BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical devices, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expansion of BIOTRONIK's ongoing ProMRI® trial. The new phase of the trial (Phase C) will study the company's ProMRI® technology in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices. BIOTRONIK is the only company in the world with an ICD that is approved for investigational use in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner. The ongoing ProMRI® study is the first step in making this standalone technology available in the United States.

The FDA has approved a supplemental New Drug Application for the anticoagulant apixaban for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis, which may lead to pulmonary embolism in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

In-hospital survival of patients with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is significantly higher in the U.S. than in England, a study published in the March 15 issue of The Lancet showed. The findings offered insights on hospital-level factors that impact outcomes.

Women who develop gestational diabetes but have no history of type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome may be at increased risk for subclinical atherosclerosis, regardless of whether they are obese before pregnancy or not, based on the findings of a study published online March 12 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Trials of new glucose-lowering drugs should consider hospitalization for heart failure as an outcome, according to a Personal View article published online March 13 in The Lancet. The authors argued that heart failure has not received much attention as an outcome in clinical trials of these drugs, but results have associated them with an increased risk of heart failure.

Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation, a pioneer in integrating next-generation diagnostics into personalized nutrition and lifestyle programs for patients with or at risk for heart disease, announced the commercial launch of an FDA-cleared MPO (myeloperoxidase) test, a key biomarker for inflammation. Studies show that MPO levels are useful predictors of near-term (one to six months) risk of heart attack or stroke.

AngioDynamics (Nasdaq:ANGO), a leading provider of innovative, minimally invasive medical devices for vascular access, surgery, peripheral vascular disease and oncology, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared an expanded indication for its AngioVac cannula for venous drainage during extracorporeal bypass for up to six hours to include removal of fresh, soft thrombi or emboli.

Military deployments may increase the risk for coronary heart disease among U.S. service members and veterans, a study published online March 11 in Circulation found.