May 20, 2010 – An aortic embolic protection device, which acts as a protective shield to reduce the incidence of embolization to the brain, was granted CE mark approval this week in Europe. The Embrella Embolic Deflector will serve as an adjunctive device to be used in procedures such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures.

May 19, 2010 – A new study shows a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging agent can identified symptomatic heart failure patients most likely to experience cardiac events.

May 17, 2010 – When patients present with chest pain or other high-risk symptoms of heart problems, doctors increasingly rely on nuclear imaging and computed tomography (CT) to find evidence of heart disease. Results of these procedures can help guide life-saving prevention and treatment options.

May 17, 2010 – The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) recently announced the creation of the Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) organization.

May 14, 2010 – New evidence demonstrates key shock-reduction programming strategies significantly reduced implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) shocks from 17 to 28 percent. The study also identified programming and patient characteristics that increased the risk of shocks.

May 14, 2010 – Research published in the April issue of The Journal of Simulation in Healthcare demonstrates the potential for high-fidelity simulations in assessing the performance of interventional cardiologists.