May 10, 2011 – Patients suffering from blockages of the arteries to the kidneys now have access to a new stenting treatment option with the launch of Cook Medical’s Formula Renal Balloon-Expandable Stent at the Society for Cardiovascular Angioplasty and Intervention (SCAI) 2011 Scientific Sessions. Commercial availability of Formula follows pre-market approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year for use in patients with atherosclerotic disease of the renal arteries.

May 10, 2011 – Thirty Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) members visited Capitol Hill on May 2 to meet with congressional offices on a variety of issues facing the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community. Forty-eight meetings were held with staff members from key congressional committees and from the local districts of the SNM members.

May 10, 2011 – In a “real-world” test of treatments for an overly thickened heart muscle, the use of alcohol injections to shrink the unwanted tissue appears to be significantly safer and less expensive than open-heart surgery to cut it away, according to a study presented today at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2011 Scientific Sessions.

May 4, 2011 -- Two new clinical studies will use the Carillon Mitral Contour System, an investigational device for percutaneous treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR).

May 6, 2011 – Rhythmia Medical Inc. and Endosense have engaged in a joint development project to integrate the contact-force data provided by Endosense’s TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter into Rhythmia’s advanced three-dimensional cardiac mapping, visualization and navigation system.

May 6, 2011 – The report recommends training focused on three levels of competency based on the individual interventional cardiologist's level of experience with simple and complex cases, including patients with challenging anatomy.

May 6, 2011 – New data presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) Scientific Sessions are the first to look at the use of highly specialized signals within implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to detect restricted blood flow to the heart in high-risk cardiovascular disease patients outside the hospital setting. Preliminary results from the ST-DETECT Trial using high-fidelity intracardiac electrogram (EGM) signals in ICDs show a low spontaneous coronary event rate (such as heart attack) among these patients.

May 6, 2011 – African American patients who undergo angioplasty and stenting fare worse over the long run than patients of other races, regardless of socioeconomic status. In fact, the risk of dying within about three years is more than twice as high among African Americans, according to a study presented today at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2011 Scientific Sessions.