April 26, 2012 - The timing of treatment when someone is having a heart attack can mean the difference between life and death. To help save lives, the American Heart Association and the Society of Chest Pain Centers joined forces in September 2011 to improve the care of patients suffering from the most deadly type of heart attack, known as an ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Heart Attack Referring/Receiving Center Accreditation program recognizes hospitals for their ability to quickly and appropriately treat heart attack patients.

April 24, 2012 - Boston Scientific Corp. announces CE mark and European market launch of the Emerge PTCA Dilatation Catheter. The Emerge catheter is a next-generation pre-dilatation balloon catheter designed specifically to offer exceptional deliverability to address challenging lesions. The company plans to launch the product immediately in CE mark countries in both monorail and over-the-wire (OTW) options. Commercial availability is expected in the United States and additional international markets later this year.

April 24, 2012 – BioVentrix, the developer of minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of heart failure, will release this week the six-month results of a 26-patient trial demonstrating safety and feasibility of its proprietary system for use in EpiCardial Ventricular Restoration (ECVR). Results from the trial indicate that the BioVentrix system is an impactful method of treating heart failure caused by scarring of the left ventricle (LV) from a previous heartattack. This innovative approach reduces the size of the enlarged LV and restores its conical shape, thereby improving cardiac function without the need for a ventriculotomy or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

April 23, 2012 - Abbott and St. Jude Medical announced ChoiceAlliance, a multi-year joint initiative that provides mutual U.S. customers access to a robust portfolio of interventional cardiology, cardiac rhythm management, electrophysiology and intravascular imaging and diagnostic technologies.

April 23, 2012 - CircuLite Inc. announced that updated clinical data related to the Synergy miniature ventricular support system was presented in two oral presentations and one poster session at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation’s 32nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions (ISHLT) in Prague, Czech Republic. The company also announced the successful implantation of the Synergy system in its 51st patient in the ongoing CE mark trial.

April 20, 2012 — VasoStitch will be featuring its technology at EuroPCR, Europe’s largest interventional cardiology scientific meeting, May 17, in Paris.

April 19, 2012 - The FDA received a report from a hospital that 16 patients had developed hospital-acquired infections with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa following an examination with transesophageal echo (TEE) ultrasound probes using Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel. Upon investigation, theultrasound gel was found to be contaminated with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella oxytoca. Manufactured by Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc., the non-sterile gel is used in ultrasound procedures to improve the transmission of the ultrasound signal from the transducer to the body.

April 19, 2012 — Spherix Inc. announced results from its recently completed studies using near-infrared spectroscopy on autopsy samples from humans who had confirmed cardiovascular disease. Results showed that these atherosclerotic plaques had abnormally high amounts of macrophages and reduced levels of collagen and elastin. Reducing collagen and elastin weakens the plaques and contributes to plaque rupture, myocardial infarction and/or stroke.