January 16, 2009 – The FDA granted Fluke Biomedical U.S. Food and Drug 510(k) clearance for the Impulse 7010 Defibrillator Selectable Load Accessory to test defibrillators beyond 175 ohms.

Used in conjunction with the recently introduced Impulse 7000DP Defibrillator/External Pacer Analyzer, the Impulse 7010 supports defibrillator performance through the spectrum of patient impedances, the company said.

January 16, 2009 -St. Jude Medical Inc. this week said a study was published on the St. Jude Medical Biocor Stented Tissue Valve with 20-year data showing excellent long-term durability of the Biocor tissue valve.

Published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, this prospective study compiles data from 1,712 patients, and is one of the largest published studies of tissue valves.

January 15, 2009 - Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may reduce the risk of death by 30 percent in older patients with reduced heart function, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Paul Chan, M.D., M.Sc., lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Mid-America Heart Institute and the University of Missouri in Kansas City, said that ICDs reduced the risk of dying by 30 percent in patients younger than 65 years old, 65 to 74, and 75 and older.

January 14, 2009 - According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG's) U.S. Markets for Electrophysiology (EP) Mapping and Ablation Devices 2009 report, an increase in the number of catheter ablation procedures for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) will fuel revenues in the EP ablation catheter market over the next five years.

The ablation catheter market will exhibit strong growth from 2008 to 2013, at a compound annual rate of almost 14 percent, exceeding $480 million by the end of 2013, MRG said.

January 14, 2009 - University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) researchers have successfully grown blood vessels in damaged muscle tissue by injecting a biomaterial developed specifically to attract new cells and support regeneration.

Blood vessel regeneration suggests that the body's own cells might one day be used to repair heart damage and restore function.

Details of the regeneration process are published online in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/fj.08-111054v1).