A hybrid approach to treating coronary artery disease that involves a hybrid procedure combining a minimally invasive bypass surgery with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was found to be feasible and safe in a clinical trial. This is the first randomized study of the technique.

As the use of mobile computing devices and smartphones has rapidly proliferated in healthcare over the past few years, there has been a flood of medical applications (apps) developed for all facets of medicine. In an increasingly tech savvy world, people want information to be at their fingertips when and where they need it via their mobile devices.

A clinical trial comparing the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) in treating in-stent restenosis (ISR) from bare metal stents found that both techniques yielded positive long term outcomes. Findings from the RIBS V trial were presented at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium (TCT 2013).

The first clinical trial in the United States to study the use of drug-coated balloons (DCB) for femoropopliteal artery disease found the procedure is promising for safety and efficacy at six months. Six-month data of the LEVANT 2 trial was presented at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium (TCT 2013).

According to a new study, administering the blood thinner bivalirudin to patients experiencing an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in a pre-hospital setting can reduce the risk of death and major bleeding complications compared to heparin with optional use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors.

A study supports the use of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) to simplify assessment and determine the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). ADVISE II findings were presented today at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium (TCT 2013).