Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy may not prevent chronic diseases in women, based on an extended study of data from the Women’s Health Initiative studies. The trials assessed the effects of therapy on heart disease, fractures, breast cancer and colorectal cancer in more than 27,000 women across the U.S.

Two types of pharmaceutical estrogens prescribed to women to manage postmenopausal symptoms may have differing safety profiles. An observational study published online Sept. 30 in JAMA Internal Medicine found women taking oral conjugated equine estrogens had a higher risk of venous thrombosis compared with those taking oral estradiol.

Micell Technologies, Inc. today announced that a peer reviewed article discussing imaging and clinical results of the DESSOLVE I trial of its MiStent Sirolimus Eluting Absorbable Polymer Coronary Stent System (MiStent SES®) was accepted for publication on the JACC Cardiovascular Interventions website. The paper, "First-in-Human Evaluation of a Bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stent: Imaging and Clinical Results of the DESSOLVE I Trial (DES With Sirolimus and a Bioabsorbable Polymer for the Treatment of Patients With De Novo Lesion in the Native Coronary Arteries)", is planned to also appear in the October 2013 issue of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions.

Closing a patent foramen ovale (PFO) using certain devices may be a better option than medication in preventing cryptogenic stroke or transient ischemic attack, according to a meta-analysis published online Sept. 16 in the International Journal of Cardiology.

In yet another study that suggests the old ball and chain is a lifeline, a study of marital status and PCI outcomes found married patients had lower in-hospital and one-year mortality rates than unmarried patients.

A bill that would give the FDA greater oversight of compounded drugs won bipartisan support from both Senate and House committees. The legislation is designed to prevent outbreaks from contaminated products.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center has named Dr. Garret FitzGerald, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; chair of the Department of Pharmacology and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, the recipient of the 2013 Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Prize in Cardiovascular Sciences.

An American Heart Association/American Stroke Association sponsored study comparing which stroke therapies work best has received a $2 million research award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).