Faced with a disparate array of information technology (IT) products throughout its 19 facilities located in the state of Virginia, Sentara Healthcare selected Medstreaming Vascular Software Solutions and began an enterprise-wide installation late last year. Post-installation, Sentara officials have reported significant efficiency gains in patient throughput, report standardization, quality and workflow.

Peritoneal dialysis reduced the concentration of glutamate in a group of experimental rats, suggesting that this intervention may decrease the amount of brain damage caused by ischemic strokes in humans. These study findings were published online Sept. 3 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.  

In a randomized, double-blind international study, edoxaban, a factor Xa inhibitor, was found to be comparable to warfarin in  efficacy in patients with acute venous thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism or both. The findings were presented Sept. 1 at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2013 in Amsterdam and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine. 

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.

Intracranial in-stent restenosis (ISR), a common complication of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS), may increase the likelihood of and an earlier incidence of recurrent ischemic events near the stented intracranial artery, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in Stroke.

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

A five-component hypertension control program implemented across the Kaiser Permanente Northern California system led to better blood pressure control compared with the rest of the state and nation, according to a study published in the Aug. 21 issue of JAMA.