The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association have developed an algorithm to help emergency medical services (EMS) personnel better identify strokes, assess patients’ conditions and determine the hospital that best meets patients’ needs.

The Neurologic Academic Research Consortium (NeuroARC) recently released a consensus paper proposing neurological endpoints that could be used in cardiovascular clinical trials.

Gordon and Betty Moore donated $50 million to the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, California, the largest private gift the hospital received since David and Lucille Packard’s donation to found the hospital.

Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) today announced first enrollments in the STOP Persistent AF clinical trial. The trial will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a pulmonary vein isolation-only (PVI) strategy for treating patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), using the Arctic Front Advance(TM) Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter. John Harding, M.D., Doylestown Hospital in Doylestown, Penn., treated the first patient enrolled in the trial.

Boston Scientific agreed to acquire Symetis SA on March 30 for $435 million in an all-cash deal.

A meta-analysis of four randomized trials found that using primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) decreased all-cause mortality by 25 percent in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Just last week, Maryland approved a project by Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis to build a new cardiac surgery program, a move that will help better serve patients in the area, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

New research from Oregon State University suggests that older adults with elevated blood pressure are not at a high risk of death if they have a weak grip or are generally inactive, an important finding for physicians treating hypertension in these patients.