Cardiothoracic
FDA/CDC
FDA class I recall of CardioSave hybrid/rescue IABPs
Subpar batteries were mistakenly released to a limited number of customers and may have a shortened run time and fail unexpectedly.
FDA/CDC
FDA approves Abbott’s Portico valve for TAVR
The approval, based largely on the recently published PORTICO-IDE trial, is for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis at ‘high or...
Conference Coverage
Angiography can wait for cardiac arrest without ST-elevation
Results of the TOMAHAWK trial show that immediate transfer for angiography after out-of-hospital arrest without ST-segment elevation provided no...
Opinion
What is the most likely cause of this patient’s fever?
Case: A patient develops atelectasis after undergoing cardiac bypass surgery.
Feature
Docs fight back after losing hospital privileges, patients, and income
Physicians in St. Louis lost their hospital privileges when the hospital entered into an exclusive contract with other physicians. They’re losing...
Feature
Thousands of patients were implanted with heart pumps that the FDA knew could be dangerous
Inspectors repeatedly found manufacturing and device quality problems with the HeartWare heart pump. But the FDA did not penalize the company, and...
News
A pacemaker that 'just disappears' and a magnetic diet device
Plus, a face mask that prevents and diagnoses COVID-19 and a pacemaker that removes itself.
Conference Coverage
Patchy growth of TAVR programs leaves poorer communities behind
Hospitals in metropolitan areas and those serving wealthier patients were more likely to start programs, according to a new cross-sectional...
FDA/CDC
Medtronic recall of almost 240,000 ICDs is class I, FDA says
The recall applies to implantable defibrillators, with and without resynchronization pacing, that are at apparent risk for premature and possibly...
From the Journals
TAVR feasible, comparable with surgery in rheumatic heart disease
The largest study to date “opens the door to the massive unmet clinical needs in poorer regions as well as emerging economies,” an observer said...
FDA/CDC
FDA okays transcatheter pulmonary valve for congenital heart disease
Medtronic’s Harmony valve is the first minimally invasive option for patients with severe pulmonary valve regurgitation who have a native or...