BIBA Publishing
Philips launches DreamMapper sleep apnoea website and application in UK
Royal Philips has launched the DreamMapper application and website in the UK, which is designed to assist people living with sleep apnoea to improve...
Biotronik Edora pacemakers receive CE mark approval
Biotronik has received CE mark approval for its new Edora pacemakers and cardiac resynchronisation therapy pacemakers (CRT-Ps).Edora devices feature the Biotronik’s ProMRI (magnetic resonance...
Medical devices available in the EU before the USA are at...
A cohort study has found that medical devices approved first in the European Union (EU) are associated with a greater rate of post-marketing safety...
CorMatrix CanGaroo ECM envelope receives CE mark approval
CorMatrix Cardiovascular has received CE mark approval for its CorMatrix CanGaroo ECM envelope. It is intended for use with cardiac implantable electronic devices including...
MicroPort EP receives Chinese FDA approval for Columbus and FireMagic products
MicroPort EP has recently received approval from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) for Columbus 3D EP navigation system and FireMagic 3D irrigated...
Performance and quality measures updated for patients with atrial fibrillation
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have released updated clinical performance and quality measures for treating adult patients with atrial...
Medtronic to acquire HeartWare for US$1.1 billion
Medtronic has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HeartWare for approximately US$1.1 billion.
HeartWare’s flagship product, the HVAD system, features the world’s smallest full-support...
First Texas facility uses Medtronic Micra transcatheter pacing system
The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St David’s Medical Center (Austin, USA) recently became the first facility in Texas to use the Micra...
Catheter Robotics acquires VIVO product line; changes name to Catheter Precision
Catheter Robotics has completed the acquisition of a new product line to be named VIVO. The line is a computerised three-dimensional cardiac-mapping system showing...
Digital strategies show promise for emergency heart and stroke care
Mobile devices, social media, visual media and crowdsourcing have the potential to improve emergency care for cardiac arrests, heart attacks and strokes, according to...
Abbott announces positive results for FIRM-guided rotor ablation at CARDIOSTIM 2016
Abbott has announced positive results from three clinical studies investigating the benefits associated with focal impulse rotor modulation (FIRM)-guided rotor ablation for atrial fibrillation.
The...
Online medical information: A blessing or a curse?
The internet age has enabled patients to access a plethora of medical information. However, a potential drawback is that some of this information is...
Cardiac & Vascular Institute becomes first North Central Florida cardiologist group...
The Cardiac & Vascular Institute is the first organisation in the North Central Florida USA area of the USA to offer patients with non-valvular...
First patient enrolled in AtriCure FROST cryoanalgesia study
The first patient has been enrolled in the FROST study at William Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, USA. This AtriCure-sponsored trial will evaluate intraoperative cryoanalgesia therapy...
St Jude Medical HeartMate 3 wins CARDIOSTIM-EHRA EUROPACE 2016 Innovation Award
St Jude Medical has received an Innovation Award for its HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist system (LVAS) at the 2016 CARDIOSTIM EHRA EUROPACE International...
Late-breaking research showcased for first time at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology...
Late-breaking science sessions will be held for the first time at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2016.
The meeting is organised by the Council on...
AF patients with intermediate-to-high-risk of stroke often prescribed aspirin instead of...
More than one-in-three patients with atrial fibrillation with an intermediate-to-high-risk of stroke are prescribed aspirin instead of oral anticoagulants, despite guidelines recommending the use...
Biotronik launches Solia MR-conditional pacing lead in the USA
Biotronik has launched its Solia S ProMRI, with a 5.6 French lead body. According to a company release, this is the smallest MR-conditional pacing...
Over a quarter of a million UK AF patients receiving inadequate...
Over 260,000 people with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the UK are receiving either no preventative treatment, or are still taking only aspirin, no longer...
A quarter of an hour of exercise per day may reduce...
A study, which was presented at EuroPRevent 2016 (14–15 June, Sophia Antipolis, France), indicates that 15 minutes of daily exercise may be reasonable target...
Fewer repeat ablations and hospitalisations with cryoballoon demonstrated in FIRE AND...
New data from the FIRE AND ICE clinical trial have shown significantly fewer repeat ablations and lower hospitalisation rates for patients with paroxysmal atrial...
Over 90% survival at one-year for patients using wearable defibrillator
The WEARIT-II prospective registry of more than 2,000 US patients has found over 90% survival rate at one-year in patients prescribed with the LifeVest...
Biotronik wins Cardiostim Innovation Award for Best Practice Improvement
Biotronik has won the Cardiostim Innovation Award in the category “Best Practice Improvement” for its MRI AutoDetect feature. The company’s Ilivia implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)...
Extravascular implantable cardioverter defibrillator data presented at CARDIOSTIM 2016
Results from several feasibility studies evaluating a new approach to implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy have been presented at CARDIOSTIM / EHRA EUROPACE (8-11...
Micra safety benefits sustained beyond six months
New results from the Medtronic Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) global clinical trial have been presented in a late-breaking trial session at CARDIOSTIM /...
The challenge of monitoring innovation in modern electrophysiology beyond randomised controlled...
We now live in an unprecedented era of technological advances, which is eclipsing our ability to test new therapies at the pace of these...
Karl-Heinz Kuck steps down from the ESC and EHRA after fraud...
Karl-Heinz Kuck (Department of Cardiology, Asklepios Klinik St. Georg, Hamburg, Germany) has withdrawn his candidacy for president-elect of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and...
Etienne Aliot
Etienne Aliot (Nancy, France) has always been fascinated by the work of surgeons. This fascination set him on his path through medical school. He...
Stereotaxis to present Niobe ES at Cardiostim 2016
Stereotaxis is to present Niobe ES magnetic navigation system and supporting clinical evidence at Cardiostim-EHRA Europace 2016, taking place June 8-11 in Nice, France.
William...
St Jude CardioMEMS HF system becomes ESC’s guideline-directed therapy for heart...
St Jude Medical’s CardioMEMS heart failure (HF) system has been added to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines as a directed therapy management...
First patients treated in CVRx’s Barostim Neo trial
The first two patients have been treated with CVRx’s Barostim Neo system in the Baroreflex Activation Therapy for Heart Failure pivotal clinical trial (BEAT-HF). ...
FDA streamlines “compassionate use” application process
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalised its efforts to streamline the “compassionate use” process, used by physicians to access investigational drugs...
Auris Surgical Robotics to acquire Hansen Medical
Auris Surgical Robotics and Hansen Medical have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Auris will acquire Hansen Medical for US$4.00 per share in...
US Senate introduces legislation to streamline Medicare beneficiary access to breakthrough...
A new bill introduced to the US Senate by Senator Dan Coats seeks to address the gap between the US Food and Drug Administration...
CE mark granted to Occlutech left atrial appendage occluder
Occlutech has obtained European CE mark approval for its left atrial appendage, (LAA), occluder.
The device is a specifically designed implant for the minimally...
Reduced radiation exposure associated with Stereotaxis’ Niobe system
Stereotaxis has announced the results of a retrospective study conducted at Paracelsus Medical University in Nuremberg, Germany, which showed significantly reduced radiation exposure for...
Stent-based technology shows promise in isolating pulmonary veins in pre-clinical study
Pre-clinical data, presented at the 13th International Dead Sea Symposium on Innovations in Cardiac Arrhythmias and Device Therapy (IDSS; 6–9 March, Tel Aviv, Israel),...
Emerging ethical issues in genetic testing for sudden cardiac death
There is a lack of a uniform approach or guidelines when dealing with the ethical, legal and privacy concerns that can arise in cardiogenetics....
Catheter ablation is superior to amiodarone in the treatment of patients...
New research indicates that catheter ablation may achieve greater long-term freedom from atrial fibrillation, as well as a reduction in unplanned hospitalisation and mortality...
European Union agrees new rules for approving medical devices and in...
The Netherlands presidency of the European Council and representatives of the European Parliament have reached a political agreement on two draft regulations for medical...
New procedure uses heart rate to estimate life expectancy of infarct...
The heart rate may be an indicator of a person’s life expectancy. A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) (Munich, Germany)...
“Ghosts” after transvenous lead extraction may significantly increase risk of death
Maria Lucia Narducci (Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy) and others report in Europace that the presence of residual...
Importance of obstructive sleep apnoea in EP
Syed Rafay A Sabzwari and Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy (Kansas City, USA) review the importance of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in electrophysiology and cardiology at large,...
Biotronik launches CardioMessenger smart device in USA
Biotronik has launched CardioMessenger Smart in the USA. CardioMessenger Smart is a portable monitoring device, about the size of a smartphone, which makes data...
Radiofrequency catheter ablation shows benefits for recurrent ventricular tachycardia patients
A prospective, multicentre study—THERMOCOOL VT—analysing a cohort of non-randomised patients, published in February in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, has shown...
Catheter Robotics acquires VIVO technology, changes company name to Catheter Precision
Catheter Robotics has completed the acquisition of a new product line to be named VIVO (View Into Ventricular Onset). VIVO is a computerised three-dimensional...
ResMed announces primary results for CAT-HF sleep apnoea trial
ResMed has announced primary results from a multicentre, randomised controlled phase II trial—CAT-HF—presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s 2016 Annual Heart Failure Congress.
CAT-HF...
Yoga may help as a complementary treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
A randomised controlled study has found that yoga with light movements and deep breathing may lead to improved quality of life, as well as...
Cryoballoon ablation for AF may be economically favourable compared with focal...
A subsequent study of the Value PVI (pulmonary vein isolation) study report several economic benefits, including reduced staff overtime and more time remaining for...
Three-month data for Watchman show high success rate
New data from the EWOLUTION registry, presented at EuroPCR 2016, confirms safety of the Boston Scientific left atrial appendage closure system (Watchman). The data...
Study suggests major clinical benefit for left atrial appendage occlusion
St Jude Medical has announced results from two cardiovascular clinical trials presented at EuroPCR 2016. The studies, which look at how St Jude Medical’s...
Ventricular tachycardia ablation in Chagas disease
Guilherme Fenelon (Sao Paulo, Brazil) overviews the role of ablation of ventricular tachycardia in Chagas disease. He says: catheter ablation in Chagas disease remains...
Corvia Medical InterAtrial shunt device receives CE mark
Corvia Medical has been granted CE mark approval for its InterAtrial shunt device (IASD). The IASD is a transcatheter device designed to treat heart...
First randomised trial shows “poor outcomes” with rotor ablation
OASIS, the first randomised, controlled, multicentre clinical trial to compare rotor-only ablation with two other ablation strategies in non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients found “poor...
Extravascular ICD therapy is feasible
Studies presented at the 37th Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions (HRS; 4–7 May, San Francisco, USA) have shown the feasibility of a novel approach...
Ablation should be “preferred approach” in drug-resistant ventricular tachycardia
A multicentre, randomised controlled trial has shown that catheter ablation is superior to intensified antiarrhythmic drug therapy in reducing death, appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator...
Abbott to acquire St Jude Medical
Abbott is set to acquire St Jude Medical, expanding its portfolio to cover cardiovascular markets such as atrial fibrillation, structural heart and heart failure...
Boston Scientific is suspending sales of Watchman FLX in Europe
According to a Reuters news report, Boston Scientific is temporarily suspending sales of Watchman FLX—the next-generation of its left atrial appendage closure device, Watchman....
First patient enrolled in Xenios i-cor cardiac assist system trial
The first patient has been enrolled in the SynCor clinical trial of Xenios’ CE-marked i-cor synchronised cardiac assist system for treating cardiogenic shock.
The SynCor...
PCI does not reduce readmission rates for patients with syncope and...
Lindsay Anderson (Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA) and others report in the American Heart Journal that, compared with medical...
How innovation can unleash tremendous growth in the $3.4 billion AF...
Shlomo Ben-Haim (London, UK), a professor of medicine and serial entrepreneur in the medical device industry, examines the drivers of expansion of the atrial...
FDA confirms Robert Califf as new commissioner
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed the appointment of Robert Califf as its 22nd commissioner, following a US Senate vote of 88...
Hybrid and surgical atrial fibrillation ablation: Opportunity, threat or both?
Despite major advances in techniques and technology over the past 15 years, the clinical outcomes for catheter ablation in non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients remain...
European Society of Cardiology announces winners of innovative cardiovascular research grant...
The winners of the European Society of Cardiology competitive research programme ‘Grants for Medical Research Innovation’ have been announced. The grants are awarded to...
US Medicare to cover Boston Scientific Watchman left atrial appendage closure...
The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are to cover percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) therapy under specific criteria, as outlined...
Boston Scientific and Accenture develop data-driven digital health platform to improve...
Boston Scientific and Accenture are to launch a cloud-based, data-driven healthcare system for hospitals. The system, called Advantics Care Pathway Transformation, is designed to...
AdvaMed, MITA & MDMA applaud congress for passage of the medical...
The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) have applauded the US...
An interventional cardiologist’s view on left atrial appendage closure
By Martin W Bergmann
Martin W Bergmann is an interventional cardiologist working in Germany, who performs percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure procedures. He explores...
Are energy drinks safe enough for the heart?
Despite the lack of randomised trials on energy drinks consumption, few case reports on atrial and ventricular arrhythmias as well as on myocardial ischaemia...
Second survey on cardiac resynchronisation therapy utilisation in Europe launched
The European Heart Rhythm Society (EHRA) and Heart Failure Association (HFA) have initiated the European Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Survey II, an initiative designed to...
Remote monitoring of CIEDs: How important is the organisational model and...
Renato P Ricci (Rome, Italy) writes about the HomeGuide organisational model, a strategy aimed to improve the effectiveness of remote monitoring of cardiac implantable...
New trial to explore oral anticoagulation benefit in patients with atrial...
The Atrial Fibrillation Network (AFNET) association and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are initiating a new trial (NOAH – AFNET 6) investigating whether...
Safety, accuracy and validation of medical smartphone applications
The use of mobile smartphones and tablets that run applications (apps) to function as clinical examination tools, reference databases, technique guides, or medical calculators...
Mechanical transvenous lead extraction vs. laser lead extraction
Maria Grazia Bongiorni (Pisa, Italy) compares mechanical transvenous lead extraction vs. laser lead extraction approaches with supporting evidence from key randomised controlled trials in...
Advanced technologies to improve efficacy and safety of AF ablation
Technologies to image lesion creation in real time are required to improve the efficacy as well as the safety of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation....
Targeting the left atrial appendage for AF-related stroke prevention: Why the...
Sacha Salzberg cardiovascular surgeon (Heart Clinic Hirslanden, Cardiac Surgery Unit, Zurich, Switzerland) comments on catheter-based and surgical approaches for left atrial appendage occlusion as...
Antibacterial envelopes help to reduce infection rates and healthcare costs in...
Several recent studies have validated that there is considerable mortality associated from a cardiac implantable electronic device infection in high-risk patients. A strategy using...
SERVE-HF could be a wake-up call for cardiologists about central sleep...
An interview with Martin Cowie
Martin Cowie (Imperial College London, London, UK) is the principal investigator of the SERVE-HF study, which is assessing the use...
A new study explores heart failure treatment with vagal nerve stimulation
Albert Hagège (Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, France), principal investigator of Vanguard, a new study exploring the safety and efficacy of vagal nerve...
ENSURE-AF: Largest trial ever to explore novel oral anticoagulation in AF...
Results of the X-VERT trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting (ESC; 30 August–3 September, Barcelona, Spain), showed that rivaroxaban (Bayer/Janssen Pharmaceuticals)...
Get With The Guidelines-AFIB: A US quality improvement programme for atrial...
Guideline adherence to anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation seems to be more difficult compared to other quality measures in cardiology practice. William Lewis (chair of...
Non-invasive identification of drivers in persistent AF
In paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, pulmonary vein isolation is successful while the results in persistent atrial fibrillation are less satisfactory because of ill-defined atrial substrate...
Danish data question preparticipation screening for sport-related sudden cardiac death
Implementation of a screening programme of all competitive athletes to avoid sports related sudden cardiac death is one of the hottest topics in sports...
A pacemaker powered by heart motion is being developed
Researchers in Switzerland are developing a pacemaker which has no leads and no battery. With this in mind, the prototype is aimed to solve...
Vagal nerve stimulation for heart failure requires specific lead design
Randy Lieberman (Detroit, USA) explains how lead design for vagal nerve stimulation in heart failure treatment may affect the outcome of the procedures.
Vagal...
The importance of e-Health in daily cardiology practice
e-Health encompasses the use of information and communication technologies in support of health and health-related activities, including healthcare services, health surveillance, education, knowledge management,...
Antithrombotic therapy after left atrial appendage closure
Uncertainty exists about the optimal post-interventional antithrombotic drug regimen as well as treatment duration after left atrial appendage closure; Boris Schmidt and KR Julian...
Transseptal endocardial CRT: An evolving approach for heart failure patients
Néstor López Cabanillas and Elencwajg Benjamin from Buenos Aires, Argentina, write about two similar novel techniques for cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) implantation, currently used...
A biological pacemaker is on its way
After over 10 years of research, scientists in the United States have demonstrated—for the first time—the feasibility of a somatic cell reprogramming strategy for...
The role of imaging in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
Imaging of the heart has played an important role in defining cardiac structures and characterising the arrhythmic substrates. Among the available imaging modalities, magnetic...
Leadless pacing: An exciting new technology
By Angela Gonzalez
The concept of a totally self-contained intracardiac pacemaker, first explored over 40 years ago by J W Spickler et al, has finally...
How to extract leads safely―Techniques, tools and principles
Brigitte Osswald
With more than 750,000 new pacemaker implantations and 250,000 first implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantations performed worldwide, the relevance of lead extraction strategies...
An inside view into the FAST trial
By Manuel Castella
Since time that the FAST trial1 was designed in 2007, up to now, there has not been clear evidence to indicate ablation...
“This is a very good time to hop on the wagon...
Roberto M Lang, professor of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, USA, is a pioneer in the development of 3D echocardiography. Lang, who...
Silvia Priori
Silvia G Priori spoke to Cardiovascular News about her career, research, joy in spending time with her two children, and the occasion she took...
