Biosensors International is celebrating a year of significant achievement with an expanded product portfolio, offering physicians a broader range of treatment options to improve patient outcomes.

BIOTRONIK Japan has announced enrollment of the first patient in the BIOFLOW-IV study, which aims to verify the efficacy and safety of the Orsiro Hybrid Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) from BIOTRONIK. The high quality and efficacy of Orsiro has already been confirmed by three important trials, BIOFLOW-I, -II, and –III, which demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Orsiro.

The FDA approved the MitraClip as a treatment for patients with mitral regurgitation who are considered too high risk for mitral valve surgery.

When determining which interventional method to use in patients who need carotid revascularization, a meta-analysis published online Oct. 23 in JAMA Surgery found that patient age should be a major consideration.

Based on evidence that has emerged with the growing use of transradial interventions, 16 cardiologists have teamed up to define best practices for performing transradial angiography and PCI. Their recommendations focus on reducing occlusion risks, radiation exposure and transitioning to radial primary PCI.

While age-adjusted death rates from stroke have decreased worldwide, the numbers of people who have a stroke every year, who survive strokes, deaths related to strokes and disability-adjusted life years related to strokes have increased, especially in low- and middle-income nations. Most of the stroke burden has also shifted to adults younger than 75. These findings were published online Oct. 24 in The Lancet.

NBC News reported on a study in Genome Biology in which researchers studied aging of cells. The scientists proposed that some cells age more slowly than others, with cardiac cells clocking in as relative youngsters and tumor cells being the oldest of all. 

The use of esmolol, a short-acting beta-blocker, was associated with a better prognosis in patients with septic shock when compared with standard treatment, a preliminary communication published Oct. 23/30 in JAMA reported.