Within the United States, the anticipated approval and launch of TAVR has received considerable attention, with speculation about who will perform the procedure. For example, many physicians are advocating a need for cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists to collaborate and work together as this technology becomes available in the United States.

At Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute – Texas Medical Center, we have expanded our already robust cardiac care offering to include radial approaches for interventional procedures. Offering radial approaches for interventional procedures has elevated Memorial Hermann’s level of patient care, by making interventions safer for patients by limiting complications.

Estimates say up to 75 percent of patients with a pacemaker will need magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over the course of their lifetime.[1] Yet as the industry has long been aware, MRIs can cause a number of adverse reactions when conducted on patients with a pacemaker. Aside from either the loss of pacing or inappropriate pacing, the MRI can cause current and heat to travel down to the heart muscle, resulting in local damage or life-threatening arrhythmias.

Computed tomography (CT) scanner manufacturers say they are tracking numerous trends in the cardiac imaging market that are influencing their development efforts. Among them are concerns over ionizing radiation dose, increasing use of CT to evaluate chest pain patients, development of CT perfusion imaging and the need to simplify cardiac imaging and workflow.