The physician shortage that U.S. hospitals and health systems have been dreading is here—and its impact on cardiology could be quite significant.

The recall was put in place after a customer discovered “visible black particulate matter” in a sealed vial. If the contaminant enters a patient's blood vessels, it could lead to serious complications, including a stroke or even death. 

The new blood test from Roche Diagnostics measures Lp(a) in terms of nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) as opposed to milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Just a small fraction of the people tracking their own heart health are actually doing anything with the data, according to a new survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Surgery offers multiple long-term benefits when compared to a more interventional approach, though it is still associated with certain risks of its own. In the end, researchers agree, the decision is one that should involve input from surgeons, cardiologists and others.

Bioprosthetic valves are being used more and more for aortic valve replacement, but mechanical valves appear to provide better long-term outcomes for patients 60 and younger. The new study, based on data from nearly 110,000 patients, was presented at STS 2025 and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Cardiologists believe this is the first time this exact complication has been reported. Even patients who present with no known risk factors, they said, should receive regular follow-up care to ensure such incidents do not go untreated. 

In addition, researchers noted, five-year mortality was inferior for patients on Medicaid when compared to patients with any other type of insurance.