Health and population trends could increase demand for cardiothoracic surgeons in the U.S. far greater than the diminishing supply and, therefore, delay care, according to a report published July 27 in Circulation.

Email, search engines, smart phones and other new technologies that can disseminate new medical information quickly led to an almost immediate change in clinical practice for drug-eluting stents (DES), according to a large study published online July 28 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

The FDA's Circulatory System Devices Panel has unanimously voted (12-0) to recommend approval with conditions of Medtronic's new medical device that addresses the effects of a dysfunctional pulmonary valve without opening the chest for surgery.

Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo's new blood thinner Effient (prasugrel) will cost about 18 percent more than the current gold-standard Plavix (clopidogrel), according to a report in Dow Jones Newswires.

Endoscopic vein-graft harvesting is independently associated with vein-graft failure and adverse clinical outcomes after CABG, according to a study in the July 16 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Interventional device developer AngioDynamics reported robust results in revenue and income for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter, which ended on May 31.

Ikaria Holdings of Clinton, N.J., has agreed to pay $285 million to obtain a global exclusive license to BioLineRx's BL-1040, a treatment for preventing pathological cardiac remodeling following acute MI.

Abbott posted its financial results for the second quarter, which ended June 30, showing a 2.6 percent decrease in net earnings--to $1.29 billion from $1.32 billion in the same period last year.