Boston Scientific has announced it has initiated the AGENT IDE trial for the Agent drug-coated balloon (DCB), which it is describing as the first clinical trial in the USA to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a DCB in patients with coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Abbott has announced a new trial focused on improving the treatment for people simultaneously battling both atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) an average of 10 minutes faster after clinicians and paramedics began using an app to facilitate efficient hospital intakes for these patients, according to a study to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.21, 15–17 May, virtual).

Patients suffering from severe mitral regurgitation should be carefully screened and counselled before undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral repair (TEER), as data show that as many as 95% of patients who needed surgery after failed TEER could not have their valves repaired and needed mitral valve replacement to resolve the issue.

Medtronic has announced that it has received the CE mark for the Evolut PRO+ transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system.

Patients studied in the ISCHEMIA trial, the largest trial to date to compare revascularisation with a conservative strategy in patients with stable ischaemic heart disease (SIHD), may be unrepresentative of ischaemic heart disease patients entering US cath labs, research presented in a late-breaking trial session at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions 2021 scientific sessions (SCAI 2021, 28 April–1 May, virtual) has concluded.

Phoenix Cardiac Devices has announced that it has received CE mark for its Basal Annuloplasty of the Cardia Externally—BACE—device, a novel modality for the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR).

One-year findings from B Braun’s CONSEQUENT ALL COMERS observational study were recently published by principal investigator Ralf Langhoff (Sankt Gertrauden Hospital, Berlin, Germany) et alonline in Angiology. The data were first presented earlier this year at LINC 2021 (The Leipzig Interventional Course; 25–29 January, online).

CytoSorbents has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted conditional approval of its investigational device exemption (IDE) application for the US Safe and Timely Antithrombotic Removal—Ticagrelor (STAR-T) randomised, controlled trial. 

The message that outcomes depend on the underlying pathology was front and centre during the Thoracic Aortic Controversies discussion at the Charing Cross (CX) 2021 Digital Edition (19–22 April, online). The day also featured a decisive vote that patients should be offered open, hybrid, and endovascular solutions depending on what is most appropriate for them. This segued into panellists expressing a pressing need for high-volume expert aortic centres that are able to offer all of these treatments, as championed by Roberto Chiesa and team in Milan, Italy. Patient involvement in the decision-making was another important seam running through the discussion, as was agreement on reducing the place of hybrid procedures as physicians decide to offer either open or endo more frequently. In addition, it was noted that staged procedures are becoming more common in challenging anatomies, resulting in fewer complications, and the role of spinal drains in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair was addressed.

Researchers from King’s College London (London, UK) have created 3D replicas of full-sized healthy adult hearts from Computed Tomography (CT) images and analysed how cardiac shape relates to function.

Abiomed has announced that the first patient has been enrolled in PROTECT IV, a large, prospective, multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) that is designed to provide the level of clinical evidence needed to achieve a Class I guideline recommendation for Impella in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (HRPCI).