Among patients who stopped taking statins due to side effects, researchers found the statin may not have been the culprit as patients taking a placebo reported the same side effects, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions (AHA 2020, 13–17 November, virtual). The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, was also published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

A pooled analysis of interventional studies assessing the feasibility, efficacy and clinical outcomes of transcatheter repair of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has concluded that a percutaneous repair strategy for severe TR appears to be feasible, effective, and is associated with improved clinical outcomes at mid-term follow-up.

Append Medical, developer of the Appligator implant-free left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion device, today announced completion of its first pre-clinical chronic procedures. The procedures were completed with the research organisation IMMR and pave the way for the first-in-human trial of the device, Append Medical said in a press release. 

Heart valve procedures performed by cardiothoracic surgeons with 10 years of experience or less are associated with a significantly higher risk of mortality compared with those performed by more experienced surgeons. This is the finding of an analysis of the association between cardiothoracic surgeons’ years in practice and operative outcomes on coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and valve surgery, published in JAMA Network Open.

Results of the Onyx One Clear study, evaluating the safety and effectiveness of one-month dual antiplatelet therapy followed by single antiplatelet therapy in high bleeding risk (HBR) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the Resolute Onyx (Medtronic) drug-eluting stent have been published online this week in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. Findings of the study were initially shared virtually at the American College of Cardiology/World Congress of Cardiology’s virtual scientific sessions (ACC.20/WCC Virtual) in March.

Abiomed has announced that the first 1,000 patients have been treated with the Impella 5.5 with SmartAssist heart pump in the first year after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for the device.

A significant decline in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures was seen in England early on in 2020 due to the lockdown enforced in the country during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to a paper published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions looking at the changes in PCI practice throughout England during the pandemic, looking at changes in clinical presentation, characteristics of patients and their clinical outcomes.

The use of ticagrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was not associated with a significant difference in the risk of net adverse clinical events (NACE), a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has found.

During the prize session at this year’s European Society for Vascular Surgery annual meeting (ESVS Month, 29 September–29 October, virtual), Maaz Syed (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK) presented early clinical outcomes of a “promising multimodality imaging technique” in acute aortic syndrome—18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography (PET).

RaFeVA (Rapid Femoral Vein Assessment), a new protocol, is a rapid and effective tool for the systematic ultrasound evaluation of the veins in the inguinal area and at mid-thigh, conclude Fabrizio Brescia (Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Vascular Access Team, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano, IRCCS, Aviano, Italy) et al in The Journal of Vascular Access (JVA). Describing this new protocol step-by-step, the study authors say it is designed to evaluate patency and calibre of the common and superficial femoral veins and to help interventionalists choose the best venipuncture site before insertion of a femorally-inserted central catheter (FICC).

Abiomed has announced the treatment of the first two patients using the Impella ECP expandable percutaneous heart pump—a device described by the company as the smallest heart pump in the world. Impella ECP measures 3mm in diameter upon insertion and removal from the body. While in the heart, it expands while supporting the heart’s pumping function, providing peak flows greater than 3.5L/min.

Foldax has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to expand the US clinical study of the Tria surgical aortic heart valve. This next stage of enrolment is expected to begin within the next month.