December 21, 2010 - The outcome of a recent expert consensus workshop offers six specific research recommendations in high-priority areas for sudden cardiac death (SCD) prediction and prevention. In the United States, SCD claims more than 250,000 lives annually and is the cause of half of all heart disease deaths.


December 21, 2010 โ€“ A new introducer kit is now available in the United States. The VSI StraitSet Kit, from Vascular Solutions, contains a triaxial introducer comprising a 6 French, a 20 cm sheath, inner dilator and metal stiffening cannula.

December 21, 2010 โ€“ A once-daily, three-in-one combination blood pressure treatment has been approved in Germany. Sevikar HCT, from Daiichi Sankyo Europe, combines olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine, and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in one pill to help control hypertension.

December 20, 2010 โ€“ A magnetic resonance (MR) system with high slew rate gradients and a new user interface is pending 510(k) approval and was announced at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting. The Vantage Titan HSR 1.5T MR, by Toshiba, is ideal for exams, such as advanced cardiac and neuro imaging, that require higher image quality and faster exams.

December 17, 2010 โ€“ Data published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions showed that a protein used with coronary stents significantly reduced two key biomarkers of cardiac damage in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). VT-111, a protein produced by the myxoma virus, was used by Viron Therapeutics.

December 17, 2010 โ€“ Meta analysis data delivered at the Innovations in Interventional Cardiology 2010 meeting demonstrated the low adverse cardiac events of a coronary stent merged with an embolic protection device. The MGuard, from InspireMD, is specifically designed for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients.

December 17, 2010 โ€“ An ultrasound contrast agent is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in stress echocardiography. Lantheus Medical Imaging recently submitted a supplemental new drug application for its Definity (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension.

December 17, 2010 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested additional analyses of the trial data in its review of the new antiplatelet agent ticagrelor (Brilinta).

December 17, 2010 โ€“ The first truly detachable hydrogel polymer embolic device is now available nationwide. The AZUR Peripheral HydroCoil 35 platinum coil embolization system, from Terumo Interventional Systems, is designed for treating high-flow and challenging blood vessels, vascular malformations and aneurysms.

December 16, 2010 โ€“ Bracco Imaging demonstrated how its customized evidence-based diagnostic imaging solutions are meeting the demands of an evolving radiology market at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting.

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