DUBLIN — May 24, 2018 — Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018, which ended April 27.

Once more expensive P2Y12 inhibitors hit the U.S. market, the percentage of patients not filling prescriptions for any P2Y12 inhibitor after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increased from 6 percent to 19 percent, researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In an opinion piece for USA Today, musician and actress Barbra Streisand noted inequalities for women in heart disease research and treatment—resulting in more deaths from cardiovascular disease.

Haider Warraich, MD, used the recently presented CABANA trial to launch into an opinion piece about the medical community’s eagerness to embrace new technologies and invasive procedures.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has halted enrollment in a $100 million, 10-year study of moderate alcohol intake and its effect on cardiovascular health amid concerns over conflicts of interest with the beverage industry.

Accelerating the integration of digital healthcare tools in a responsible, clinically meaningful way is the primary focus of the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) innovation agenda, according to John Rumsfeld, MD, PhD, who spoke at the 2018 Cardiovascular Summit in February.

The entry of new players and dozens of potentially disruptive mergers and acquisitions are pushing healthcare in nontraditional directions, yielding opportunities for cardiologists to help shape the transformation.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, said accountable care organizations (ACOs) that haven’t taken on downside risk “are not producing results,” suggesting the agency could reevaluate those payment models.