Drug-eluting stents (DES or coated stents, or medicated stents) have been touted as solving one of the biggest problems of interventional coronary treatment: restenosis -- or reclosure of the artery. And the "Stent Wars" among the various manufacturers continue. The original DES (Boston Scientific's TAXUS Johnson & Johnson/Cordis CYPHER) are vying for U.S. market share with two second generation stents: Medtronic's Endeavor (pictured left) which was approved in February 2008 and Abbott's Xience, approved in July 2008.

For more information, features and interviews, visit our Drug-Eluting Stent Center.

January 27, 2012
Stent Pioneer Gary Roubin Leaving Lenox Hill
Interventional cardiology pioneer, Dr. Gary Roubin, is leaving Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute in New York, where he has served as chair of Interventional Cardiac & Vascular Services for almost a decade. (Read more...)

January 24, 2012
Medtronic Completes Enrollment of Extreme Risk Patient Group in CoreValve® U.S. Pivotal Trial
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced it has completed patient enrollment in the extreme risk study in its CoreValve U.S. Pivotal Trial. The company also received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an extended investigation (under the FDA's Continued Access Policy) to continue enrolling extreme risk patients under a Continued Access Study protocol. In the Trial's second study evaluating high risk patients for aortic valve surgery, enrollment completion is anticipated later this year. (Read more...)

January 21, 2012
FAME II Is Not the "Anti-COURAGE": Stents and Angioplasty in the Spotlight
There's been much talk this week, given the news that the FAME II clinical trial ended enrollment early, due to ethical concerns that were generated by the fact that patients randomized to Optimal Medical Therapy (OMT) alone were returning to the hospital in significant numbers for "urgent revascularization." So is this a reversal of the COURAGE trial results? Not according to the principal investigators of both the FAME II trial AND the COURAGE trial, whom I have spoken with in the past 48 hours. (Read more...)

January 18, 2012
Does FAME II Trump COURAGE? FFR: Key to Stents and Angioplasty
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) announced that it is stopping enrollment in its FAME II trial after only 2/3 of the planned patients were included. Why? Because the interim data so clearly favor the use of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) to guide stenting (PCI) in stable angina patients that the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the trial has concluded that it would be unethical to continue to randomize patients to optimal medical therapy (OMT) alone. Wait a minute! Did they say that using optimal medical therapy alone was unethical for the treatment of stable angina patients? That's pretty big news! (Read more...)

January 18, 2012
Independent Data Safety Monitoring Board Recommends St. Jude Medical's FAME II Clinical Trial Stop Enrollment Following Positive Interim Analysis
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced today that an interim analysis of the FAME II trial has found a highly statistically significant reduction in the need for hospital readmission and urgent revascularization when Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR)-guided assessment was used to direct treatment in patients with coronary artery disease. As a result of the positive interim analysis, the FAME II independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has recommended investigators stop patient enrollment in this trial as the DSMB considers it unethical to continue to randomize patients to optimal medical therapy (OMT) alone. (Read more...)

January 17, 2012
AAA Stent Graft Revisited
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: I revisit a patient who received an AAA stent graft a year-and-a-half ago and continues to stay physically active -- competing in Ironman races! (Read more...)

January 17, 2012
Medtronic Endurant® II AAA Stent Graft System Launches Internationally With CE Mark
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced the CE (Conformité Européenne) mark and international launch of the Endurant® II AAA Stent Graft System, which meaningfully expands the options physicians outside the United States have to treat patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms through a minimally invasive technique called endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). (Read more...)

January 9, 2012
New Drug-Eluting Stents: Lower Mortality and Less Restenosis Than First Gen DES or Bare Metal Stents
A new report in the European Heart Journal, analyzing 94,384 stent placements, finds that the new generation of drug-eluting stents (Medtronic's Endeavor Resolute, Abbott's XienceV and Xience Prime, and Boston Scientific's Promus and Promus Element) are associated with lower rates of restenosis, stent thrombosis and mortality than either the first generation drug-eluting stents or bare-metal stents. (Read more...)

December 21, 2011
Boston Scientific's New Drug-Eluting Stent in the News Again
The rare but vexing issue of longitudinal stent compression appeared in the news again, regarding the fact that the FDA required Boston Scientific to include a cautionary statement in the package insert labeling for its recently approved PROMUS Element everlimus-eluting stent. (Read more...)

December 7, 2011
ADVISE: New Tool May Help Determine Stent and Angioplasty Appropriateness
Results of ADVISE, a pilot study testing the validity of concept of a new adenosine-free assessment of stenosis severity, were published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology as an expedited manuscript. This proof of concept study also provided a correlation of iFR against fractional flow reserve (FFR). The r value in 157 stenoses measured was 0.90, virtual equivalence. (Read more...)

December 7, 2011
A Stent By Any Other Name
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: Labels can be misleading, for example, when discussing the categories in the Appropriate Use Criteria for stenting and angioplasty. (Read more...)

December 4, 2011
Stents, Angioplasty and PCI: The Uncertainty Principle (MEDICARE Style)
The question of the day, regarding whether or not to stent a coronary artery, is now being brought to the forefront by the U.S. government in the form of a Medicare "Demonstration Project". And by "brought to the forefront", I mean MONEY! -- as in "we won't pay you if we determine that the stent procedure was inappropriate." (Read more...)

December 2, 2011
Stent as Concertina
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: We've published two articles this week about the issue of stent compression...so read them and let's move on.... (Read more...)

December 1, 2011
Avoiding and Repairing Coronary Stent Distortion
For many interventional cardiologists, stent distortion is not that big a deal. It doesn't occur that frequently, especially when proper technique is employed. But sometimes, for exmaple in an ostial lesion, deep catheter engagement or manipulation is required. In such cases it is important to understand the issues involved in possible stent compression. To whit, we are posting Dr. John Ormiston's recommendations about avoiding and repairing coronary stent distortion. (Read more...)

November 30, 2011
New Boston Scientific Stent Shows Significant Shortening Compared to Other 2nd Generation DES
Seven stent designs were bench-tested for resistance to compression -- and the results for Boston Scientific's brand-new flagship PROMUS Element platform, approved by the FDA just last week, were not great. (Read more...)

November 14, 2011
New Data Reinforce Clinical Performance of Abbott's ABSORB Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold
Today Abbott announced positive long-term data from the two-stage ABSORB trial, which is evaluating the ABSORB drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. (Read more...)

November 11, 2011
Medtronic Resolute Drug-Eluting Stent Equals Abbott Xience V in Second Major Study
Two second-generation drug-eluting stents were shown to have similar outcomes in this late-breaking trial presented at Friday morning's final TCT2011 session. The TWENTE clinical trial, which compared Medtronic's Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent with Abbott's current market-leading everolimus-eluting Xience V stent is the second major trial to test these two stents head-to-head, or perhaps more accurately, strut-to-strut. (Read more...)

November 8, 2011
Medtronic Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent Shows Strong Results, Even in Challenging Diabetes Patients with Coronary Disease
Currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Resolute® drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) continues to demonstrate consistently positive performance across a variety of studies, according to two new data analyses being presented this week at TCT 2011. (Read more...)

November 8, 2011
Study of Medtronic Endeavor® Drug-Eluting Stent Demonstrates Long-Term Advantages Over Taxus® Drug-Eluting Stent
New research findings released at TCT 2011 show that the Endeavor® zotarolimus-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) outperformed Boston Scientific Corp.'s Taxus® paclitaxel-eluting stent on standard measures of safety and efficacy through five years of clinical follow-up. (Read more...)

November 4, 2011
Medtronic's Unmatched Portfolio of Cardiovascular Devices Features Prominently on Program for TCT 2011
Medtronic announces its week-long schedule of sessions and presentations at TCT 2011 that involve Medtronic devices, including stents and balloons for both coronary and peripheral artery disease, transcatheter valve for aortic stenosis, stent grafts for aortic aneurysms, and renal denervation for treatment-resistant hypertension and heart failure. (Read more...)

October 28, 2011
Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) Guides Stent Treatment for So-Called "Widow Maker" Artery
The results of this study show that a significant number of patients with a proximal Left Anterior Descending (LAD) blockage do not need angioplasty or bypass surgery and can be treated safely with medical therapy only. (Read more...)

October 27, 2011
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the Angiographic Core Laboratory of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. Announce CRFiCOR, a Collaborative Alliance to Enhance Patient Care
The Angiographic and Imaging Core Laboratories of the Clinical Trials Center (CTC) at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) in New York have formed a collaborative alliance with the Angiographic Core Laboratory of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. (HFMP). Led by distinguished physicians Gregg W. Stone, Jeffrey J. Popma and Gary S. Mintz, the collaborative research alliance will be known as CRFiCOR. (Read more...)

October 13, 2011
Cook Medical's Zilver(R) PTX(R) Drug-Eluting Stent Technology Receives Unanimous Recommendation from FDA Advisory Committee
The Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Stent, the first device of its kind developed to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), has received a unanimous recommendation from the FDA Circulatory System Devices Panel. (Read more...)

October 13, 2011
Medtronic Introduces Two Next-Generation Cardiovascular Devices in Japan
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced plans to introduce two of its next-generation cardiovascular devices in Japan, the world’s second largest market for advanced medical technology: the Integrity® Coronary Stent System for the treatment of narrowed heart arteries due to atherosclerosis and the Endurant® AAA Stent Graft System for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. (Read more...)

August 23, 2011
Medtronic Reports First Quarter Earnings
The Company reported worldwide first quarter revenue of $4.049 billion, an increase of 7 percent as reported or an increase of 2 percent after adjusting for a $186 million favorable foreign currency impact. (Read more...)

July 25, 2011
Medtronic Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent Shows Superiority to Taxus® DES in Study of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
The Resolute® drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), showed superiority to Boston Scientific Corp.'s Taxus® DES on the primary endpoint of the RESOLUTE Japan clinical study: in-stent late lumen loss at eight months. With an in-stent late lumen loss at eight months of 0.13 mm +/- 0.22 mm for RESOLUTE Japan patients (compared to 0.42 mm +/- 0.50 mm for patients in the Taxus arm of ENDEAVOR IV), both non-inferiority and superiority were demonstrated (p < 0.0001). In addition, RESOLUTE Japan featured an exceptionally low rate of TLF (4.0%) and no instances of stent thrombosis. (Read more...)

July 21, 2011
5th Annual CICT Interventional Cardiology Meeting in San Francisco
A small select group of interventional cardiologists will be meeting next weekend in San Francisco to discuss angioplasty, stents, valves, medical therapies, lasers: all sorts of devices that can be delivered to patients' hearts, kidneys, necks, legs with catheter-based interventions. (Read more...)

July 9, 2011
Are Stents Beings Overused? How Much and Where?
Dr. Paul Chan sat down with me recently to talk about the study published this week in JAMA that he served as lead author on. The article, "Appropriateness of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention" has generated hundreds of news reports about "unnecessary stenting", "overuse of angioplasty", etc. (Read more...)

July 9, 2011
Interview with Dr. Paul Chan
Angioplasty.Org discusses the recent JAMA study on PCI Appropriateness with the lead author of that study, Dr. Paul Chan. In this exclusive interview, Dr. Chan gives background on the study itself, the import of its findings and his concerns over the way the study may be interpreted. (Read more...)

July 6, 2011
A Perspective on the Appropriate Use of Angioplasty and Stents
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: Read our exclusive interview with Dr. Ralph Brindis about the JAMA study on PCI Appropriateness. He states that this study refutes assertions made by the COURAGE trial, and by Dr. Oz! (Read more...)

July 6, 2011
Interview with Dr. Ralph Brindis
Dr. Brindis is Immediate Past President of the ACC and has been at the helm of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) since its inception in 1997. In this interview, Dr. Brindis shares his thoughts on the major study of PCI appropriateness recently published in JAMA. (Read more...)

July 5, 2011
Angioplasty and Stents Inappropriate Only 4% of the Time
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: A major study of a half-million angioplasties, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), refutes two major myths about angioplasty and stent use in the United States: myth #1, that angioplasty is vastly overused and unnecessary in most cases; and myth #2, that most angioplasty is used in stable patients and therefore has little or no benefit over drugs in reducing death or heart attacks. (Read more...)

July 5, 2011
Most Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (Such As Balloon Angioplasty) Performed in U.S. For Acute Indications Appear to be Warranted
The current Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) announces the publication of a new study, "Appropriateness of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention", that looks at a half million angioplasty/stent procedures and how well they adhere to the 2009 Guidelines for PCI. (Read more...)

June 18, 2011
VALOR II Study Highlights Strengths of Valiant® Thoracic Stent Graft from Medtronic
An innovative medical device used in the minimally invasive treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms, the Valiant® Thoracic Stent Graft System from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), delivered excellent clinical results through one year of patient follow-up in the company’s U.S. pivotal study, VALOR II, according to data presented today at a meeting for vascular surgeons. (Read more...)

May 18, 2011
Medtronic Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent Offers Strong Performance in Diabetic Patients with Heart Disease
For patients with both heart disease and diabetes who took part in a pooled series of rigorous clinical trials, the Resolute drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), provided remarkably safe and effective outcomes, according to the results of several studies presented today at EuroPCR, a major international meeting for cardiac and vascular specialists. (Read more...)

May 18, 2011
Plans For Largest Ever Drug-Eluting Stent Randomized Clinical Trial Announced at EuroPCR
Plans for Global LEADERS ("LEADERS II"), the largest ever randomized clinical trial involving a head-to-head comparison between two drug-eluting stents (DES), were announced yesterday during the opening session of EuroPCR by Co-Principal Investigator Professor Patrick W. Serruys. The trial will enroll more than 10,000 patients from an "all-comers" population eligible for PCI, allocated to receive either BioMatrix Flex™ (Biosensors’ Biolimus A9™-eluting stent system with abluminal biodegradable polymer), or the market-leading DES system with a durable polymer. (Read more...)

May 17, 2011
Medtronic CoreValve® Multi-Center Study Shows Rapid and Sustained Health-Related Quality-Of-Life Improvements
New clinical data presented today at EuroPCR 2011 demonstrate immediate and long-term health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) benefits for patients receiving the Medtronic CoreValve® System from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT). The favorable two-year results from the 18-French CoreValve multicenter prospective study are the largest set of CoreValve HRQoL data and the longest-term HRQoL data available from all transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) systems. (Read more...)

May 16, 2011
Medtronic Advances Research on Peripheral Devices, Highlights Upcoming Presentations
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced recent milestones in its clinical program for the IN.PACT drug-eluting balloon (DEB) technology. The company also announced upcoming data presentations at the EuroPCR meeting on its peripheral vascular devices -- specifically, the IN.PACT DEB technology for the treatment of atherosclerosis in leg arteries and the Mo.Ma Ultra proximal cerebral protection device for carotid artery stenting. (Read more...)

May 5, 2011
After Stent or Angioplasty: Effient (Prasugrel) Bests Plavix (Clopidogrel) for Patients with High Platelet Reactivity
In the current issue of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, a small study from Greece highlights an ongoing controversy over the optimal antiplatelet therapy for patients after angioplasty or stenting (a.k.a. percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI). The results of this small study were significant: all patients achieved an almost five-fold reduction in platelet reactivity across the board with prasugrel vs. clopidogrel. (Read more...)

April 22, 2011
Showdown: Dr. Mark Midei and Stents
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: Dr. Mark Midei of Maryland mounts a defense in tomorrow's Baltimore Sun. His hearing is next Wednesday. Is he guilty of implanting "unecessary stents"? (Read more...)

April 9, 2011
New Medtronic Resolute Stent Begins Process for FDA Approval
Final data for both Medtronic's Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent and Boston Scientific's Promus Element everolimus-eluting stent have been submitted to the FDA, which both companies hope will result in approvals next year. (Read more...)

April 5, 2011
RESOLUTE US: Interview with PI of Medtronic's New Stent
Angioplasty.Org conducts an exclusive interview with Dr. Yeung, one of the principal investigators for the RESOLUTE US trial that was published yesterday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). (Read more...)

April 4, 2011
Heart Attack Stopped with a Stent
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: As Editor-in-Chief of Angioplasty.Org, I am currently reviewing at least six different articles about studies presented yesterday and today at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans...but this posting from a patient in his hospital bed just came into our Forum, and it puts everything into perspective!! (Read more...)

April 4, 2011
Boston Scientific's Promus Element™ Platinum Chromium Stent System Demonstrates Comparable Safety And Effectiveness Outcomes Versus Leading Drug-Eluting Stent In Platinum Workhorse Trial
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced 12-month results from the pivotal PLATINUM Workhorse trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of the PROMUS Element™ Everolimus-Eluting Platinum Chromium (PtCr) Coronary Stent System to the PROMUS® Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System. The trial demonstrated the clinical non-inferiority of the PROMUS Element Stent in comparison to the PROMUS Stent in treating de novo coronary artery lesions while showing a procedural benefit of reduced rates of unplanned (bail-out or emergency) stenting. (Read more...)

April 4, 2011
Data from Landmark Clinical Trial of Abbott's MitraClip® System Demonstrate Durable Clinical Benefits for Patients with Mitral Regurgitation Two Years After Treatment
Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced data from its EVEREST II (Endovascular Valve Edge-to-Edge REpair STudy) study showing that patients with significant mitral regurgitation (MR) treated with the company's investigational percutaneous catheter-based MitraClip® system continue to demonstrate the clinical benefits of initial treatment shown at one year out to two years, including improvements in heart function and reductions in symptoms. (Read more...)

April 4, 2011
Medtronic Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent Delivers Compelling Clinical Outcomes In Major Studies
Results of two major clinical studies presented at ACC.11 – the 60th Annual Scientific Session & Expo of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) – demonstrate that the Resolute® drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), provides a positive and persistent treatment effect for a wide variety of patients with coronary artery disease. These new data complete Medtronic’s submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pre-market approval (PMA) of the Resolute DES. The FDA’s decision is expected in the first half of 2012. (Read more...)

April 3, 2011
Abbott's ABSORB Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Demonstrates Positive One-Year Safety and Efficacy Results
Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced positive one-year results from 101 patients enrolled in the second phase of the ABSORB trial evaluating the world's first drug eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. (Read more...)

April 3, 2011
Pooled Analysis of XIENCE V vs. Taxus Trials Shows Positive Long-Term Data for Abbott Stent
Dr. Dean J. Kereiakes, medical director of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, presented a pooled analysis of almost 7,000 patients from the SPIRIT II, III, IV and COMPARE clinical trials at this morning's ACC.11 -- the hypothesis of all these trials: "Is the XIENCE V, a second generation drug-eluting stent made by Abbott Vascular, better than Boston's first generation TAXUS Express2 stent or, in the case of the COMPARE trial, the TAXUS Liberte?" The conclusions of these trials for several years now has been: of course. (Read more...)

April 3, 2011
Medtronic's Resolute Stent Equivalent to XIENCE V at Two Years
Presenting the two year data from the RESOLUTE All-Comers Trial at today's late-breaking trial sessions at the American College of Cardiology's 60th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans, Dr. Patrick W. Serruys and fellow investigators concluded that there was no difference between the safety and efficacy outcomes between Medtronic's Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent and Abbott's XIENCE V everolimus-eluting stent, two new generation drug-eluting stents, at two-year follow-up. (Read more...)

April 3, 2011
Catheter-Based Aortic Valve Replacement Equal to Surgery
The much-anticipated findings from the PARTNER trial, comparing the standard surgical procedure of aortic valve replacement (AVR) to the newer and, as of yet, unapproved in the U.S. transcatheter-based version (TAVR), were presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 60th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans -- and the two methods of treatment were judged virtually equivalent at one year. (Read more...)

April 2, 2011
American College of Cardiology 2011 Preview: Stents, Valves and Wrists
New studies on stents, angioplasty and interventional treatments for heart disease will be taking center stage in New Orleans over the next four days, as the American College of Cardiology holds its 60th Annual Scientific Session and Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit 2011. Attended by almost 30,000 cardiologists and other healthcare professionals, the ACC.11 meeting will be offering a platform for some of the most important findings affecting millions of patients who suffer from coronary and structural heart disease. (Read more...)

March 29, 2011
Boston Scientific Announces ACC.11 Schedule
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced its clinical trial news and events schedule at the 60th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology/i2 Summit, April 2-5, 2011 in New Orleans. (Read more...)

March 28, 2011
Medtronic to Unveil Pivotal U.S. Data on Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent at ACC.11
Medtronic will be presenting pivotal U.S. data on its Resolute® Drug-Eluting Stent at ACC.11 and will feature the one-year results of the RESOLUTE US Study. This evidence completes Medtronic's FDA approval submission. (Read more...)

March 28, 2011
Abbott to Present Data on Novel Vascular Technologies and XIENCE V® at ACC 2011
Highlights include late-breaking two-year data from EVEREST II, the trial of the investigational MitraClip® system. In addition, data for the ABSORB™ bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) will be presented as an Interventional Featured Clinical Trial and the XIENCE V® Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System will be featured in a pooled analysis of two-year data from the SPIRIT II, III, IV and COMPARE trials. (Read more...)

March 22, 2011
Advanced Transradial Angioplasty Training at Duke University School of Medicine
This October, the Duke Clinical Research Institute, in conjunction with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), will present the "Duke Advanced Course in Transradial Angiography and Intervention", one of the first advanced courses in this new and growing technique to be offered in the United States. (Read more...)

March 21, 2011
Heart Stent Success Stories
Posting from the Patient Forum: It's great to hear of everyone's victories recovery-wise, both major and minor. I had 3 coronary stents in Nov 2010 and I'm now training for triathlons! I'm so impressed by the medical intervention and how it can turn around our lives... (Read more...)

March 15, 2011
Double-Dose Clopidogrel (Plavix) Does Not Reduce Heart Attack or Stent Thrombosis for Angioplasty Patients with High Platelet Reactivity
When does one plus one equal one? In the case of angioplasty or stent patients who are at high risk for adverse events, such as stent thrombosis, a new study concludes that a double dose of clopidogrel (Plavix) "did not reduce the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis." (Read more...)

March 14, 2011
Medtronic Pledges $1 Million to Relief Efforts in Japan
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced today that it is pledging a total of $1 million (U.S.) in direct grants, employee matching grants and product donations to support near- and long-term relief efforts in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami. (Read more...)

March 9, 2011
Wanted: Marathoners with Stents, Pacemakers, Heart Valves
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) has made its yearly announcement that it is looking for runners from around the world who have benefited from medical technology to participate in the company's 6th Annual Medtronic Global Heroes program. But it's not just a PR event. It is clinically important -- efficacious, as we say in the medical field. (Read more...)

March 5, 2011
Medtronic Seeking Long-Distance Runners Who Benefit From Medical Technology
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) has announced that it is recruiting runners from around the world who benefit from medical technology to participate in the sixth annual Medtronic Global Heroes program. Up to 25 runners will be selected to receive a paid entry for themselves and a guest to the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon or the Medtronic TC 10 Mile (September 30 – October 2, 2011) and a travel package that includes airfare for the Global Hero and guest to Minnesota. (Read more...)

February 18, 2011
Largest Study of Medtronic CoreValve® System Confirms Positive Clinical Outcomes
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today issued a statement on results from an independent study published online in the journal Circulation, which confirmed both early and sustained clinical benefits for patients receiving the Medtronic CoreValve® System for the treatment of aortic valve disease. (Read more...)

February 9, 2011
Drug Eluting Stents Trump Bare Metal Stents for Chronic Total Blockages
After reviewing numerous studies that compared the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) to that of bare metal stents (BMS) in the treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTO) in the coronary arteries, a team of Texas cardiologists has concluded that the use of "DES is associated with significant reductions in angiographic and clinical restenosis with similar safety. The consistency and magnitude of treatment effect across both individual trials and the pooled analysis establish DES as the preferred therapy for percutaneous revascularization of CTOs." (Read more...)

January 26, 2011
FDA Advisory Panel Votes 7-3 to Expand Indications for Carotid Stent
The FDA Circulatory System Devices Panel today voted 7-3 in favor of expanding the indications for carotid artery stenting, specifically for the Abbott Vascular RX Acculink Carotid Stent System. (Read more...)

January 21, 2011
Biosensors Appoints New VP of Global Marketing
Richard Treadwell has been appointed Vice President of Global Marketing at Biosensors International, based at the company’s global HQ in Morges, Switzerland. He will be reporting to CEO Jeffrey B. Jump. In this role he will primarily be responsible for formulation and implementation of the company’s global marketing strategies to support its growing portfolio of interventional medical devices. (Read more...)

January 19, 2011
PROSPECT Study Published in NEJM Demonstrates That Volcano's IVUS and VH® IVUS Technologies Can Assess Risk of a Future Clinical Event Better Than Using Angiography Alone
Results from the PROSPECT (Providing Regional Observations to Study Predictors of Events in the Coronary Tree) study, first presented at the TCT meeting in 2009, were published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, with supplemental material that was not part of the original presentation. Results showed that grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and Volcano's proprietary VH® IVUS tissue characterization software enable physicians to more accurately assess the risk of individual blockages than the use of the current standard-of-care angiographic imaging alone. (Read more...)

January 18, 2011
From Angioplasty and Stents to Aortic Valve Replacement
The method of treating heart disease from the inside-out was first performed by Andreas Gruentzig in 1977. Today the replacement of aortic heart valves is being revolutionized as a direct result of this discovery. (Read more...)

January 18, 2011
Medtronic Revises Design of CoreValve® U.S. Pivotal Trial
In the revised design, the trial will assess the CoreValve System in extreme risk (i.e. inoperable) patients in a single arm study with a primary endpoint of all-cause death or major stroke within 12 months. Furthermore, the revision includes the evaluation of alternate implantation routes for delivering the transcatheter valve, such as the subclavian approach. (Read more...)

January 13, 2011
Medtronic Completes Acquisition of Ardian
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced that it has completed the acquisition of privately-held Ardian, Inc., a developer of catheter-based therapies to treat hypertension and related conditions. Under the terms of the agreement announced on Nov. 22, 2010, the purchase price is $800 million in cash up front, plus additional cash payments equal to annual revenue growth through the end of Medtronic’s fiscal year 2015. (Read more...)

January 10, 2011
Abbott Receives CE Mark Approval for World's First Drug Eluting Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold for Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease
Abbott announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for the world's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Abbott's BVS device restores blood flow by opening a clogged vessel and providing support to the vessel until the device dissolves within approximately two years, leaving patients with a treated vessel free of a permanent metallic implant. Abbott's BVS device will be commercialized under the brand name ABSORB™. (Read more...)

January 6, 2011
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Stent Graft Athlete
Kevin Morgan had a 7cm abdominal aortic aneurysm and was treated with a stent graft. Kevin is an IronMan athlete and he writes that he feels "so lucky to be alive" and he wants to find other AAA stent graft athletes to create a community on his blog. So to help him we opened a new topic on our Forum. (Read more...)

January 4, 2011
Angioplasty and Stent Use Cut in Half -- Sort of...
Commentary from the Editor's Blog: A lost story this past couple of weeks has been an "admission" by the American Heart Association that the number of angioplasties performed in the United States is actually half of what the AHA has been saying all these years. (Read more...)