Boston Scientific Corp. exercised its option to acquire the remaining shares of Millipede Inc, a privately-held company in Santa Rosa, Calif., upon its recent successful completion of a first-in-human clinical study. The acquisition will expand the Boston Scientific Structural Heart portfolio to include the Iris Transcatheter Annuloplasty Ring System, which is in development for the treatment of patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) who are not able to tolerate open-heart surgery.

Terrific Care LLC. / Medex Supply Dist Inc. initiated a nationwide recall on Dec. 19 of Roche CoaguChek test strips, as said products have been found to inaccurately report high INR test results. This recall only includes CoaguChek test strips distributed directly to U.S. consumers by Terrific Care LLC. / Medex Supply Dist Inc via its website/phone calls/facsimal of all catalog/REF numbers that do not end in 160.

Patients who arrive at the hospital with heart-attack-like symptoms have had little recourse for their chest pain if scans came back clear, with no signs of blocked coronary arteries. Some of these cases are caused by a little-known phenomenon called coronary slow flow. Now, researchers at Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), have demonstrated for the first time a simple technique to effectively treat this under-recognized condition. They published their findings in the Journal of Invasive Cardiology on Dec. 15.

Tens of thousands of people across North Carolina are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease that had not been identified previously, according to a new study published in Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. The study team, composed of researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, created a statewide network of healthcare professionals in urban, suburban, and rural areas who work in small primary care practices and used existing electronic health records to identify at-risk individuals. Primary care doctors across the state then used this analysis to proactively engage patients to reduce their risk.

A new set of appropriate use criteria (AUC) released Dec. 17 by a group of cardiovascular professional societies provide guidelines for peripheral artery interventions. The purpose of the AUC is to provide guidance to clinicians who may refer patients for revascularization treatments and to interventionalists and surgeons themselves. With the field of peripheral artery disease constantly evolving, it is imperative to offer tools and resources that physicians can utilize to provide the best care for their patients.