The American College of Cardiology announced 35 selected hospitals that are pioneering a team approach to keep patients healthy and at home following admission for heart attack or heart failure. The hospitals from across the country are the first participants in the ACC Patient Navigator Program, which is the first program of its kind in cardiology and supports national efforts to reduce unnecessary patient readmissions.

New physician experience for the Convergent Procedure in the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) was presented during a podium talk at the Northeast Cardiothoracic Surgical Society 20th Annual Meeting held last week in East Madison, N.H. William M. Boedefeld II, M.D., of CVT Surgical Center in Baton Rouge, La., reported on 224 patients, 66 percent of whom had persistent or longstanding persistent AF and 34 percent who had paroxysmal AF. At one-year follow-up, 93 percent of patients were in sinus rhythm.