Ortho Clinical Diagnostics has received the CE mark for its next-generation Vitros high sensitivity troponin I assay. A press release reports that this new assay is the latest addition to the company’s robust cardiology menu and is a critical tool for clinicians who are seeking improved strategies to more rapidly and accurately identify patients suffering from a heart attack. It adds that the assay also aids in identifying low-risk patients who may be safely discharged to help reduce the cost of care and alleviate the burden on hospital resources.

Boston Scientific has received US FDA approval for its Lotus Edge transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system. It is approved for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are considered at high risk for surgical valve replacement via open heart surgery. Prior to the approval, the only TAVI devices on the US market were Medtronic’s CoreValve and Edwards Lifesciences’ Sapien 3/Sapien XT.

Patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should be triaged for intensive care (ICU) treatment based on risk factors that include reperfusion delay to avoid overuse of ICU facilities. A review of patterns of ICU use found that although >80% of stable patients with STEMI are treated in the ICU after primary PCI, the risk for developing a complication requiring ICU care is 16%.

Nearly two thirds (64.3%) of cath lab staff believe that the financial/administrative burdens of meeting percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) public reporting requirements are not outweighed by the potential benefits in terms of improving quality of care. Furthermore, the median institutional costs to meet public reporting requirements are US$100,000 to US$200,000 and interventional cardiologists spend a median time of five to 10 hours per week on meeting these requirements.

Using EndoAnchors to fix and seal endovascular aortic grafts is safe and effective for short-neck abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) patients, two-year data from the ANCHOR global registry have shown. Frank Arko (Charlotte, USA) presented the findings at the 2019 Charing Cross Symposium (CX; 15–18 April, London, UK) in a Podium 1st session, confirming a high success rate for the procedure. “The goal of contemporary AAA therapy is the long-term durability of the repair. Surgical repair does this very well. Can we simulate and get those same results with endovascular repair, with the addition of EndoAnchors? I tend to think so, and I think that today would also suggest that as well.”

NuCryo Vascular, the manufacturer and marketer of the PolarCath Balloon Dilatation System, announced today that the company is raising a Series B round of financing and is launching its Extended PolarCath Balloon Dilatation Catheter.

CX Executive Board member Una Adderly (Wakefield, UK), director of the National Wound Care Strategy Programme for the National Health Service (NHS) England, spoke recently at the 2019 Charing Cross Symposium (CX; 15–18 April, London, UK) on the challenge of ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) for managing vascular disease. Adderly argued for the benefits of introducing ABPI assessment, claiming the data supports that a significant majority of amputations due to chronic vascular disease could be prevented with its use.

Steven Rogers (Manchester, UK) presented the case for using contrast-enhanced tomographic 3D ultrasound imaging for peripheral arterial disease, telling the audience at Charing Cross Symposium (CX; 15–18 April, London, UK): “Our surgeons certainly prefer the 3D vein mapping to a 2D vein map”.

Cook Medical has released de-identifiable patient-level data from a clinical trial of its Zilver PTX peripheral paclitaxel-eluting stent.

A pilot study, published as a research letter in the Annals of Internal Medicine, has found that patients who received comics or “medical graphic narratives”, as well as standard informed consent protocols (official consent form and a conversation with a physician), had greater comprehension of the coronary angiography procedure that they underwent and less anxiety than those who only received the standard protocols.