CardioExchange Archive

March 16th, 2015

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: March 16th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include endovascular therapy for ischemic stroke with perfusion-imaging selection, innovation and implementation in CV medicine, statin intolerance, and more.

---

March 15th, 2015

Encouraging 5-Year Results for TAVR

Larry Husten, PHD

The publication five years ago of the two-part PARTNER trial brought a major change to the treatment of aortic valve replacement. The trial demonstrated that transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was a reasonable treatment option, first for patients who were not surgical candidates and then for patients who were at high risk for surgery. One […]

---

March 10th, 2015

First Good Look at TAVR in The Real World

Larry Husten, PHD

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is one of the most important advances in cardiovascular medicine in recent years. Although it is associated with significant risks, TAVR can offer some patients a less invasive alternative to traditional aortic valve replacement surgery.  Because of early concerns about potential overuse and misuse of TAVR, many observers have been eagerly […]

---

October 30th, 2014

Aortic Valve Surgery for Nonagenarians

Larry Husten, PHD

As people continue to live longer physicians are increasingly confronted with very elderly patients who have serious conditions that might benefit from surgery but who are at high risk for surgical complications. In a paper published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, doctors at the Mayo Clinic reviewed their experience with 59 patients age 90 or […]

---

June 17th, 2014

FDA Approves Second-Generation Heart Valve from Edwards Lifesciences

Larry Husten, PHD

The next phase of the burgeoning and rapidly maturing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) market has begun. Edwards Lifesciences announced on Monday afternoon that the FDA had approved its second-generation Sapien XT TAVR device  for the treatment of high-risk and inoperable patients suffering from severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS). The Sapien XT is the successor to the first-generation Sapien device, which […]

---

May 21st, 2014

Medtronic and Edwards Lifesciences Resolve Patent Disputes

Larry Husten, PHD

After years of protracted and often bitter litigation in the U.S. and abroad, Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic today announced a broad resolution to all their patent disputes over transcatheter heart valves. Medtronic will pay more than a billion dollars over the course of the agreement, which lasts until April 2022. Edwards will first receive a one-time payment of $750 million, followed […]

---

April 21st, 2014

The CoreValve Trial: What Do You Say to Your Patients?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

Harlan Krumholz presents a scenario based on the CoreValve trial and asks, “What do you say to your patient?”

---

April 15th, 2014

CoreValve Availability In U.S. Threatened By Court Decision

Larry Husten, PHD

A legal injunction may severely limit the availability in the United States of Medtronic’s CoreValve device, which only received FDA approval earlier this year. The device received abundant praise recently when a large clinical trial demonstrated substantial advantages for CoreValve over traditional open-heart surgery. The injunction is the latest episode in an ongoing patent war in which Edwards Lifesciences, which pioneered the […]

---

April 7th, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 7th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include SYMPLICITY HTN-3, CoreValve, MADIT-CRT, and more.

---

March 31st, 2014

Are We Equipped to Make a CHOICE Between TAVR Devices?

E Murat Tuzcu, MD

E. Murat Tuzcu offers his perspective on the CHOICE trial comparing the CoreValve and Edwards Sapien XT devices for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

---