The FDA has given the green light to Edwards Lifesciences to market its next-generation transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) device, the Sapien XT, for treatment in inoperable and high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Compared with anticoagulant therapy, thrombolysis appears to have a lower mortality risk and lower risk of recurrent pulmonary embolism, but it does not come without risks of its own, a study published online June 17 in JAMA determined.

Almost half the patients implanted with a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) device received the wrong valve size in a study that compared oversizing using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) with multislice CT. As a result, the patients received a transcatheter heart valve that was too small.

Personalized medicine may not be best means of guiding warfarin therapy, a study published online June 16 in JAMA suggests. In an analysis of outcomes of nine studies across the U.S., Europe and Israel, no benefit to utilizing genetic testing for markers CYP2C9, VKORC1, and CYP4F2 vs.  standard algorithms for dosing were seen.

Patients with atrial fibrillation and comorbid conditions may benefit from follow-up outpatient visits in the first 14 days following a hospitalization, reducing the risks of 30-, 60-, or 90-day readmissions, according to a study published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality.

The latest study to examine the preoperative use of beta-blockers in CABG found no mortality benefit combined with an uptick in postoperative atrial fibrillation. Still, it probably is not time to take an eraser to related quality metrics or guidelines. 

Clinicians with stroke patients, take note: A history of repeated hospitalizations before, a long stay in the hospital after and a higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Score may increase the risk of a patient returning within 30 days.

With penalties for higher-than-expected 30-day readmissions for CABG on the horizon, concerns about how hospitals will be measured have been growing. A method that linked clinical data to administrative data may provide an answer.