Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

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FDA clears way for ped screening with new pulse oximeter indication

Medtronic nets CE Mark for oxygenation system for open heart surgeries

Medtronic has received CE Mark for its new Affinity Fusion oxygenation system in Europe, which is designed to serve as a patient’s lungs by oxygenating and removing carbon dioxide from blood during various open heart surgical procedures.​

Long-term CV outcomes prove strong after gastric bypass

Six years after undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, severely obese patients sustained significant weight loss and showed increased rates of diabetes remission and decreased cardiovascular risk factors when compared with severely obese patients who did not undergo weight loss surgery, according to the results of a study published Sept. 17 of the Journal of the American Medical Association.​​​

Cardiology societies align to push CVD risk reduction efforts

The global cardiovascular professional associations issued a joint call to action to implement steps to reduce preventable death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) globally on Sept. 17. Representatives of the World Heart Federation, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology (ACC), European Heart Network and European Society of Cardiology jointly authored the call to action, which appeared simultaneously in several journals, including Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.​

10 Ways to Strengthen Insourcing of Med-Device Services (Part 2 of 2)

Here are five more things hospitals healthcare technology managers can do to avoid elimination by outsourcingand to increase their departments chances for long-term survival regardless of what changes the reform age brings to healthcare economics. (Click here for the first five.)

10 ways for hospitals to strengthen insourcing of med-device services (Part 1 of 2)

They came to help set up the smart pumps and stayed for the chance to make connections, scout out inefficiencies and, eventually, take over the entire clinical engineering program. They succeeded on all four scores. Jobs vanished. Friendships faded.

Crestor tops list for risk of muscle-related side effects

Rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) had a higher risk rate for muscle-related side effects than five other leading statins in an analysis of seven years of FDA adverse case reports. Higher potency agents were associated with elevated relative risk of adverse events, according to researchers, who recommended that physicians consider potency when prescribing statins to manage cholesterol.

JACC: Women are less likely to die from TAVR

Females have better short- and long-term survival after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), based on real-world data from two high-volume Canadian facilities. The study was published Sept. 4 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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