December 4, 2007 – The Impella 2.5, a catheter-based heart pump device, supports high-risk patient’s weakened heart in the Abiomed PROTECT I trial conducted at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was one of the few facilities chosen to participate in the Abiomed PROTECT I trial for the Impella 2.5, the first FDA-approved trial for prophylactic, or preventative, use of a device during high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures.

December 4, 2007 – American College of Cardiology CEO Jack Lewin has urged ACC members this week to let "their members of Congress know how bad things are getting” in regards to Medicare cuts.

The Senate Finance Committee will be introducing a package for Medicare physician payment cuts. In the “Lewin Report Blog,” Lewin warns that the ACC’s imaging accreditation and appropriateness criteria pilot may be included in this package.

December 4, 2007 - Two special electrocardiograms (EKG) can help predict heart-related death or cardiac arrest after a heart attack, according to Canadian scientists.

One EKG checks the heart's nervous system and the other the heart’s electrical system. By combining the results of both tests, given 10-14 weeks after a heart attack, was the study's best predictor of heart-related death or cardiac arrest requiring resuscitation.

December 3, 2007 - The nation’s food supply is at risk, as are the regulatory systems that oversee the nation’s drug and medical device supplies, according to a subcommittee of the FDA’s Science Board in a report to be presented today.

The subcommittee attributes the deficiencies to soaring demands on the FDA and resources that have not increased in proportion to those demands. They conclude “this imbalance is imposing a significant risk to the integrity of the food, drug, cosmetic and device regulatory system, and hence the safety of the public.”

December 1, 2007 – The Merge Healthcare Teleradiology division of Merge Healthcare earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval by demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s (JCAHO) national standard for healthcare quality and safety.