Nationwide data show that although only about 12 percent of X-ray exams are for interventional cardiology or electrophysiology (EP) procedures, nearly 50 percent of a patient’s lifetime radiation exposure comes from the cardiovascular labs. In an effort to reduce this level of patient radiation exposure, Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute, part of Scripps Memorial Hospital and Scripps Green Hospital, evaluated Biosense Webster’s CartoUnivu module for the Carto 3 System (Figure 1) before it was made commercially available earlier this year. They looked for its potential benefits in reducing radiation exposure to patients and clinical staff. 


When a beating heart slips into an irregular, life-threatening rhythm, the treatment is well known: deliver a burst of electric current from a pacemaker or defibrillator. But because the electricity itself can cause pain, tissue damage and other serious side-effects, a Johns Hopkins-led research team wants to replace these jolts with a kinder, gentler remedy: light.


Philips showcased several new products at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2013, including a new stress test system and a new cardiac PACS solution.

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. 
 

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