, single-site retrospective study. In an accompanying commentary, a cardiothoracic surgeon describes cardiovascular physician assistants as our invaluable surgical partners in every sense of the word who are not adequately recognized by hospitals and payers.

A hospital in New Hampshire whose patients may have been exposed to hepatitis C has revised processes for securing syringes in its cardiac cath lab after an investigation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the states Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found the facility failed to meet standards. The HHS reported Aug. 9 that an additional patient who received care in the cath lab tested positive for hepatitis C, bringing the total to at least 31.

Cardiac and thoracic surgeons topped the 2011 list for pay for surgical specialists in the American Medical Group Association 2012 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey, while cath lab cardiologists ranked first for medical specialists. But in a continuing trend, the percent increase from 2010 to 2011 for cardiac and thoracic surgeons fell short of surgical specialists as a whole.

Infections complicating the course of patients with STEMI are uncommon but associated with markedly worse 90-day clinical outcomes; thus, the APEX-AMI substudy authors suggested that mechanisms for early identification of these high-risk patients as well as design of strategies to reduce their risk of infection are warranted.

The hospital network HCA has evidence spanning 2002 to 2010 that some cardiologists in its Florida facilities could not justify decisions to perform procedures such as angioplasty and PCI, according to the New York Times. In an Aug. 6 investor conference call, company officials confirmed that they received a request from the U.S. Attorneys Office for information on any reviews that assessed the necessity of cardiology services its facilities.