The debate within cath labs about the most effective therapy for postprocedural closures might be determined by the fiscal bottom line, in lieu of more clear-cut safety evidence.

Measuring fractional flow reserve (FFR) has been available as a diagnostic tool for over a decade, but many cardiologists are only now starting to realize the full value of the technique.

Cardiovascular Business invited five luminaries in the field of interventional cardiology to engage in a discussion about stents, including the choice to use PCI over CABG, DES versus BMS, a specific stent over contracting and the radial approach versus the femoral approachalways with an eye toward running a better practice.

Medtronic today announced plans to combine its cardiac rhythm disease management, cardiovascular and Physio-Control businesses into one group; and combine its spinal and biologics, neuromodulation, diabetes and surgical technologies businesses. Also, its newly formed cadiovascular division is looking for a new leader.

Abbott has launched its Xience Prime everolimus-eluting coronary stent system for the treatment of coronary artery disease at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress this week in Barcelona, Spain.

In patients who have an acute coronary syndrome with or without ST-segment elevation, treatment with ticagrelor as compared with clopidogrel significantly reduced the rate of death from vascular causes, MI or stroke without an increase in the rate of overall major bleeding, based on the PLATO trial presented Sunday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain. However, researchers found an increase in the rate of nonprocedure-related bleeding.

Use of the anti-clotting drug bivalirudin (Angiomax, The Medcines Company) results in less complications/clinical events in heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty than does use of the conventional treatment of heparin plus a glycoprotein inhibitor at one year of follow up, according to findings of the HORIZON-AMI randomized, controlled trial presented Sunday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Despite many medicines and other treatments for patients with vascular disease, an international study presented Monday at the 2009 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain, shows that these patients have a surprisingly high rate of recurring events such as strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations, as well as mortality.