With the world’s elderly population expected to double by 2050, understanding how aging affects the body is an important focus for researchers globally. Cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death worldwide, often is associated with aging arteries that restrict blood flow. Now, University of Missouri researchers have identified an age-related cause of arterial dysfunction, a finding that could lead to future treatments for some forms of vascular disease.

University of Texas Southwestern cardiologist Benjamin Levine, M.D., will use NASA-honed technology to monitor swimmer Ben Lecomte in his record-setting goal to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean. Lecomte will plunge into the ocean off of a Tokyo beach this summer heading for San Francisco.

Cook Medical has received premarket approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lower-profile Zenith Alpha Thoracic endovascular graft.

St. Jude Medical Inc. announced European CE Mark approval for the 27mm and 29mm Portico transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system. The approval follows previous approvals of the 23mm and 25mm Portico valves, allowing St. Jude Medical to offer physicians an expanded range of fully repositionable, retrievable TAVR valve sizes. The Portico valve accommodates a patient’s native anatomy with diameters ranging from 19 to 27 mm.

According to a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Vital Signs report, 3 out of 4 U.S. adults have a predicted heart age that is older than their actual age. This means they are at higher risk for heart attacks and stroke.

Thoratec Corp. issued a voluntary Urgent Medical Device Correction Letter to all hospitals who have patients supported with the HeartMate II LVAS reminding them to monitor the expiration date of the backup battery contained within the HeartMate II "Pocket" System Controller, as specified in the product Instructions for Use. This backup battery has a 36-month expiration date. If allowed to expire, an advisory alarm, indicated by a yellow wrench symbol, is triggered. This alarm occurs at 12:00 a.m. on the first day of the month in which the backup battery expires.