Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is linked to better left ventricular ejection fracture (LVEF) recovery in patients with severe aortic stenosis and depressed LV systolic function compared to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), according to a study published online Oct. 25 in Circulation.

Patients with an onset of stroke symptoms and who were admitted to the hospital on a weekend were more likely to die compared to patients who were admitted on a weekday, regardless of stroke severity, according to the results of a study published in the Nov. 2 issue of Neurology.

Even after attempts to repair blockages in peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients, hospitalizations and revascularizations still occur at high rates, leaving the healthcare system with a large economic burden, according to a study published online Oct. 12 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Researchers found that carotid artery stenting (CAS)  increased the risk of short-term and long-term adverse outcomes by 19 percent when compared to carotid endarterectomy, and found that while CAS may reduce the risk of MI, it also increases the rates of restenosis by 180 percent, according to the results of a meta-analysis published online in the Archives of Neurology.

Emile J. Geisenheimer, chairman, president and CEO or Spectranetics, will retire, effective Nov. 1.

The number of people affected by peripheral artery disease (PAD) will surge from the current 18 million to 21 million in the U.S. by 2020, with a particular increase in the rates of critical limb ischemia (CLI), according to a Sept. 30 report conducted by the SAGE group. Treating the diseases will leave the U.S. with a hefty economic burden.

Performing successful carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients younger than 75 years of age reduces 10-year stroke riskhalf of which is a reduction in disabling or fatal stroke, according to the results of the ACST-1 trial published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Lancet. In a complementary meta-analysis in the same issue of Lancet, researchers found that carotid artery stenting (CAS) may be as safe as CEA in patients under 70.

WASHINGTON, D.C.Vascular closure devices can be successfully deployed and off-label devices not approved by the FDA can be used when they are evaluated on a patient-by-patient basis weighing the risks, benefits and cost, said D. Christopher Metzger, MD, of the Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., during a presentation Sept. 24 at the 2010 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT)  annual scientific meeting.