Using clot-busting drugs to clear blood from the brain’s ventricles may be the first effective strategy to decrease mortality for a type of catastrophic bleeding stroke, according to new phase-3 clinical trial results.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an expanded indication trial for low-risk surgical patients using Medtronic’s CoreValve Evolut R System transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system. Patients with aortic stenosis, who are at a low surgical mortality risk as determined by a heart team, will be enrolled in the trial.

TherOx Inc. announced the first patient has been enrolled in an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) confirmatory study of its second-generation system that delivers supersaturated oxygen (SSO2) therapy for reduction of infarct size after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study is being conducted to support a premarket approval submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A new study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has revealed some of the underlying mechanisms that may increase the risk of heart disease in people with sleep apnea. The study also found that statins — the cholesterol-lowering medications commonly prescribed to combat heart disease — may help reverse this process.

Samsung NeuroLogica and Mercy Life Flight Network announce the debut of the mobile stroke unit (MSU) serving greater Northwestern Ohio. The fourth of its kind in the United States, the vehicle comes equipped with a CereTom mobile computed tomography (CT) scanner, is on-call 24/7, and is staffed with a critical care nurse, paramedic and CT technologist.

Peripheral stents will account for over $4.6 billion in worldwide sales by 2020, according to a new report from MedMarket Diligence. Critical limb ischemia, aortic aneurysm, chronic venous insufficiency and other pathologies continue to represent vertical and horizontal opportunities for medical technology (medtech) manufacturers, with expanded clinical applications and global growth. MedMarket Diligence has assessed the products, technologies and global markets for peripheral stenting systems in the 2016 report, Global Market Opportunities in Peripheral Arterial and Venous Stents, Forecast to 2020.

AtriCure Inc. announced that the first patient was enrolled and treated at PinnacleHealth Hospitals in Harrisburg, Pa., in the ATLAS clinical study. This observational study explores the use of the AtriClip device to decrease complications associated with post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) by targeting specific cardiac surgery patient populations at the highest risk of developing POAF.