Bramah N. Singh, MD, an emeritus professor of cardiology at University of California, Los Angeles, who co-developed a classification system for anti-arrhythmic medications, died at his home on Sept. 20, the university announced. He was 76 years old.

When comparing risk of inappropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks in two types of therapy, researchers in the OPTION study found a significant advantage in dual-chamber therapy. Fewer inappropriate shocks were delivered to patients on dual-chamber than on single-chamber settings, especially those programmed with algorithms for minimizing ventricular pacing.

Claret Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative solutions for cerebral protection during structural heart, vascular and cardiac surgery procedures, today announced that the first patient has been successfully treated in its SENTINEL Trial in the United States, a multicenter pivotal trial of the Sentinel Cerebral Protection System (CPS). The landmark SENTINEL Trial is the first prospective, randomized, controlled, blinded trial in the U.S. to evaluate the role of cerebral protection during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Direct Flow Medical, Inc., a transcatheter heart valve innovator focused on improving patient outcomes, today announced it has received the CE Mark (Conformité Européenne) for an enhanced transfemoral delivery system for the Direct Flow Medical Transcatheter Aortic Valve System. 

An FDA advisory committee is scheduled to vote Oct. 8 on the Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure device to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. The FDA asked panelists to re-evaluate the filing in light of new clinical data on adverse events.

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital announces a partnership with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for pediatric heart services. Together, they will provide highly specialized cardiovascular care for patients ranging from babies in the womb to adults with congenital heart disease inside St. Joseph's Heart Institute, a new 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility located on the hospital campus in Tampa.  

The market for pharmaceuticals to treat chronic heart failure could climb to nearly $9 billion over the next decade, one market research report estimated.

Readmission rates following PCI could be nearly halved, according to research published online Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The key, researchers wrote, starts with changing clinician behaviors.