Biotronik announced the European market release of what it calls the world’s smallest implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) devices that are approved for 3T full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

DiA Imaging Analysis has partnered with the Italian healthcare IT company Ebit (Esaote Group), to offer DiA’s LVivo Cardiac Toolbox as an integrated part of Ebit's Suitestensa CVIS (cardiovascular information system). The LVivo Cardiac Toolbox is designed to analyze cardiac ultrasound images based on more objective and reproducible information, as opposed to manual measurement or visual analysis methods that are currently being used.

CardioFocus Inc. announced the European CE Mark approval of the HeartLight X3 Endoscopic Ablation System.

For the first time in the United States, doctors with the American Heart Association (AHA) have outlined best practices for cardiologists to evaluate and manage patients who have heart attacks with no significant signs of coronary artery disease — a condition known as myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA). The new document, published in the March 27 issue of Circulation,1 aims to help physicians better recognize patients with this condition, to avoid common misdiagnoses and streamline care. It is especially important for women, who represent a disproportionate number of MINOCA cases.

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.