In a large-scale analysis of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)-related hospitalizations, people admitted to the hospital on a weekend were twice more likely to die than those hospitalized on a weekday. Results from “Weekend Effect for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Admissions: A 10-Year U.S. Experience” were presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

A study in 65 countries has revealed low adoption of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations to reduce nuclear cardiology radiation exposure. The research was presented at ICNC 2017, May 7-9 in Vienna Austria, by Edward Hulten, M.D., a cardiologist at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.

An analysis of data from the entire development program consisting of three trials assessing the feasibility of using a stem cell therapy (CD34+ cells) to treat patients with refractory angina showed a statistically significant improvement in exercise time as well as a reduction in mortality. Results from “CD34+ Stem Cell Therapy Improves Exercise Time and Mortality in Refractory Angina: A Patient Level Meta-Analysis” were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

More than one-third of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) were observed to have atrial fibrillation (AF) either at baseline or new-onset within 30 days after TAVR, according to data from the BRAVO-3 randomized trial. Patients with new-onset AF had a greater than 4-fold greater risk of stroke within 30 days. Results from the trial were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

A large nuclear cardiology laboratory in Missouri has slashed its average radiation dose by 60 percent in eight years, according to new research presented at ICNC 2017, May 7-9 in Vienna, Austria and published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.1,2 The study in over 18,000 patients showed dose reductions were achieved despite a large number of obese patients.

Abbott announced CE Mark of the TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled, developed to make it easier for physicians to more effectively treat atrial fibrillation (AF). When integrated with Abbott's EnSite Precision cardiac mapping system, physicians are able to utilize dual impedance and magnetic technologies to help more precisely model the heart. This integrated system also helps physicians determine where to apply optimal contact force (pressure) when creating a lesion during a cardiac ablation to correct a heart rhythm abnormality. The Sensor Enabled technology allows physicians to create a more detailed heart model during ablation procedures than a catheter without a sensor.