Editor's Note In this study of low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, outcomes were significantly better at 1 year follow-up with transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) than surgical aortic-valve replacement. In 1,000 patients at 71 centers who were randomized to undergo either TAVR or surgical aortic-valve replacement, the rate of the…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on April 26 identified the recall of Edwards Lifesciences' Miller and Fogarty Atrioseptostomy Dilation Catheters as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of reports of difficulty in balloon deflation after deployment, which may lead to balloon fragmentation or…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on March 21 issued a Safety Communication on cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified in wireless telemetry technology used for communication between Medtronic’s implantable cardiac devices, clinic programmers, and home monitors. Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland) is working on updates to address the vulnerabilities and recommends that healthcare…

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Editor's Note In this study, having elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery under inhaled (ie, desflurane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane) anesthesia did not result in significantly fewer deaths than total intravenous (IV) anesthesia, though inhaled agents have cardioprotective effects. A total of 5,400 patients at 36 centers in 13 countries…

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Editor's Note This study comparing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with standard open-heart surgery found no difference in stroke or death from any cause at 2 years follow-up. The findings were presented March 17 at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans. A total of 1,468…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 15 identified Medtronic, Inc’s (Dublin, Ireland) recall of it’s Dual Chamber Implantable Pulse Generators (IPGs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the possibility of a software error that can result in a lack of…

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Editor's Note Medtronic published an urgent recall on January 7 for a subset of its dual-chamber pacemakers because some may temporarily lose their ability to pace the heart. The recall affects 156,957 devices distributed worldwide between March 10, 2017, and January 7, 2019, under the brand names Adapta, Versa, and…

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Editor's Note No significant difference was found between endoscopic and open vein–graft harvesting in the risk of major adverse cardiac events, in this study. This analysis of 1,150 patients in 16 Veterans Affairs cardiac surgery centers found that during a median follow-up of 2.78 years, the primary outcome of a…

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Editor's Note Fish oil did not increase perioperative bleeding and reduced the number of blood transfusions in cardiac surgery patients, in this study. A total of 1,516 cardiac surgery patients were randomized to perioperative fish oil or placebo−from 2 to 5 days before surgery until discharge. The primary outcome of…

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Editor's Note In patients having coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, no significant difference was found in the risk of major adverse cardiac events between open and endoscopic vein-graft harvesting procedures, this study finds. In this analysis of 1,150 patients at 16 Veterans Affairs centers over a median follow-up of…

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