A study of nearly 900,000 patients with heart failure or cardiogenic shock revealed their race, insurance coverage and ZIP code were associated with their odds of receiving a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

Compared to warfarin, all direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) were associated with fewer cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes in a study of Medicare patients with both nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and heart failure. But apixaban appeared to offer the best balance of protecting against these events while minimizing bleeding risk.

In the latest study to link influenza and cardiovascular disease, researchers found that the most severe flu seasons coincided with spikes in hospitalizations for heart failure.

A new report from Australia highlighted the feasibility of transplanting hearts from donors who have experienced circulatory death—a practice which, if adopted, could expand heart transplant volume by an estimated 20 percent.

The FDA has approved the Optimizer Smart system as an implantable treatment option for heart failure patients with left ventricular ejection fraction between 25 and 45 percent who aren’t candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Researchers from the Rochester Institute of Technology are leveraging “natural processes” to provide insights into heart health with a toilet seat-based cardiovascular monitoring system.

A post-FDA approval study of Abbott’s CardioMEMS heart failure sensor found the device reduced HF-related hospitalizations by 58 percent in a trial group of 1,200 patients, researchers reported at this year’s American College of Cardiology symposium in New Orleans.

A new stem cell-based test may add certainty to efforts to predict whether so-called variants of uncertain significance will contribute to the development of diseases or be harmless.