FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, talked to Cardiovascular Business about healthcare spending, inconsistent patient outcomes and much more.

The care team behind the very first robotic aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass surgery has written about the experience in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. The group discussed the development of the technique, how the patient was chosen for treatment and other key details.

A brand new analysis explored diversity, equity and inclusion within the specialty of cardiovascular surgery. It also included several recommendations for leaders looking to help create change and improve patient care.

This was a moment years in the making for interventional cardiology. A total of 164 training programs participated, and 94% of applicants secured a position. 

It's early for RAVR, but the minimally invasive technique has already started gaining momentum as an alternative to both SAVR and TAVR. We spoke to Vinay Badhwar, MD, one of the world’s leading voices in robotic heart surgery, to learn more.

Charles E. Mullins, MD, a U.S. Army veteran who went on to practice medicine for five decades, died at the age of 92. SCAI shared a loving tribute to Mullins, calling him the "father of modern interventional pediatric cardiology."

SCAI celebrated cardiologists William W. O'Neill, MD, and Cindy L. Grines, MD, for the important roles they played in the development of primary PCI. “It was challenging,” Grines explained. “We had the pharmaceutical industry that was anti-primary angioplasty and we had a lot of our own colleagues that were anti-primary angioplasty."

Many Americans have never heard of peripheral artery disease or other common vascular conditions. In fact, a vast majority are not sure what vascular surgeons do.