A multi-center study done in the United States and Canada may have global applicability for families with children afflicted with cardiomyopathy. Findings from this large National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, which have important implications in how to treat two types of dilated cardiomyopathy in children, have been published in Circulation Heart Failure, an official journal of the American Heart Association. The paper, representing findings from nearly 100 pediatric cardiology centers, is titled “Differences in Presentation and Outcomes Between Children with Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Children With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Report From the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry Study Group.”

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) have released a new joint document updating guidance for how best to use echocardiography to assess the growing number of patients with aortic stenosis (AS). The paper, Recommendations on the Echocardiographic Assessment of Aortic Valve Stenosis: A Focused Update from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), will appear in the April issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE).

There is no evidence that adding a new cholesterol-lowering drug to treatment with a statin causes memory loss or other problems with cognition or thinking, according to findings from the EBBINGHAUS study. The research from the largest, most rigorously designed study to address this issue to date was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 66th Annual Scientific Session, March 17-19 in Washington, D.C.

Hospitals can dramatically increase heart attack survival rates in patients suffering cardiogenic shock by providing rapid hemodynamic support before treating the cause of a heart attack, according to a new analysis that included more than 15,000 patients across the United States.

March 31, 2017 — Northwestern Memorial Hospital is now home to the Chicago area's first combined magnetic resonance (MRI ...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has initiated a Class I recall of the Merit Prelude Short Sheath Introducer, warning that a manufacturing defect may cause the tip to separate from the sheath during the separation procedure. The agency said that if this occurs, the tip could enter the patient’s bloodstream. This may result in prolonged procedure times, additional surgery to remove the tip from the patient, blood clots, internal tears and perforation to arteries or veins, excessive bleeding and death.

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) and Bayer announced an alliance to establish the United States' first-ever statewide radiation dose management repository for patients undergoing certain radiological procedures. The repository will use Bayer’s Radimetrics, a radiation and contrast dose management and analytics tool which provides clinicians with data needed for them to help ensure their patients receive the lowest radiation dosage necessary. The goal is for clinicians to be able to share the data in order to benchmark radiation exposure.