St. Jude Medical is recalling the Optisure implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) leads due to a manufacturing error that may have caused damage to the insulation layer of one of the shock coils. Depending on device programming and the depth of the cut, this could result in the inability of the defibrillator to deliver electrical therapy to the patient. The use of affected products may cause serious adverse health consequences, including patient injury or death.

New recommendations from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) have established appropriate use of diagnostic imaging for patients with chest pain, one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits.

On the 100th anniversary of the Endurance expedition to Antarctica led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine believe the explorer may have had the congenital defect commonly known as a 'hole in the heart'.

A lengthy review of increasing medical evidence shows that cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation often damage heart vessels and tissues, increasing the risk of later heart disease in cancer survivors. Now an interventional cardiologist from Detroit Medical Center (DMC) who is a co-author of the study is helping efforts to expand a new medical specialty known as “cardioncology.”

A group of researchers from Russia, Australia and the Netherlands have developed a technology that can reduce magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning times by more than 50 percent.

Global Genomics Group (G3) and GNS Healthcare (GNS), announced preliminary results of the GLOBAL Clinical Study designed to identify biomarkers associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). The study provided proof of concept of the approach by prospectively identifying a biochemical pathway known to be associated with CAD.