Use of the novel anticoagulant otamixaban did not reduce ischemic events compared with unfractionated heparin plus eptifibatide but increased bleeding among patients with non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), according to a clinical study published by JAMA. The study was released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2013.


Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is feasible in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BV), according to research presented at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2013 by Dr. Timm Bauer from Germany. The findings open up a new treatment possibility in patients with BV, which has been considered a contraindication for TAVI. 
 

September 5, 2013 — Scientists at Rice University have trapped bismuth in a nanotube cage to tag stem cells for X-ray tracking. Details of the work by a team from Rice and collaborators at the University of Houston, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and the Texas Heart Institute appear in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B.

Researchers announced this week that an attempt to expand cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) to include more patients with heart failure has failed and an international clinical trial ended early to prevent potential harm to patients. 
 

September 5, 2013 — ITC Nexus Holding Co., a company in hemostasis management and point-of-care (POC) testing, announced it has acquired Accumetrics, a specialist in assessing patient response to all major antiplatelet therapies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

HeartWare International Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) Supplement that allows HeartWare to commence enrollment in an additional patient cohort for ENDURANCE, the company's pivotal, destination therapy clinical study.

 
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