The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) announced that physicians who meet program requirements would not lose their certification if they fail to enroll in ABIM’s maintenance of certification (MOC) program. The changes will mostly effect physicians who recently completed their training and physicians enrolled in fellowship programs.

Eight physicians recently received the Arthur S. Agatston cardiovascular disease prevention award at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) annual meeting in Las Vegas.

The American Society of Echocardiography released the first guidelines for the use of echocardiography in patients implanted with left ventricular assist devices.

Within a year of hospital discharge, fewer than 25 percent of older adults who had an acute MI between 2007 and 2010 and were eligible for cardiac rehabilitation actually attended a session, according to an analysis of a national quality improvement registry.

Unichem Pharmaceuticals voluntarily recalled one lot of its hydrochlorothiazide tablets after a clopidogrel tablet was found in a bottle. The affected lot (GHYL15028) was distributed to wholesalers, retailers and pharmacies from May 21 to 28, according to an FDA news release.

The FDA warned that errors in prescriptions and medications dispensed have occurred because of confusion between an anti-blood clotting medication and antidepressant that have similar names. As of June 2015, the FDA had received 50 reports of medication errors between ticagrelor (Brilinta, AstraZeneca) and vortioxetine (Brintellix, Takeda and Lundbeck), according to a July 30 safety announcement.

Two studies published this month in JAMA clarified and proved the cost-effectiveness of statins and the validity of controversial guidelines for managing blood cholesterol. Whether the results will lead to more people receiving treatment remains to be seen, but the evidence indicated the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines should be followed more closely.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) announced it plans on launching a journal, JACC: Basic Translational Research, in December.