Some patients treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-Ds) may qualify for pacemaker mode. After long-term improvements were seen with some patients, researchers posited that when left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) normalizes and it’s time to change the batteries, it may also be time to flip the switch from D to P.

Initiating a radiation safety protocol in their congenital heart center reduced the cumulative radiation dose in patients undergoing catheterizations by 61 percent, cardiologists reported in the November issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.

For older male patients with heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy, erectile dysfunction medications may protect the heart,  a meta-analysis published online Oct. 18 in BMC Medicine found. The researchers also reported that the drugs were safe and well tolerated.

Almost one in five patients who undergo cardiac surgery get readmitted, with the vast majority rehospitalized within 30 days. The findings, published in the October issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, have implications for future quality measures.

Boston Scientific Corporation has received CE Mark approval for the ACCOLADETM pacemaker family. When implanted with the company's INGEVITYTM leads, ACCOLADE pacemakers are the first to enable patients to receive full-body MRI scans in both 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla systems. In addition, the Boston Scientific ImageReadyTM technology offers the most flexible MRI options, allowing higher energy scan sequences, and featuring a programmable MRI timer designed to improve patient workflow.

Breathing through the night does heart patients a world of good: For patients with heart failure and sleep disordered breathing, 30-day readmission rates dropped to zero when using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adequately.

Drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) gave patients with early, recurrent and significant in-stent carotid artery restenosis longer freedom from restenosis in a trial published in the October issue of the Journal of Endovascular Therapy. More than half of patients in this small cohort were symptom-free at a mean follow-up of 36.6 months.

It may look like a fielder’s choice between carotid artery stenting and endarterectomy for patients with carotid artery stenosis, with conclusions from one recent analysis and another randomized trial leaning in opposite directions.