Acute ischemic stroke hospitalizations rates increased among adults from 35 and 44 years old between 2003 and 2012, according to a database analysis.

The need for permanent pacemakers in patients with severe aortic stenosis who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains a complication, even as TAVR expands into lower-risk groups. That may prove to be a limitation, especially with younger patients who may have decades of life ahead of them.

Cardiovascular Systems recently announced the first patient had enrolled in the company’s ECLIPSE trial, which is evaluating its Diamondback 360 coronary orbital atherectomy system.

Two hospitals in Maryland recently filed petitions in court to overturn the state’s approval of a cardiac surgery program at Anne Arundel Medical Center, the Capital Gazette reports.

After adjusting for age, sex, physical activity and other variables, adults who drank artificially sweetened soft drinks had an increased risk of ischemic stroke, all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to an observational study.

Although strokes are more common in older adults, younger women are still at risk, although Good Housekeeping reports that many women do not realize when they are having a stroke.

The FDA determined that Medtronic’s voluntary recall of its HVAD system controllers and DC adapters was a class I recall, according to a Medtronic news release on April 18.

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) who undergo concomitant surgical ablation have an improvement in 30-day operative mortality, long-term survival and health-related quality of life, according to new expert consensus guidelines from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS).