September 6, 2012 — Drug-eluting stents (DES) are used less often in women treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for coronary artery disease (CAD) than men treated with PCI for the same condition, according to research presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2012. The findings from a countrywide Germany registry were presented by Dr. Martin Russ.

The great Japanese earthquake and consequent tsunami of March 11, 2011, which hit the northeast coast of Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale, was one of the largest ocean-trench earthquakes ever recorded in Japan. In addition to claiming the lives of almost 16,000 and destroying nearly 400,000 homes, the disaster resulted in a sharp increase in the number of CV events.

August 30, 2012 — Implantable devices for treating cardiac arrhythmias, which include implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), are already underused in parts of Eastern and Central Europe and there is a risk that the financial crisis could exacerbate the problem. The European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), is tackling this issue through ICD for Life. The initiative aims to raise awareness about the importance of ICDs and sudden cardiac death in countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Elixir Medical Corp. announced it received CE (Conformité Européenne) mark approval for its drrug-eluting stent (DES) DESyne BD novolimus-eluting coronary stent system for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

August 30, 2012 — An ultra-fast, 320-detector computed tomography (CT) scanner can accurately sort out which people with chest pain need – or don’t need – an invasive procedure such as cardiac angioplasty or bypass surgery to restore blood flow to the heart, according to an international study.