The FDA has approved the HeartMate II Pocket Controller, which is designed to enhance ease and safety for users of the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device (LVAD) system.

Tryton Medical has launched its Tryton Side Branch SHORT Stent, a coronary stent system used in the treatment of bifurcations in large vessels with a short main branch landing zone, in CE mark countries.

A technology that helps physicians place stents using 3-D vessel reconstruction received CE mark in Europe.

The FDA brought together various stakeholders from across the globe on April 22 to establish the International Consortium of Cardiovascular Registries. The ground-breaking initiative, comprised of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, industry and others, aims to enhance the way device registries are used across the practice of cardiology and around the world.

Two steps forward and—well, let’s say one step on pause.

Authors of a report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on sodium intake by the American public failed to be persuaded that lowering daily consumption below 2,300 mg a day affected outcomes. The American Heart Association (AHA) countered the report missed the mark in its conclusions.

Vincent L. Gott, MD, professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins Heart & Vascular Institute in Baltimore, shares his experiences as a developer of the pacemaker in an interview with CNN. The feature is part of CNN’s “Life Works” series.

Patients implanted with dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) had higher rates of complications at one year than did patients who received single-chamber devices, with no apparent benefits in hospitalization or mortality. The results were published in the May 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.