Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) continued to hold its own against surgery in low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, based on two-year results presented May 19 at EuroPCR in Paris.

AstraZeneca today announced a collaboration with the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) in Quebec, Canada, to search the genomes of up to 80,000 patients for genes associated with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, their complications and treatment outcomes. This is one of the largest such screens of its type to date and will drive understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these conditions and their complications. The analysis will also uncover which genetic traits are linked to better treatment outcomes.

After a median follow-up period of 4.5 years, most patients who underwent transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement with the Melody valve had positive hemodynamic and clinical results, according to a prospective study.

By using an online tool to track central venous catheters (CVCs), physicians reduced the use of CVCs by 46 percent at two internal medicine teaching clinics.

Five years after patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), 45.5 percent were still alive, according to an analysis of a United Kingdom registry.

Merck announced that the primary endpoint of noninferiority for the composite cardiovascular endpoint had been met in a study that evaluated sitagliptin, an oral dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor.

A meta-analysis of 24 clinical trials on monoclonal antibody treatments for hypercholesterolemia pointed to significant reductions in death and MIs, a finding that likely will catch the eye of the FDA as it considers approval for these new drugs. The results were published online April 28 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

For patients undergoing mitral valve (MV) repair, concomitant tricuspid annuloplasty was safe and effective and minimized the risk of tricuspid regurgitation, according to a retrospective analysis.