The next-generation Watchman device is designed to better seal off complex LAA anatomy in a variety of LAA shapes and sizes.

"The key question isn't just whether a device works, but whether it makes procedures more efficient and provides physicians with a more predictable tool for treating patients with complex arterial disease," explained co-principal investigator Venita Chandra, MD, clinical professor of surgery at Stanford Health Care.

Should patients with excessive cusp calcification be treated with self-expanding or balloon-expandable TAVR devices? Each valve type appears to be associated with its own benefits and risks.

TAVR reintervention rates remain low. However, they are slowly rising as the procedure is used more to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis. Researchers think this trend may continue going forward.

There have been so many developments in the treatment of TR that it can be challenging to keep up. The ACC crafted this new document to help ensure cardiologists, cardiac imagers and other clinicians have access to the most recent clinical data and policy decisions.

To address this latest safety concern, the third in three months, the company is updating each device and then returning it to the customer.

Some controllers were assembled with an incorrect part, potentially impacting device performance. The FDA shared an early alert about this issue in August. It has been linked to one patient's death. 

The new initiative aims to provide shock teams with objective data that can guide early management decisions and reduce mortality rates.