Despite significant medical advances, there continue to be significant gaps in the health care of the growing number of patients with valvular heart disease. In the USA, the total number of people aged 65 years or older with valvular heart disease will grow to approximately 5.2 million by year 2020, and 6.8 million individuals by the year 2030 1. The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation™ (MHIF) has created a scientific program, "Valve Summit 2014: The Science and Delivery of Optimal, Multi-Disciplinary Care," to address the ongoing, complex evolution in the clinical management of patients with valvular heart disease. The conference will be held on April 25th and 26th at the Radisson Blu in downtown Minneapolis.

Endocarditis continues to cause considerable morbidity and mortality among older Americans, according to a study published Dec. 10 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Although guidelines called for a reduction in the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for endocarditis, the rates of hospitalization and mortality have not increased, but remain high.

The FDA advised consumers and first responders to monitor the readiness of some HeartStart automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which it warned may fail to deliver a shock in an emergency.

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and hypertension were found to be significantly less adherent with their blood pressure medication that hypertensive patients with no PTSD symptoms, based on findings in a research letter published online Dec. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Four cardiovascular societies offered recommendations to help get use of transcatheter therapies for mitral regurgitation off on the right foot in an overview released Nov. 25.

The FDA lifted prescribing and dispensing restrictions on the drug rosiglitazone, saying it did not pose increased cardiac risks compared with other diabetes medications.

AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of Xigduo™ (dapagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride) for adults aged 18 and older with type 2 diabetes mellitus as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycaemic control in patients inadequately controlled on their current metformin-based treatment regimen or who are currently being treated with the combination of dapgliflozin and metformin as separate tablets.

The transition of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) from a procedure performed at an initial 17 clinical trial sites with highly trained physicians to almost 250 facilities in the U.S. appears to be going smoothly, the registry leaders reported in the Nov. 20 issue of JAMA.