Renal denervation received a theoretical thumbs up at the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla., May 9, based on a model that predicts reduction in cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients treated with the ablation therapy. The projections need to be validated in clinical trials, the poster presenter cautioned.

Patients who undergo repair of acute aortic dissection by surgeons who average less than one case a year are almost twice as likely to die in the hospital than patients whose surgeons average five or more cases annually, according to an analysis published in the May issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Hospital volume also predicted mortality in the study.

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), today announced the completion of patient enrollment in the CHILL-MI clinical study designed to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the company’s InnerCool RTx endovascular cooling system in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).  

Four research centers will develop high-impact culturally tailored interventions aimed at lowering stroke risk among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Together the centers are expected to receive $40 million in funding over five years, contingent on the availability of funds from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Denying reimbursement for the use of thrombectomy devices in stroke patients who are ineligible for intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) treatment would be unfair and may lead to poor outcomes, according to IMS III researchers.

Up to 10 per cent of patients with high blood pressure are resistant to treatment, which puts them at increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks. Clinical trials show that catheter-based renal denervation reduces blood pressure in patients who do not respond to conventional drug therapy.

No longer requiring certification in general surgery prior to certification in vascular surgery created several training pathways.

Cook Medical is recalling its Zilver PTX Drug Eluting Peripheral Stent after receiving complaints about delivery system tip separation. Two adverse events, including one death, occurred in cases where a tip separation was reported.