A new Heart & Stroke guideline published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal does not recommend taking ASA (Acetylsalicylic acid) as a preventive measure for those who do not have a history of stroke or heart or vascular disease, a change to a decades-old common practice.

Patients who have a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion following a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) have worse outcomes than those without prior surgery, a meta-analysis published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions has found. The research was due to be presented at the now-cancelled American College of Cardiology’s Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC), which was scheduled to take place March 28–30 in Chicago, USA.

CryoLife has announced that it has received CE mark for the E-vita Open Neo, a hybrid stent graft system for the treatment of aortic arch disease. 

Aortic arch disease includes both aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections, which occur suddenly and usually without warning. Approximately 7,000 patients are surgically treated for thoracic aortic arch disease annually in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Vascular remodelling may occur in response to sustained, regular exercise, suggests a study of aortic dilatation among long-term endurance athletes. Timothy W Churchill (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA) et al found a “marked increase in the prevalence of aortic dilatation based on established population nomograms. This finding was consistent between men and women, and across athletes participating in two of the most common endurance sports [running and rowing]”. The elevated prevalence was found without clear explanatory risk factors.

Abbott has received CE mark in Europe for the new FlexNav delivery system for the company’s Portico transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system. A statement from the company says that with the approval, physicians implanting Portico can benefit from improved delivery, flexibility and navigation during implant, even in complex cardiac anatomies.

CryoLife has announced that it has received CE mark for the E-vita Open Neo, a hybrid stent graft system for the treatment of aortic arch disease. 

Patients discharged three days after open heart surgery are not at increased risk of complications, an analysis of discharge patterns has shown. S Chris Malaisrie (Northwestern Medicine, Chicago, USA) unveiled the findings at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS 2020; 25-28 January, New Orleans, USA).

A secondary analysis of repeat revascularisation in the EXCEL trial has found that it was associated with increased mortality after both percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD). The EXCEL investigators also noted that, consistent with previous studies, repeat revascularisation was performed less frequently following CABG than PCI, and suggest this may have contributed to the higher rate of all-cause mortality seen with PCI in EXCEL. The findings of the main EXCEL trial have been the subject of much recent debate, including the incidence of myocardial infarction, which was not measured according to the universal definition.

Alucent Biomedical has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to proceed with a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its Natural Vascular Scaffolding (NVS) technology. The therapy is designed to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower extremities, a condition that affects over 200 million people worldwide.

Abbott has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a first-of-its-kind clinical trial that will compare the effectiveness of Abbott’s MitraClip device to open heart mitral valve surgical repair in people with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) who are eligible for open-heart surgery. If successful, the trial has the potential to expand treatment options from the current indication of patients at prohibitive risk for surgery to also include patients at moderate risk.

In the area of lower limb amputation, core outcome sets “should be adopted on all future studies recruiting patients” said Graeme Ambler (University of Bristol, Bristol, UK), who was speaking at the annual meeting of the Vascular Societies’ Annual Scientific Meeting (VSASM; 27–29 November 2019, Manchester, UK). Developed in a four-stage process, Ambler discussed how the core outcome sets to address a range of concerns involved in the care of amputees.

Serena Auñón-Chancellor, clinical associate professor of medicine at Louisiana State University Health, New Orleans School of Medicine’s branch campus, in Baton Rouge, USA, is the lead author of a paper which describes a previously unrecognised risk of spaceflight discovered during a study of astronauts involved in long-duration missions.