The FDA approved a drug-coated balloon (DCB) as a treatment for peripheral artery disease, making it the first DCB to be approved in the U.S. for use in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries.

Cardiologists on the medical staff at Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital (BHVH) today implanted an investigational cardiac pacemaker the size of a multivitamin. The first implantable pacemakers, developed in the late-1950s, were nearer the size of a transistor radio.

Patients with critical limb ischemia experienced two-and-a-half-fold higher amputation rates when physicians used paclitaxel-eluting IN.PACT Amphirion drug-eluting balloons as opposed to percutaneous transluminal angiography. Although the trial met its noninferiority threshold, findings resulted in the manufacturer pulling the device from the market.

Today, St. Vincent Heart Center officials announced that the faith-based hospital is the second in the nation to implant the new investigational “heart pump.” Dr. Christopher Salerno, cardiothoracic surgeon at St. Vincent Heart Center implanted the new Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) called the HeartMate III on a 19-year-old patient. 

The University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center is one of the first hospitals in the country to implant Medtronic's new investigational device during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Imricor Medical Systems, Inc. announced the first three cardiac ablation procedures were completed in the first clinical study that is evaluating the feasibility of their MR-enabled products to treat atrial flutter. Professor Reza Razavi, Head of the Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, is the principal investigator for the study and along with Mark O'Neill, Professor of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Consultant Cardiologist, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust performed the procedures. The prospective pilot study will enroll up to 15 patients at this center.

Watchman’s future became even murkier with the latest vote from an FDA advisory panel. Panelists voted unanimously in favor of the device for safety but split on efficacy.

Heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction using calcium-channel blockers were no worse for taking them. But, they also didn’t experience much benefit either, according to a study published online Oct. 8 in Circulation: Heart Failure.