August 11, 2011 – Researchers have found more evidence supporting the role of fat around the heart in promoting atherosclerosis, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.

August 10, 2011 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Abbott’s RX Herculink Elite Renal Stent System for the treatment of renal artery stenosis (narrowing of the main arteries supplying blood to the kidneys) in patients with uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure). Over time, narrowed kidney arteries can lead to kidney failure and increased risk of heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. This approval is supported by the HERCULES (Herculink Elite Cobalt Chromium Renal Stent Trial to Demonstrate Efficacy and Safety) study, which demonstrated that RX Herculink Elite is safe and effective in patients with renal artery stenosis and uncontrolled hypertension.

August 9, 2011 — Boston Scientific Corp. said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a securities fraud case in connection with the 2004 recall of one of the company’s coronary stent systems.

August 9, 2011 — The American Heart Association (AHA) 2011 annual scientific sessions will be held Nov. 12-16, in Orlando, Fla.

August 5, 2011 – New software aimed at making computed tomography (CT) safer for patients estimates the radiation risk based on age, gender and size rather than using the current “one size fits all” approach. The software program, tested on more than 6,500 scans, was introduced at the 2011 Joint Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).

August 5, 2011 — BridgePoint Medical Inc., a Minnesota-based medical device company, has enrolled its first patient in the Peripheral Facilitated Antegrade Steering Technique in Chronic Total Occlusions (PFAST-CTOs) study.