The Watchman wait may be over. An analysis of long-term data found the Watchman left atrial appendage closure device to be superior to warfarin for primary efficacy and mortality.

Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) were less likely to receive guideline recommended anticoagulation therapy compared with persistent AF patients. The analysis presented May 8 at the Heart Rhythm Society scientific sessions in Denver included registry data on more than 62,000 patients.

UnitedHealth Group and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, in conjunction with Allina Health and the community of New Ulm, Minn., recently announced two grants from the company totaling more than $1 million. The grants will fund weight management and nutrition initiatives for Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm Project (HONU), a research and demonstration project with a goal of reducing heart attacks in New Ulm, Minn.

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), today announced the completion of patient enrollment in the CHILL-MI clinical study designed to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the company’s InnerCool RTx endovascular cooling system in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).  

Four research centers will develop high-impact culturally tailored interventions aimed at lowering stroke risk among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Together the centers are expected to receive $40 million in funding over five years, contingent on the availability of funds from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Today, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) announces the appointment of Peng-Sheng Chen, MD, FHRS, as the new editor-in-chief of HeartRhythm, the official journal of HRS. Effective January 2014, Dr. Chen will replace Douglas Zipes, MD, FHRS, who will have served as editor-in-chief for ten years after founding the Journal in 2004.

As we approach the summer season of doomsday movies in all their cinematic gore-y, it may be no surprise that nuclear catastrophe enters into a few imaginations. But at the FDA, it is science and not science fiction that is under discussion as the agency reviews an animal study on Amgen’s leukocyte growth factors as a nuclear countermeasure. The FDA will discuss whether a human study is warranted on May 3. The Bloomberg article includes a link to the FDA backgrounder.

The Heart Failure Congress 2013 promises more science than ever this year, with a record number of abstracts submitted. The congress takes place 25-28 May at the Centro de Congressos de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal.