St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced the CE Mark approval of its next-generation EnligHTN™ Renal Denervation System for treating patients with drug-resistant, uncontrolled hypertension. The system features an advanced generator that delivers simultaneous ablations via a multi-electrode catheter, reducing total ablation time with the new EnligHTN system by more than 80 percent in comparison to the first generation system, from approximately 24 minutes to four minutes. The EnligHTN system will be on display during the 2013 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting from August 31 to September 3.

The Spectranetics Corporation (Nasdaq:SPNC), a leading maker of medical devices used in minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures, today announced the appointment of Kimberly McIntosh Bridges as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Vascular Intervention, effective August 30, 2013. She will report to Scott Drake, President and Chief Executive Officer, and will be located at the company's global headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.

For millions of Americans, simply walking to the mailbox can cause unbearable leg pain as muscles scream for more blood and oxygen.

Southampton Hospital hosted a ground-breaking ceremony on August 12, 2013 to celebrate the beginning of its new Audrey and Martin Gruss Heart and Stroke Center and to honor the Gruss’ extraordinary gift of $5 million to the new facility at the Hospital.  When completed, the Center will provide stroke treatment and carotid stents as needed and will consolidate a broad spectrum of new and sophisticated diagnostic and treatment capabilities with existing cardiovascular programs and services. 

Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX), a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, has announced that its subsidiary Hotspur Technologies, Inc., which Teleflex acquired in June 2012, received FDA 510(k) clearance to market the company’s ARROW® GPSCath® Balloon Dilatation Catheters in Higher Rated Burst Pressure (RBP) and 80 cm lengths. These novel products enable multiple vascular procedures to be performed with one dual-function catheter, potentially reducing procedure time and expense for both patients and medical professionals.

Enhancing its product leadership team, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has named David Sloop director, X-ray Vascular Business Unit. Sloop will be responsible for implementing strategic marketing plans to drive growth and profitability of Toshiba’s X-ray Vascular product line.

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the anticoagulant rivaroxaban as a possible treatment for adults with pulmonary embolism and to prevent recurrent deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.

A new $11 million grant to Kaiser Permanente Northern California and UC San Francisco will support a multifaceted research program aimed at lowering stroke risk among black populations and younger stroke victims by targeting high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.