The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association (ASA) added the use of stent retrieval devices for treating some patients with acute ischemic stroke in updated guidelines published online June 29. The gold standard remains intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for breaking up clots.

Treating patients with peripheral artery disease using drug-coated balloons proved superior to standard balloons for efficacy, at least one year out, in the LEVANT 2 randomized trial. Both approaches provided similar safety profiles.

During the past decade, primary stroke centers have been established in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with the goal of improving the care of acute stroke. As of the end of 2013, 32 percent of the short-term adult general hospitals with emergency departments were designated as certified primary stroke centers.

Selected for nearly one of every two endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs globally, the Endurant AAA stent graft system from Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) maintained durable, consistent and proven outcomes through five years of follow-up in the company’s U.S. clinical study of the implantable medical device, according to new clinical data presented today at the Society for Vascular Surgery’s “Vascular Annual Meeting.”

Medtronic expanded its reach in the endovascular market with the acquisition of Aptus Endosystems, a company that specializes in advanced technology for endovascular aneurysm repair and thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair.

An antidote for one commercially available novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) proved safe and effective in an interim analysis of a nonrandomized study, researchers reported online June 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Don’t pop the cork on the champagne just yet, though.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has agreed to fully reimburse the cost of drug-coated balloons for outpatient treatment of Medicare patients with peripheral artery disease, retroactive to April 1, 2015.

A meta-analysis of two randomized trials and two registries found the Watchman device was associated with significant improvements in hemorrhagic stroke, cardiovascular death and nonprocedural bleeding compared with warfarin in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. However, patients who received warfarin had fewer ischemic strokes, and the rates of all-cause stroke or systemic embolism were similar between the groups.