Despite national guidelines indicating statins can lower risk of heart attack and stroke, many patients who could benefit do not take them. More than half of eligible patients say they were never offered the cholesterol-lowering drugs; the experience of side effects or fear of side effects were reasons for stopping or refusing statins, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association.

Smart speakers customarily used in your living room can act as an aid to physicians in hospital operating rooms, according to new research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR) 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting, March 23-28 in Austin, Texas. Smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home, offer a conversational voice interface that allows interventional radiology (IR) physicians to ask questions and retrieve information needed for their patient treatments without breaking sterile scrub.

A program designed to help heart attack patients with the transition from hospital to outpatient care can reduce readmissions and deaths and increase the number of patients keeping follow-up appointments, a new study suggests. Findings from the Sanger Heart and Vascular Heart Care Navigation Team study were presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Cardiovascular Summit, Feb. 14-16 in Orlando, Fla. The conference brings together top experts to discuss and review innovative, relevant cardiovascular management and leadership strategies.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is reportedly recovering after undergoing a transcatheter aortic valve valve replacement (TAVR) procedure at a New York hospital.

Three years ago this week, Abiomed's Impella heart pump received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval (PMA) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) cardiogenic shock. At the time of Impella’s FDA PMA approval, the cardiogenic shock survival rate to explant in the Impella Quality Assurance (IQ) Database was 51 percent in the United States1. Today, Impella heart pumps, combined with the adoption of best practices that include the use of Impella pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), have contributed to a significant increase in cardiogenic shock survival and native heart recovery. New data from the IQ Database on nearly 5,000 patients treated between April 2018 and March 2019 show an increase in survival from 51 percent to 67 percent2, a relative increase of 34 percent in survival.

Increasing demand for innovative diagnostic techniques, neurological disorders and increasing disease awareness are expected to drive growth of virtual reality (VR) in the healthcare market over the next several years, according to new research from Reports and Data. The report projects the market will reach a value of $6.91 billion by 2026. Advancements in the field of information technology (IT), including laptop, computer, internet connectivity and mobile applications will also be a significant factor stimulating market demand.