Clinical

This channel newsfeed includes clinical content on treating patients or the clinical implications in a variety of cardiac subspecialties and disease states. The channel includes news on cardiac surgery, interventional cardiologyheart failure, electrophysiologyhypertension, structural heart disease, use of pharmaceuticals, and COVID-19.   

Elixir Medical DynamX sirolimus-eluting coronary bioadaptor FDA

FDA grants drug-eluting bioadaptor its breakthrough device designation

The Elixir Medical DynamX sirolimus-eluting coronary bioadaptor is designed to improve coronary luminal diameter, help restore hemodynamic modulation and reduce plaque progression in patients with de novo coronary artery lesions.

Some weight loss patients are overdosing on semaglutide, FDA warns

Compounded semaglutide injectable products are at the heart of these concerns. While the FDA says compounded drugs “can serve an important medical need for patients,” the agency does not approve these new formulations, increasing the risk of complications. 

Medicare money payment physician

Cardiology groups push for Medicare reform in face of ‘unsustainable’ payment cuts

Nearly 130 healthcare groups are urging Congress to pass legislation that would provide relief to U.S. physicians struggling to keep up with wave after wave of payment reductions.

merger acquisition M&A business

Edwards Lifesciences agrees to acquire JenaValve, Endotronix for $1.2B

While JenaValve is known for its Trilogy Heart Valve System, a device designed specifically to treat aortic regurgitation, Endotronix specializes in developing heart failure technologies. The news comes after Edwards sold its critical care business for $4.2 billion in June, saying it would double down on its structural heart portfolio. 

Anne Kroman, DO, PhD, director of lead management and the device clinic, and assistant professor at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), explains more women need to be included in clinical trials to help better understand sex differences in electrophysiology presentations.

Why electrophysiology trials need to include more women

Most EP clinical study data are from men, Anne Kroman, DO, explained in an interview. This is a significant problem, she said, because heart rhythm issues look quite different in women. 

healthcare value value-based care money dollar

Cardiology Funding Roundup: Cardurion, Kestra, TRiCares all secure key investments

Businesses in the cardiovascular health space have been busy in recent weeks, announcing one big financing round after another. 

Researchers have developed artificial blood vessels that could be as strong and durable as the real things, publishing their work in Advanced Materials Technologies.[1] The group hopes its work could go on to make a significant impact in care for heart bypass patients.

Artificial blood vessels could limit risks during heart bypass procedures

Even grafts that represent the current gold standard for bypass surgeries are associated with high failure rates, researchers noted. They think these 3D-printed blood vessels could provide considerable value. 

Surgeons in Houston have performed the world’s first successful human implant of BiVACOR’s Total Artificial Heart (TAH) technology. The procedure was completed July 9, 2024, at The Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. It was part of an early feasibility study (EFS) first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in December 2023.

Texas surgeons first in world to perform ‘groundbreaking’ total artificial heart procedure

The BiVACOR technology was designed to serve as a bridge to heart transplant in patients with end-stage heart failure. Based on rotary blood pump technology, it is made of titanium and approximately the size of an adult’s fist.

Around the web

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.