Heart attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to result in heart failure compared with heart attacks one year earlier, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2021 (29 June–1 July, virtual) an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Nearly one in eight coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients are readmitted within 30 days of their procedure, the majority of which are readmitted for non-cardiac causes. This is according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of readmission after CABG published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Abbott has received Breakthrough Device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its investigational Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system in a subset of patients with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC).

After speaking with experts, reviewing current evidence, surveying people living with stroke or a heart condition, and funding a telephone poll of Canadians, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has revealed it found there is “great promise, and a continued desire” for virtual healthcare opportunities beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

An investigation into the impact of postoperative complications on long-term quality of life (QoL) and survival following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has found that, despite constant deterioration, both patients with and without complications showed improvements even 12 years after CABG compared with preoperative state.

The number of people dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Asia is increasing rapidly, with over half of all CVD deaths globally in 2019 occurring in Asian countries, according to a state-of-the-art review paper published in the inaugural issue of JACC: Asia.

Shockwave Medical has announced today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted approval for a Transitional Pass-Through (TPT) payment for Shockwave C2 Coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) device, effective July 1 2021. The TPT status provides incremental payment for Shockwave C2 devices used in the hospital outpatient settings.

A study looking at the timing of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) after the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), suggests that although patients who undergo CABG within 24 hours of AMI more often present in cardiogenic shock, there is no significant outcome difference with those who undergo CABG after 24 hours.

Pivotal trials of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in low-risk patients have, so far, demonstrated excellent clinical results, but should be extrapolated “with caution” to younger patients. These are the comments of Charan Yerasi, Toby Rogers, Ron Waksman (all from Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA) and colleagues, writing in a state-of-the-art review published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions this week considering the benefits TAVI or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in young, low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Medtronic is stopping the distribution and sale of the Medtronic HVAD system. This morning, the company notified physicians to cease new implants of the HVAD System and transition to an alternative means of durable mechanical circulatory support.

There does not appear to be a relationship between operator and patient gender and outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to the results of a study by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2), published in Catheterizations and Cardiovascular Interventions.