Editor's Note Frailty posed a higher risk of mortality in younger coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients than older patients, this Canadian study finds. In this analysis of 40,083 patients who underwent CABG surgery between 2008 and 2015, researchers found that frailty was associated with poor early and long-term postoperative…

Read More

Editor's Note Use of postacute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for total hip replacement (THR) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients was not associated with changes in readmission rates, in this study. Of 176,994 CABG patients at 804 hospitals and 233,955 THR patients at 1,220 hospitals, SNF use…

Read More

Editor's Note The American Heart Association (AHA) and Joint Commission are partnering to enhance cardiovascular patient care through a range of disease-specific hospital certification programs, the AHA announced on June 11. Both organizations are expanding their 15-year relationship in stroke certification to in-hospital cardiovascular patient care. The expansion will consolidate…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on June 6 identified the recall by Maquet Datascope Corp of its CARDIOSAVE Hybrid Intra-aortic Balloon Pump as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a design issue that allows fluid to seep into the device, which can lead…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, the use of radial-artery grafts for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) resulted in a lower rate of cardiac adverse events and a higher rate of patency at 5 years than saphenous-vein grafts. A total of 1,036 patients (534 radial artery, 502 saphenous vein) from six…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on June 1 identified the recall by Medtronic of its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) system as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the possibility for an interruption to occur in the electrical connection between the system’s power…

Read More

Editor's Note A simple 6-minute walking test before cardiac surgery helped predict the risk for cognitive issues after surgery, in this study from Japan. A 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) test was performed preoperatively on 181 patients who had nonemergency cardiac surgery. After surgery, 51 patients had postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).…

Read More

Editor's Note Patients who have a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) experience a significant increase in quality of life, finds this study presented March 11 at the 2018 American College of Cardiology Scientific Session in Orlando. Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute (Salt Lake City) researchers found that TAVR patients ranked…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 27 classified the recall by Medtronic of certain Implantable Cardiovert Defibrillators (ICDs) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillators (CRT-Ds) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a defect in the manufacturing process. The defect causes an…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized an update to its coverage policy for implantable cardiac devices (ICDs), the February 16 Modern Healthcare reports. The update expedites patient access by eliminating the waiting period for patients with an existing ICD to obtain a replacement device…

Read More