Asking patients to use smartphone-powered ECG devices following catheter ablation procedures could be incredibly beneficial, according to new findings published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. 

The two anticoagulants are associated with similar mortality rates. However, a new meta-analysis in Circulation may have cardiologists favoring bivalirudin over heparin. 

Researchers examined two-year data from transfemoral TAVR patients treated with low-dose aspirin and 30 days of warfarin or just aspirin on its own. 

That same team that transplanted a pig heart into a human patient for the very first time in 2022 has now done it again. The patient is currently recovering from the procedure, which occurred on Sept. 20. 

The biggest differences between the two treatment options were major bleeding events and all-cause mortality. There was no significant difference when it came to stroke risk. 

“Our results beg the question of whether pre-TAVR baseline coronary angiography is even necessary,” researchers wrote in the American Journal of Cardiology.

The ACC has joined forces with Amgen and Esperion Therapeutics to increase LDL screening in patients with and without a history of cardiovascular issues.

The new device, the first of its kind to gain FDA approval, was designed for patients who have no other endovascular or surgical options available to them.