The statement from the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Society of Hypertension (ASH) updated guidelines from 2007.

Approximately 15 percent of patients with advanced heart failure experienced gastrointestinal bleeding after receiving the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device System. However, none of the events impacted survival, and no surgical intervention was needed.

The needle for door-to-needle times for thrombolytic therapy in stroke patients hasn’t dropped much over a decade, according to a study published online March 31 in Stroke.

Patients receiving telestroke care may wait as much as 18 minutes longer for treatment, but safety outcomes may be as good as standard, vascular neurologist stroke alert care. 

Researchers comparing patients given rivaroxaban or low-molecular weight heparin in a hospital setting found that use of rivaroxaban correlated to a 27 percent reduction in hospital admissions among patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Dr. Daniel Melby, an investigator at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF), performed the first atrial fibrillation ablation in the U.S. using Biosense Webster’s new THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF contact force sensing catheter as part of an FDA regulated safety trial (SMART-SF). Biosense Webster is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. “The SMARTTOUCH SF catheter is an important evolution in RF ablation technology,” said Dr. Melby. “Contact force sensing combined with the more efficient irrigation design of this catheter may allow for a more effective ablation pattern while potentially reducing risk of thrombus formation and improving outcomes.” 

Bayer HealthCare (Bayer) has expanded its collaboration with the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University to include cardiovascular genomics and drug discovery. The goal of this new part of the alliance is to leverage insights from human genetics to help create new cardiovascular therapies.

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) today announced the initiation of the SPYRAL HTN Global Clinical Trial Program, a unique, phased clinical program studying renal denervation in uncontrolled hypertension. This announcement follows investigational device exemption (IDE) approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The program will begin with two global studies designed to address the confounding factors encountered in the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 clinical trial, including medication, patient population and procedural variability, to ensure the clinical potential of the therapy is evaluated.