Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics has published a report on some of the technologies shaping hospitals’ purchase plans in 2016.

The prices of pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical devices are declining, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. 

The FDA has approved the first MRI conditional cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) to treat patients with heart failure and reduce the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

A meta-analysis of 16 randomized clinical trials found that mobile telephone text messaging nearly doubled the odds of patients with chronic diseases adhering to their medication regimens. The studies evaluated cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, asthma, allergic rhinitis, epilepsy and other chronic diseases.

A telephone survey from the Cleveland Clinic found that only 20 percent of U.S. adults knew that guidelines recommend they exercise at least 2 ½ hours per week to prevent heart disease. In addition, 40 percent of the respondents said they exercised less than 2 ½ hours per week.

Since 1984, the annual cardiovascular disease mortality rates have been higher for women than men, although the rates have declined in the past 15 years. Still, a recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) revealed that women are undertreated, are less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation and have more severe risk factors compared with men.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) placed a hold on the appointment of prominent cardiologist and researcher Robert Califf, MD, as the FDA commissioner.

Nearly 50 percent of family members had significant psychological difficulties after the sudden cardiac death of a young relative, according to a cross-sectional survey in Australia.