Women have unique risk factors for stroke, and a joint panel of experts from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association made recommendations that take these risk factors into account. Their guidelines were published online Feb. 6 in Stroke.

Adherence to medication regimens among patients discharged after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) improved through the use of a multifaceted intervention, a study published in the February issue of JAMA Internal Medicine found. However, blood pressure levels and levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol did not improve.

Cardiovascular societies praised CVS Caremark’s decision to phase out sales of tobacco products at its stores over the next year.

Higher blood pressure trajectories among younger adults may place them at risk for coronary artery calcification (CAC) in middle age, according to a study published in the Feb. 5 issue of JAMA.

Biodegradable-polymer drug-eluting stents (DES) may take a backseat to one type of second-generation durable-polymer stent, based on a network meta-analysis published in the Feb. 4 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Most Americans consume excess sugar, which may place them at increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), a study published online Feb. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine found.

About 30 percent of infants born with critical congenital heart disease have their conditions detected more than three days after birth, and the use of a universal screening tool based on pulse oximetry could result in earlier detection, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Frank J. Callaghan retired as president of the Cardiovascular and Ablation Technologies Division at St. Jude Medical as the company initiated organizational changes.