After a long, winding road, the FDA has given its nod of approval to AstraZenecas antiplatelet ticagrelor (Brilinta), indicated to prevent atherothrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The agency had held off of making a decision on the drug with a request for the company to conduct an additional analysis of study data surrounding the drug.

  GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The FDA's Circulatory System Devices Panel, which evaluated the Sapien transcatheter heart valve (Edwards Lifesciences) today at a well-attended regulatory meeting, voted to recommend that the FDA approve the technology. The panelists voted on three items, including: safety, effectiveness and whether the benefits outweigh the risks, on which the respective votes were seven to three, nine to two and nine to zero (with one abstention).

Integrating therapeutic hypothermia (TH) protocols into a regional STEMI network can be an effective rescue therapy for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) that can help improve survival, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In fact, researchers from the Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) found that after integration of the protocol, 56 percent of these patients survived to hospital discharge.

While atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, the pathology of the disease in the acute setting of MI remains unknown. A single-center study published earlier this month in Julys HeartRhythm Journal found that coronary artery disease (CAD) affecting the atrial branches may be an independent predictor for the development of AF.

Previous research has found that PCI did not significantly reduce clinical events in patients with totally occluded infarct-related arteries (IRA) that were identified a minimum of 24 hours after MI. Despite the fact that these results triggered guideline updates to discourage the use of PCI in this patient population, still a large number of practices may not be adhering to these guidelines and continue to use PCI in these patients, according to a study published online July 11 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The Maryland State Board of Physicians has revoked the medical license of interventional cardiologist Mark G. Midei, MD, due to his repeated and serious violations of the Medical Practice Act, including unnecessary stent insertions, and the falsification of patients medical recordsboth of which the board deemed indefensible.

Properly evaluating the benefit of platelet function testing in the PCI patient population has not proved successful, with the negative results of GRAVITAS and the early cessation of TRIGGER-PCI. Thus, three platelet experts have submitted their ideas for the foundation of a new trial design that could properly assess the potential benefits of platelet function testing.

The use of varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) to stop smoking is associated with a 72 percent increased risk of a serious adverse cardiovascular event, according to an article published July 4 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.