Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Edwards Sapien transcatheter heart valve for patients with aortic stenosis (AS), who are not suitable for standard aortic valve replacement (AVR). This approval is a landmark event in cardiac medicine and will change the way patients with aortic valve disease are treated.

When the time nears for quarterly submissions to the American College of Cardiology (ACC)-National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR), most hospital cardiology departments around the country are scrambling. Numerous staff must work feverishly to manually collect the necessary information from different patient charts and then validate the accuracy of that data. It’s tedious, expensive and – thanks to information technology – unnecessary.

February 1, 2012 — Boston Scientific announced the first patient use and European market launch of the Promus Element Plus everolimus-eluting coronary stent system. The first patient implant in Europe using the new device was performed by Professor Antonio Colombo, M.D., director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Columbus Hospital and San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy.

February 1, 2012 — Toshiba America Medical Systems announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the Aquilion prime computed tomography (CT) system, the latest addition to the Aquilion CT product line.

January 31, 2012 — At the upcoming February meeting of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) in Orlando, Fla. TomTec will introduce its 2-D Cardiac Performance Analysis magnetic resonance (MR) software product. The tool to quantify myocardial function and deformation based on regular cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

January 31, 2012 — Since its launch less than a year ago, more than one million computed tomography (CT) scans have been contributed to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Dose Index Registry (DIR) and compiled for analysis. The DIR currently has 326 registered facilities including private practices, hospital-based facilities and academic centers.

Updated appropriate use criteria offer detailed guidance on when to use an invasive procedure to improve blood flow to the heart and how to choose the best procedure for each patient. The clinical scenarios, written by a group of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, affirm the role of revascularization for patients with acute coronary syndromes and significant symptoms.

January 31, 2012 — Medtronic, Inc. announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and launch of the DF4 High-Voltage Connector System, a right ventricular lead and connector used with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) to detect and accurately treat potentially life-threatening heart rhythms.

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