AstraZeneca today announced a collaboration with the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) in Quebec, Canada, to search the genomes of up to 80,000 patients for genes associated with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, their complications and treatment outcomes. This is one of the largest such screens of its type to date and will drive understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these conditions and their complications. The analysis will also uncover which genetic traits are linked to better treatment outcomes.

Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) has just released the first-ever electrophysiology (EP) and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) standards for accreditation. Driven by the latest available clinical evidence, the EP and ICD standards are a comprehensive review of interventional procedures in patients and adults with heart rhythm disorders.

Abbott and GE Healthcare today announced an agreement that will bring real-time, patient-specific data about the heart's electrical activity to cardiac electrophysiology labs around the world to speed up the diagnosis of the sources of atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm disorders.

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark approval of expanded labelling for its Ellipse™ implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), in addition to its Durata™ and Optisure™ defibrillation leads, allowing existing or future patients with these technologies to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans without compromising device performance. The company also announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for its Assurity MRI™ and Endurity MRI™ pacemaker device families. The approvals further expand St. Jude Medical’s MRI-conditional device portfolio in Europe. 

More than a quarter of patients undergoing PCI are smokers at the time of treatment. If they quit smoking following the procedure, they are more likely to have improvements in quality of life and have less chest pain and angina than if they continue to smoke, according to a prospective analysis of a PCI registry.

After a year, patients with a minor stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack who received dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin had significantly fewer subsequent strokes than patients that took only aspirin. The rates of moderate or severe hemorrhage were similar in the groups.

The FDA approved Medtronic’s latest generation cryoablation catheter for treating patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The Arctic Front Advance ST also received CE mark in Europe for a broader indication.

Only about 60 percent of PCI patients get referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program, according to a recent study, and the barrier is more likely due to hospital characteristics than insurance.